‘Excellent quarter:’ LabCorp earnings beat Wall Street expectations

BURLINGTON – Life science giant LabCorp beat the Street with its latest financial report Thursday, topping analysts’ expectations for earnings. Revenues missed slightly.

Chairman and CEO David King summed up the performance: “Another excellent quarter.”

Revenues in the three-month period ending Sept. 30 rose 3.4 percent year-over-year to $2.9 billion – just $100,000 below the estimate from Wall Street firm Zacks.

Earnings topped Zacks’ expectations of $2.84, coming in at $2.90 after adjustments.

LabCorp (NYSE: LH) also expects more growth, estimating earnings for the current quarter to be between 2-3 percent higher year over year.

“LabCorp delivered another excellent quarter, with solid results driven by strong demand across both businesses,” King said in a statement.

LabCorp’s latest deal extends clinical reach across 4 Midwestern states

“The enterprise posted robust gains in revenue and adjusted earnings per share, and we generated $363 million in free cash flow … We continued our disciplined capital allocation program, repurchasing $100 million of shares and successfully executing several tuck-in acquisitions.”

LabCorp is observing its 50th anniversary as a company – and King sees more good news ahead.

“We occupy a unique, differentiated market position in life sciences, giving us great optimism about our opportunity to grow the business and create shareholder value for the rest of 2019 and for many years to come,” he said.

LabCorp is based in Burlington and has a large operation in the Triangle.