Full Press Release Details
Quest Diagnostics Updates Strategic
and Provides Long-Term Outlook at
2021 Virtual Investor Day
SECAUCUS, N.J., March 11, 2021 -- At a virtual meeting with
analysts and investors at its Investor Day, members of the senior management team of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX),
the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, will report on progress made on the company's two-point
strategy to accelerate growth and drive operational excellence, and provide a new long-term financial outlook.
"Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated our
agility and capability for innovation," said Steve Rusckowski, Chairman, CEO and President. "Earnings from COVID-19
testing continue to help fund investments in the business, which will enable us to further accelerate growth and drive operational
excellence. Our base business is poised to fully recover by the end of 2021. We have raised our long-term outlook to a 4-5% revenue
CAGR for our base business and a 7-9% earnings CAGR for the total company."
At the meeting, members of the company's senior
management team will provide perspective on COVID-19 and base business testing trends and highlight the strategic initiatives underway to
accelerate the company's growth, including:
In addition, the Quest Diagnostics management team will discuss
the company's strategy to drive operational excellence and continue to generate savings of approximately 3% per year.
The company will discuss its capital deployment strategy,
including its focus on returning a majority of free cash flow to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. In the first
half of 2021 the company plans to execute $900 million in share repurchases of its common stock.
Outlook for First Half of 2021
The Company's outlook for the first half of 2021 remains unchanged
| Low | High | |||||||
| Net revenues | $4.85 billion | $5.15 billion | ||||||
| Net revenues increase | 32.9 | % | 41.1 | % | ||||
| Reported diluted EPS | $ | 5.07 | $ | 6.07 | ||||
| Adjusted diluted EPS | $ | 5.90 | $ | 6.90 | ||||
| Cash provided by operations | At least $800 million | |||||||
| Capital expenditures | Approximately $200 million |
The additional table attached below includes reconciliations
of non-GAAP adjusted measures to GAAP measures.
Note on Non-GAAP Financial Measures
As used in this press release the term "reported"
refers to measures under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"). The term "adjusted"
refers to non-GAAP operating performance measures that exclude special items such as restructuring and integration charges, amortization
expense, excess tax benefits ("ETB") associated with stock-based compensation, costs associated with donations, contributions
and other financial support through Quest for Health Equity, the company's recently announced initiative with the Quest Diagnostics
Foundation to reduce health disparities in underserved communities, and other items.
The company has provided a compound annual growth rate projection
for 2022 to 2024 of 7-9% for adjusted diluted EPS, which is a non-GAAP measure. The company is unable to present a reconciliation
of adjusted diluted EPS to reported diluted EPS, the most comparable GAAP measure due to the inherent uncertainty and variability
in the nature and amount of special items referenced above, and the amount of these items could be significant in any of the associated
Non-GAAP adjusted measures are presented because management
believes those measures are useful adjuncts to GAAP results. Non-GAAP adjusted measures should not be considered as an alternative
to the corresponding measures determined under GAAP. Management may use these non-GAAP measures to evaluate our performance period
over period and relative to competitors, to analyze the underlying trends in our business, to establish operational budgets and
forecasts and for incentive compensation purposes. We believe that these non- GAAP measures are useful to investors and analysts
to evaluate our performance period over period and relative to competitors, as well as to analyze the underlying trends in our
business and to assess our performance.
The virtual event will begin at 9:00 am ET. To access the
live webcast, including audio, video and presentation slides, interested parties must register in advance here.
Securities analysts and institutional investors are advised to register in advance.
Investors and analysts who register will have an opportunity
to ask questions in live Q&A sessions with speakers. Participants who would like to ask a question can dial 888-455-0391 within
the U.S. and Canada, or (773) 756-0467 internationally, using the passcode "7895081."
Interested parties unable to watch the live webcast will be
able to view and listen to an archived copy of the webcast, which will be available on the Quest
Diagnostics Investor Relations website following the conclusion of the event. Anyone listening to the webcast is encouraged
to read the company's periodic reports, on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the discussion of risk
factors and historical results of operations and financial condition in those reports.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve
health outcomes. Derived from the world's largest database of clinical lab results, our diagnostic insights reveal new avenues
to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve health care management. Quest Diagnostics annually serves
one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our nearly 50,000 employees understand
that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives. www.QuestDiagnostics.com.
The statements in this press release which are not historical
facts may be forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our projected results for future periods. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they are made and which
reflect management's current estimates, projections, expectations or beliefs and which involve risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results and outcomes to be materially different. Risks and uncertainties that may affect the future results of the
company include, but are not limited to, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken in response, adverse results from
pending or future government investigations, lawsuits or private actions, the competitive environment, the complexity of billing,
reimbursement and revenue recognition for clinical laboratory testing, changes in government regulations, changing relationships
with customers, payers, suppliers or strategic partners and other factors discussed in the company's most recently filed Annual
Report on Form 10- K and in any of the company's subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form
8-K, including those discussed in the "Business," "Risk Factors," "Cautionary Factors that May Affect
Future Results" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections
This earnings release, including the attached financial tables,
is available online in the Newsroom section at www.QuestDiagnostics.com.
Shawn Bevec (Investors):
Dennis Moynihan (Media):
ADDITIONAL TABLES FOLLOW
| Low | High | |||||||
| Diluted EPS | $ | 5.07 | $ | 6.07 | ||||
| Restructuring and integration charges (a) | 0.33 | 0.33 | ||||||
| Amortization expense (b) | 0.32 | 0.32 | ||||||
| Costs associated with Quest for Health Equity (c) | 0.28 | 0.28 | ||||||
| ETB | (0.10 | ) | (0.10 | ) | ||||
| Adjusted diluted EPS | $ | 5.90 | $ | 6.90 |
| Amortization of intangible assets | $ | 54 | ||
| Amortization expense included in equity in earnings of equity method investees, net of taxes | 5 | |||
| Total pre-tax amortization expense | $ | 59 | ||
| Total amortization expense, net of an estimated tax benefit using a combined statutory income tax rate of 25.5% | $ | 44 |