Abbott Laboratories to Spin Off Nutrition Unit With $8.5 Billion in Annual Sales

Abbott Laboratories plans to separate its nutrition business into an independent company, distributing shares to Abbott shareholders, with the transaction expected to close by the end of 2027 pending regulatory approvals. The unit, which sells Similac, PediaSure, Pedialyte, Glucerna and Ensure, is projected to have $8.5 billion in annual sales, 16,000 employees and 14 manufacturing sites. Abbott said it expects to retain about $42 billion in sales after the spinoff. CEO Robert Ford said the separation will let the nutrition business "more effectively direct its strategic resources." The move follows a 4.5% decline in U.S. nutrition sales in the first nine months of 2026, the only Abbott segment to post a decrease, according to a Wednesday filing. The announcement comes after years of litigation over Abbott's infant formulas. In August, the company agreed to pay $670 million to settle a high-profile suit alleging its preterm-infant formula causes necrotizing enterocolitis. Abbott also said last month it would pay nearly $385 million to resolve a federal probe and related state lawsuits over powdered formula safety. It recalled those products in 2022. Abbott previously spun off its pharmaceutical business, now AbbVie, in 2013.