AbbVie Beats Third-Quarter Estimates. There’s More to the Drugmaker’s Earnings.

AbbVie posted better-than-expected adjusted earnings and revenue in its third quarter. (Dreamstims)

Key Points

• AbbVie’s adjusted earnings of $1.86 a share exceed consensus, while net revenue grows 9.1% to $15.78 billion.
• Immunology and neuroscience portfolios see revenue increases of 12% and 20%, respectively, while oncology declines 0.3%.
• AbbVie raises its adjusted earnings guidance for 2025 to $10.61-$10.65 a share. The company also boosts its dividend.

AbbVie stock dropped Friday after the biopharmaceutical company reported mixed results across its drug portfolios in the third quarter.

Shares declined 4.7% to $217.50, putting AbbVie on pace for its lowest same-day percentage decrease since May 14, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Pharma peers traded mixed: Johnson & Johnson fell slightly while Pfizer gained 0.7%.

Adjusted earnings of $1.86 a share topped the $1.77 consensus among analysts polled by FactSet. Net revenue grew 9.1% to $15.78 billion and narrowly topped the $15.59 billion Wall Street had expected.

AbbVie saw growth across its immunology and neuroscience portfolios. Revenue for the segments increased 12% and 20%, respectively. The pharmaceutical giant saw the highest revenue for its blockbuster biologic drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq, which increased by double digits from the same period last year.

While it was still one of the highest-earning products, revenue attributed to anti-inflammatory drug Humira sank 55% to $993 million in the quarter.

Humira quickly became the company’s top seller after it hit the market in 2002, and was once considered the best-selling drug in the world. However, sales have been pressured by cheaper biosimilars, or copycat versions, after losing exclusivity in 2023.

AbbVie’s other lines of business didn’t fare too well. Revenue attributed to AbbVie’s oncology portfolio declined 0.3% to $1.682 billion, while its aesthetics portfolio took an even larger hit, falling 3.7% to $1.193 billion. The aesthetics portfolio includes Botox Cosmetic, which AbbVie manufactures through a subsidiary.

AbbVie boosted its adjusted earnings guidance for 2025 to a range of $10.61 to $10.65 a share from $10.38 to $10.58 a share. The new range includes the unfavorable of research-and-development and milestone expenses, AbbVie said.

The company announced it was increasing its quarterly cash dividend by about 5.5% to $1.73 from $1.64 a share, beginning with the dividend payable on Feb. 17, 2026. AbbVie noted that it has increased its quarterly dividend by more than 330% since its inception in 2013.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com