Abbott Laboratories (ABT)

Pretax margin

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Earnings before tax but after interest (EBT) (ttm)	US$ in thousands	6,664,000	6,189,000	6,276,000	6,992,000	8,306,000	9,313,000	10,048,000	9,044,000	8,211,000	8,276,000	7,204,000	6,382,000	4,992,000	3,840,000	3,522,000	4,098,000	4,077,000	3,783,000	3,409,000	3,099,000
Revenue (ttm)	US$ in thousands	39,431,000	39,324,000	39,587,000	40,914,000	43,093,000	44,485,000	45,026,000	43,990,000	42,541,000	41,768,000	39,700,000	36,806,000	34,070,000	31,814,000	30,993,000	31,613,000	31,389,000	30,840,000	30,313,000	30,061,000
Pretax margin		16.90%	15.74%	15.85%	17.09%	19.27%	20.94%	22.32%	20.56%	19.30%	19.81%	18.15%	17.34%	14.65%	12.07%	11.36%	12.96%	12.99%	12.27%	11.25%	10.31%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Pretax margin = EBT (ttm) ÷ Revenue (ttm)
= $6,664,000K ÷ $39,431,000K
= 16.90%

Abbott Laboratories' pretax margin has shown a declining trend over the past few quarters. The pretax margin decreased from 20.68% in Q3 2022 to 16.61% in Q4 2023. This downward trend indicates that the company's profitability before taxes has been deteriorating over time. Factors such as increasing costs, pricing pressures, or changes in sales mix may be impacting the company's ability to generate profits. Management should closely monitor and address the factors contributing to this decline to improve the company's financial performance and sustain its profitability in the future.