GE HealthCare Shares Fall, CEO Cites Cautious Optimism on Hospital Spending

By Will Feuer

Shares of GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. fell 9% after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, and Chief Executive Peter Arduini said it is monitoring how medical providers are spending their capital.

The stock has rallied since the company's spinoff from General Electric Co. in January. Shares were up some 50% this year headed into the first-quarter readout. On Tuesday, the stock fell 9% to $79.85.

The pre-earnings rally may have fed into some of the Tuesday selloff, which came after the company reiterated its full-year guidance.

Earlier Tuesday, the company reported a first-quarter profit of $372 million, or 41 cents a share, down from $389 million, or 86 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.

Stripping out one-time items, adjusted earnings came to 85 cents a share, above the 79 cents a share expected by analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 8% to $4.71 billion, above the $4.63 billion that Wall Street analysts expected. Growth was broad-based, with the company's imaging, ultrasound, patient-care solutions and pharmaceutical diagnostics all reporting organic sales growth by a double-digit percentage.

The company backed its full-year guidance for organic sales growth of 5% to 7% and adjusted earnings of $3.60 a share to $3.75. Of the five analysts surveyed by FactSet, the average estimate for 2023 adjusted earnings was $3.72 a share, suggesting some hope that the company might raise its full-year guidance.

On a conference call with analysts, Mr. Arduini said the company is monitoring for signs that hospitals are pulling back on capital spending such as on purchases of new machines. The company is "cautiously optimistic given resilient end market demand."

He acknowledged, though, that businesses are prioritizing capital in the current environment.

Mr. Arduini pointed to nursing costs, which are beginning to flatten out after a pandemic-fueled surge in demand for nurses, as a cause for optimism on hospital spending.

Write to Will Feuer at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 25, 2023 14:08 ET (18:08 GMT)

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