Abbott to Separate Nutrition Business With About $8.5 Billion in Annual Sales Into an Independent Company

Abbott said on Oct. 21, 2026 that it intends to separate its global Nutrition business into an independent, publicly traded company with approximately $8.5 billion in annual sales, a figure stated by the company for the business.

The announcement came alongside Abbott's third-quarter results, which give the separation a measurable starting point. Nutrition sales were $2.262 billion in the third quarter, up 5.1% from a year earlier, out of total Abbott sales of $13.013 billion - about 17.4% of the total, calculated by TickerGrove from the segment table in the results release. Over the first nine months of 2026, Nutrition sales were $6.423 billion, down 1.3% from a year earlier, so the business being separated enters the process with a stronger recent quarter than its year-to-date trend. Abbott describes the $8.5 billion annual-sales figure as the profile of the new company; it is a company-stated figure for the business, not disclosed standalone financial statements, and no standalone profit figures for Nutrition were provided in the announcement.

A brand portfolio the company says can stand alone

The new Nutrition company would hold Similac, PediaSure, Pedialyte, Glucerna and Ensure across infant, pediatric, medical and adult nutrition, with about 16,000 employees and 14 manufacturing sites. Abbott presents the brands as category leaders - Ensure as the world's No. 1 adult nutrition supplement drink, PediaSure as the world's No. 1 pediatric nutrition supplement, Glucerna as the world's No. 1 diabetes management nutrition brand, and Similac as the No. 1 infant formula brand in the United States - rankings stated by the company in the announcement rather than independently verified here. The business kept adding products ahead of the split, with 10 product launches in the first half of 2026, including a high-protein Ensure shake featuring 42 grams of protein, the first and only ready-to-feed liquid infant formula made with whole milk in the United States under the Similac brand, and dye-free Pedialyte products.

Salvadori takes Nutrition; the remaining Abbott keeps devices, diagnostics and medicines

Daniel Salvadori, executive vice president and group president, Established Pharmaceuticals and Nutritional Products, will become chief executive officer of the new Nutrition company. Salvadori joined Abbott in 2014 and previously led its established pharmaceuticals business in Latin America and its nutritional products business. After the separation, Abbott would have sales of approximately $42 billion and about 106,000 employees, keeping medical devices, diagnostics and established medicines, including cardiovascular and neuromodulation devices, biowearables, and laboratory, point-of-care and cancer diagnostics. Chairman and chief executive Robert B. Ford said: "As we continue to shape Abbott for the future, this separation will benefit both companies, setting each one up for maximum success in its respective market." Ford added that Nutrition will be better positioned as an independent company to direct its strategic resources, while Abbott's core higher-growth, innovation-driven portfolio has compelling growth opportunities of its own.

A tax-free distribution targeted for the end of 2027, with conditions still ahead

Abbott intends to separate the business through a distribution of shares of the new Nutrition company to Abbott shareholders; on completion, shareholders would own shares in both companies. The transaction is intended to qualify as a tax-free separation for United States federal income tax purposes, and Abbott expects the combined dividend paid by the two companies to equal Abbott's dividend at the time of separation. Completion is expected by the end of 2027, subject to customary conditions including regulatory approvals, the effectiveness of a Form 10 registration statement, and final approval by the Abbott board, and the announcement cautions there is no assurance the separation will be completed. Abbott said the planned separation will not impact its 2026 guidance or the 2027 guidance it plans to provide in January, and that one-time charges related to the transaction will be incurred and quantified at a later date. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is serving as financial advisor and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz as legal counsel. Nutrition will continue to operate as part of Abbott throughout the process. What to watch next is the Form 10 filing, which should provide the first standalone financial detail for the Nutrition business, the size of the one-time separation charges, and any change to the end-of-2027 timetable.