UPDATE: St. Jude Q2 Profit Drops 53%

St. Jude Medical STJ reported a 53% drop in its second-quarter earnings. For the current quarter, St. Jude expects earnings of $0.88 to $0.90 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.88 per share. St. Jude's quarterly profit fell to $115 million, or $0.40 per share, from $244 million, or $0.78 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, its earnings rose to $0.96 from $0.88 per share. The company in April had expected earnings of $0.93 to $0.95 per share. Its sales dropped 0.5% to $1.4 billion, versus analysts' estimates of $1.32 billion. St. Jude's gross margin came in flat at 72.8%. St. Jude shares closed at $48.46 yesterday.