Feb 10 (Reuters) - Quest Diagnostics ( DGX ) on Tuesday

forecast 2026 profit and revenue above Wall Street estimates

after beating expectations for fourth-quarter results on strong

demand for ‌its diagnostic tests.

The laboratory operator expects its 2026 adjusted ​profit to

be in the range of $10.50 ‍to $10.70 per share, compared with

estimates ⁠of $10.43, according ⁠to data compiled by LSEG.

Quest expects annual revenue between $11.7 ‌billion and

$11.82 billion, ​above analysts' average estimate of $11.39

billion.

Shares of the New Jersey-based company were ⁠up 1.4% in

premarket trading.

The ‍results ​and forecast point to improving conditions for

diagnostic testing, as demand for non-urgent surgeries,

particularly ‍among older Americans, lifts volumes, with Quest

and peer Labcorp ( LH ) also leaning on hospital lab management

deals to drive market share gains.

The company said in October it ​expected ‍legislation,

including the Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act,

and the recently expired ​enhanced Affordable Care Act tax

credits, to not have a material impact on revenue in 2025 and

2026.

Quest's revenue for the fourth quarter rose 7.1% to $2.81

billion, above analysts' average estimates ​of $2.75 billion.

On an adjusted basis, the company posted a quarterly profit

of $2.42 per share, beating estimates of $2.36.