What's going on?

Philips announced better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Monday, and the healthcare tech giant is starting to feel much better about this whole pandemic thing�

What does this mean?

Philips saw its revenue increase by 7% last quarter compared to the same time the year before, thanks to the ongoing � and unsurprising � demand for its respiratory machines and remote medical care equipment. Compare that to the average European company � which is expected to see its earnings drop by 26% versus the year before � and you can see why investors initially pushed Philips� stock up 3%.

The company�s expecting to keep growing this year too. Hospitals put off investing in new equipment and infrastructure at the start of the pandemic, but now they�re ready to go again. That might be why Philips signed a record number of contracts to upgrade hospital equipment last quarter � which could be just the jab in the arm the company�s future growth needs.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: Virtual reality.�

Remote care has been on the up and up amid all these lockdowns, and the demand for related equipment has been going with it. In fact, the number of US patients using so-called �telehealth� rose from 11% in 2019 to 46% by the middle of 2020. And McKinsey, for one, has high hopes for the market: the consulting firm reckons it could be worth as much as $250 billion.

Zooming out: Temperature check.�

This is another busy week for earnings announcements, and things are already looking promising. Of the US companies that have reported fourth-quarter results so far, 86% were better than analysts expected � comfortably above the five-year average of 74%. Earnings are still down compared to last year, mind you, so maybe it�s not the time to get too excited�