Shares of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings LH were down about 2.9% in premarket trading on Thursday after the diagnostics company reported lower-than-expected revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022. Labcorp had earnings of $76.4 million, or 86 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, down from $553.6 million, or $5.75 per share, in the same quarter in 2021. Adjusted earnings per share were $4.14, against a FactSet consensus of $3.87. Revenue came in at $3.67 billion for the quarter, down from $4.06 billion in the same three months of 2021, driven in part by a nearly 21% drop in sales of COVID-19 tests. The FactSet consensus was $3.86 billion. The company said it expects adjusted EPS of $16.00 to $18.00 in 2023. The FactSet consensus is $14.93. Labcorp’s stock has declined 7.9% over the past year, while the broader S&P 500 SPX is down 5.6%.
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