AbbVie Beats on Q4 Earnings, Stock Down Despite Upbeat '26 View

AbbVie Inc. ABBV reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of $2.71, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.66. The reported figure also exceeded the company’s guidance of $2.61-$2.65 issued last month. Earnings rose more than 25% year over year.

ABBV’s revenues of $16.62 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $16.36 billion. Sales rose 10.0% year over year on a reported basis and 9.5% on an operational basis. This reported figure also surpassed the company’s forecast of over $16.30 billion.

Revenues in the quarter were driven by robust sales of key drugs Rinvoq, Skyrizi, Venclexta and Vraylar, coupled with significant contributions from newer drugs, namely Ubrelvy, Qulipta, Elahere and Vyalev. Sales of Humira and Imbruvica declined year over year.

All growth rates mentioned below are on a year-on-year basis and at constant exchange rates (CER).

Immunology Drugs Drive ABBV’s Top Line

In immunology, net revenues from Rinvoq for the quarter totaled $2.37 billion, up nearly 29%. The upside was likely driven by market share gains across all approved indications, as well as the recent label expansion in giant cell arteritis across the United States and the EU last year. However, Rinvoq’s sales missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.39 billion.

Net revenues recorded from Skyrizi were $5.01 billion, up about 32%. This surge in sales was likely driven by strong volume growth and continued market share gains. Skyrizi sales beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.91 billion.

AbbVie’s flagship product Humira recorded a sales decline of 26% to $1.25 billion for the quarter. Sales in the United States declined 28% to $897 million, while ex-U.S. market sales were down 21% to $349 million. However, the drug’s overall sales beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $949 million.

This substantial decline in Humira sales was due to the drug’s loss of exclusivity in the United States since January 2023. The drug lost its exclusivity in ex-U.S. territories in 2018.

ABBV Neuroscience Drugs’ Performance

Sales from the neuroscience portfolio rose more than 17% to $2.96 billion, driven by higher sales of Botox Therapeutic, depression drug Vraylar, and migraine drugs Ubrelvy and Qulipta. Yet, the franchise’s sales missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.00 billion.

While Botox Therapeutic sales rose 13% to $990 million, sales of Vraylar increased 10.5% to $1.02 billion.

Sales of Ubrelvy totaled $339 million, up 12%. Qulipta sales rose 42% to $288 million.

Sales of Vyalev, the recently approved transformative therapy for advanced Parkinson’s disease, totaled $183 million compared with $138 million in the previous quarter.

ABBV Oncology Drugs’ Performance

Sales from the oncology franchise fell 2.5% to $1.66 billion in the quarter. This downtick was due to declining Imbruvica sales, which more than offset the growth in sales of newer oncology drugs, Epkinly and Elahere, as well as rising Venclexta sales. The metric missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.72 billion.

Fourth-quarter net revenues from Imbruvica were down 21% to $671 million, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $715 million. ABBV markets this drug in partnership with Johnson & Johnson JNJ.

U.S. sales of J&J-partnered Imbruvica declined 25% to $469 million due to rising competition from novel oral treatments. AbbVie shares international profits earned from Imbruvica with J&J. The company’s share of profit from the drug’s international sales declined 9% to $202 million.

AbbVie’s leukemia drug Venclexta generated revenues of $710 million in the reported quarter, reflecting growth of more than 6% growth. Yet, this drug’s sales missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $725 million. The company markets Venclexta in collaboration with Roche RHHBY.

Sales of the breast cancer drug, Elahere, rose more than 21% to $182 million. However, the metric missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $192 million.

Epkinly sales, which comprise AbbVie’s share of profit from U.S. revenues and product revenues from international markets, amounted to $81 million in the quarter compared with $69 million in the previous quarter. The drug is marketed in partnership with Genmab GMAB.

ABBV’s Aesthetics & Other Drugs

AbbVie’s aesthetics portfolio sales were down 1% to $1.29 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.28 billion. Botox Cosmetic sales rose about 4% to $717 million. Juvederm sales declined 11% to $249 million.

Eye care portfolio sales declined 11% to $580 million. Sales of Ozurdex, a key drug in the portfolio, rose more than 4% to $128 million.

Cost Discussion

Adjusted SG&A expenses rose 4% year over year to $3.71 billion. Adjusted R&D expenses amounted to $2.56 billion, up around 13%.

Full-Year 2025 Results

Full-year sales rose 8.6% on a reported basis and 8.5% on an operational basis to $61.16 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $60.93 billion. Sales were slightly higher than the guided figure of about $60.9 billion.

Adjusted EPS for 2025 were $10.00 per share, down 1% year over year. This metric beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.95 as well as the guided range of $9.90 and $9.94.

AbbVie Issues Encouraging 2026 Financial Outlook

AbbVie issued fresh guidance for the full year. It expects adjusted EPS to be in the range of $14.37-$14.57. This guided range does not include any impact from the company’s proposed acquisitions and potential milestone payments. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is pinned at $14.32 per share.

Our Take on ABBV’s Results

AbbVie’s first-quarter results were better than expected, with both the top- and bottom-lines beating the consensus mark. The company also issued fresh EPS guidance for 2026, likely driven by the encouraging sales potential of its marketed products, especially Skyrizi. The aesthetics franchise also made a recovery in the segment after a prolonged period of soft performance, while Humira sales, despite continued generic erosion, exceeded expectations.

Despite these positives, AbbVie’s shares were trading lower in pre-market trading today. This was likely due to the soft sales performance of Rinvoq and oncology drugs, which fell short of expectations.

In the past year, the stock has gained about 19% compared with the industry’s 16% growth.

Looking ahead, AbbVie’s continued focus on inorganic growth is aimed at strengthening its early-stage pipeline across multiple therapeutic areas and supporting long-term growth. The decline in full-year 2025 EPS largely reflects the company’s recent spree of acquisitions and licensing deals, which have weighed on near-term earnings.

In the past year, EPS was impacted by $2.72 due to IPR&D charges of approximately $5.02 billion, tied to aggressive business development efforts. These include the acquisitions of privately held immunology drugmaker Capstan Therapeutics and a psychedelic compound from Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals.

AbbVie Inc. Price

 

AbbVie Inc. price | AbbVie Inc. Quote

ABBV’s Zacks Rank

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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