Medtronic's Stock Climbs After Profit Beats Expectations

Medtronic PLC's stock rose 1.7% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the drug maker reported a better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter profit. For the quarter ended April 24, the company reported a net loss of $1 million, or breakeven on a per-share basis, compared with earnings of $448 million, or 44 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, earnings per share came in at $1.16, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.11. Revenue edged up to $7.3 billion from $7.26 billion, matching the FactSet consensus. For fiscal 2016, the company expects revenue growth of 4% to 6% and EPS of $4.30 to $4.40. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of $4.42. The stock has climbed 6.2% year to date through Monday, outperforming the S&P 500's 2.6% gain.