How Will AbbVie's Neuroscience Franchise Perform in Q2 Earnings?

AbbVie ABBV holds a leadership position in the neuroscience space, which encompasses blockbuster medications such as Botox Therapeutic and depression drug Vraylar. Over the years, the company has further expanded this franchise to now include oral migraine drugs Qulipta and Ubrelvy and, most recently, Vyalev (for Parkinson’s disease). Sales from the neuroscience segment accounted for over 17% of AbbVie’s first-quarter revenues, which grew 16% year over year.

Our model estimates second-quarter 2025 sales for the overall neuroscience franchise to be $2.5 billion, representing around 15% year-over-year growth. Higher sales of Botox Therapeutic and Vraylar are likely to have contributed to growth during the quarter. Sales of Ubrelvy and Qulipta might have benefited from market share gains across their respective approved indications.

While Vyalev was recently launched in the United States and is expected to have delivered modest domestic revenues in the second quarter, the drug is already approved in several international markets. As such, a majority of Vyalev’s second-quarter sales are likely to have come from ex-U.S. regions.

Though AbbVie’s neuroscience portfolio continues to grow meaningfully, investor focus will largely remain on its immunology franchise, which houses three flagship drugs — Humira, Rinvoq and Skyrizi. All eyes will be on the magnitude of their sequential growth and market share gains when the company reports second-quarter results on July 31.

Competition in the Neuroscience Space

Other bigger players in this space are Biogen BIIB and Johnson & Johnson JNJ.

Despite the steeply declining revenues of its multiple sclerosis franchise, Biogen generates more than half of its top line from neuroscience therapies. BIIB is one of the handful of companies that markets an FDA-approved treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Leqembi, in partnership with Eisai. Biogen also markets Zurzuvae, the first and only FDA-approved oral treatment for postpartum depression (PPD).

While not competing with Biogen directly in the neuroscience space, AbbVie is actively developing AD therapies as part of its neuroscience expansion strategy.

J&J markets several leading neuroscience products, led by the blockbuster antidepressant nasal spray Spravato and antipsychotic drug Invega Sustenna. Both remain key growth drivers for the company’s pharma unit. In April, J&J closed the acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies, which added antidepressant drug Caplyta to its neuroscience portfolio. While already approved for schizophrenia and bipolar depression, a regulatory filing is under FDA review for the drug in a third indication — major depressive disorder — with a regulatory decision expected later this year.

ABBV’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of AbbVie have outperformed the industry year to date, as shown in the chart below.

From a valuation standpoint, AbbVie is not very cheap. Based on the price/earnings (P/E) ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 14.06 times forward earnings, a tad lower than its industry’s average of 14.60. The stock is cheaper than some other large drugmakers, such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, but priced much higher than most other large drugmakers. The stock is currently trading above its five-year mean of 12.55.

While the EPS estimates for 2025 have declined from $12.32 to $11.98, the same for 2026 have increased from $14.06 to $14.08 over the past 30 days.

AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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