When it rains, it pours. After several weeks of relative quiet,  dividend-paying healthcare businesses are reporting quarterly results left and right. Unfortunately, not everyone is telling stories that the stock market wants to hear.

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) slipped more than 6% lower in response to the company's third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. The company reported earnings per share that beat analyst expectations by about 23%, but investors couldn't get over declining sales from more than one of Abbott's operating segments.

Is Abbott still a good dividend stock to buy, or will the challenges currently limiting growth be its undoing? Here's what you should know before you turn your back on this company and its legendary dividend program. 

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Source Fool.com