AbbVie Beats on Q1 Earnings & Sales, Raises '25 EPS View

AbbVie Inc. ABBV reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.46, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.39. The reported EPS also exceeded the company’s guidance of $2.34-$2.38 issued earlier this month. Earnings rose 6.5% year over year.

ABBV’s revenues of $13.34 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12.91 billion. Sales rose 8.4% year over year on a reported basis and 9.8% on an operational basis. This reported figure also surpassed the company’s forecast of $12.8 billion. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar)

Revenues in the first quarter were driven by robust sales of key drugs Rinvoq, Skyrizi, Venclexta and Vraylar, coupled with significant contributions from newer drugs, namely Ubrelvy, Elahere, Epkinly and Qulipta. 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 first quarter totaled $1.72 billion, up 59.7%. The upside can be attributed to label expansions of the drug to include new patient populations in recent quarters. Rinvoq’s sales beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate and our model estimate of $1.61 billion and $1.62 billion, respectively. The drug’s sales figure also exceeded the company’s guidance of $1.6 billion.

Net revenues recorded from Skyrizi were $3.43 billion, up 72%. This surge in sales was due to label expansions of the drug to include new patient populations in recent quarters. Skyrizi sales beat both the Zacks Consensus Estimate and our model estimate of $3.19 billion. The reported sales figure also surpassed the company’s expectation of $3.2 billion.

AbbVie’s flagship product Humira recorded a sales decline of 49.5% to $1.12 billion for the first quarter. Sales in the United States declined 58% to $744 million, while ex-U.S. market sales were down 19.5% to $377 million. The company had previously forecasted about $900 million in Humira U.S. sales. The drug’s overall sales missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.32 billion and our model estimate of $1.31 billion.

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 following the launch of generics in 2018.

ABBV Neuroscience Drugs’ Performance

Sales from the neuroscience portfolio increased 17% to $2.28 billion, driven by higher sales of Botox Therapeutic, depression drug Vraylar, and migraine drugs Ubrelvy and Qulipta. Neuroscience sales beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate and our model estimate of $2.16 billion and $2.21 billion, respectively. The reported sales numbers also surpassed ABBV’s forecast of $2.1 billion from the segment.

While Botox Therapeutic sales rose 17% to $866 million, sales of Vraylar increased 10.3% to $765 million.

Sales of Ubrelvy totaled $240 million, up 18%. Qulipta sales increased 48.3% to $193 million.

Sales of Vyalev, the recently approved transformative therapy for advanced Parkinson’s disease, totaled $63 million.

ABBV Oncology Drugs’ Performance

AbbVie’s oncology/hematology sales rose 7.5% to $1.63 billion in the quarter, as sales from the recently acquired ovarian cancer drug Elahere and rising Venclexta sales more than offset the declining Imbruvica sales. The metric beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.51 billion and our model estimate of $1.52 billion. The reported sales figure also exceeded the company’s guidance of $1.5 billion.

First-quarter net revenues from Imbruvica totaled $738 million, down 11.9%. However, sales of the drug beat both the Zacks Consensus Estimate and our estimate of $676 million. ABBV markets this drug in partnership with Johnson & Johnson JNJ.

U.S. sales of J&J-partnered Imbruvica declined 13.3% to $529 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 8.2% to $209 million.

AbbVie’s leukemia drug Venclexta generated revenues of $665 million in the reported quarter, reflecting 12.3% growth. AbbVie markets Venclexta in collaboration with Roche RHHBY. Sales from the Roche-partnered drug beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $625 million and our model estimate of $630 million.

Elahere, added from last year’s acquisition of ImmunoGen, generated revenues of $179 million compared with $148 million in the previous quarter. Sales of the drug beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $159 million as well as our model estimate of $170 million.

Epkinly sales, which comprise AbbVie’s share of profit from U.S. revenues and product revenues from international markets, amounted to $51 million in the quarter compared with $40 million in the previous quarter.

ABBV’s Aesthetics & Other Drugs

AbbVie’s aesthetics portfolio sales were down 10.2% to $1.10 billion, in line with its previous projection. Botox Cosmetic sales fell 10.7% to $556 million. Juvederm sales declined 20% to $231 million.

Eye care portfolio sales declined 2.2% to $506 million. Sales of Ozurdex, a key drug in the portfolio, fell 2.4% to $123 million.

ABBV’s Cost Discussion

Adjusted SG&A expenses rose 8.2% year over year to $3.28 billion. Adjusted R&D expenses amounted to $2.05 billion, up 13.3%.

ABBV Raises 2025 EPS Guidance

AbbVie raised its EPS guidance for the full year. The company expects adjusted EPS to be in the range of $12.09-$12.29, up from the previous guidance of $11.99-$12.19. However, the revised guidance does not reflect any trade policy shift, including the U.S. tariffs on the pharmaceutical sector.

Our Take on ABBV’s Results

AbbVie’s first-quarter earnings and sales beat estimates. The company also raised its EPS guidance for 2025, likely driven by stronger-than-expected sales of its newer immunology drugs, Rinvoq and Skyrizi. While Humira’s steep decline exceeded even AbbVie’s projections, the impact was mitigated by solid performances from newer assets like Ubrelvy, Qulipta, and Vyalev, as well as the better-than-expected sales performance of Imbruvica, despite its year-over-year decline.

Shares of AbbVie were up over 5% in pre-market trading today, likely due to the encouraging guidance update. Year to date, the stock has gained about 2% against the industry’s 1% decline.

The company’s oncology strategy is also gaining traction, supported by increasing contributions from Elahere and Epkinly. Notably, Elahere is the first and only antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved for an ovarian cancer indication.

Though AbbVie faced some key pipeline setbacks last year, it has been proactively pursuing strategic collaborations and partnership deals across several therapeutic areas to further strengthen its pipeline and drive long-term growth. It recently forayed into the lucrative obesity space through a licensing deal with Denmark-based Gubra for the latter’s experimental obesity drug.

AbbVie Inc. Price

AbbVie Inc. price | AbbVie Inc. Quote

ABBV’s Zacks Rank

AbbVie currently has 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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