AbbVie Stock Pops After Earnings. What’s Driving Shares Higher.

AbbVie now sees adjusted earnings per share for 2025 in the range between $11.88 and $12.08. (Dreamstims)

AbbVie hiked its full-year outlook on the back of better-than-expected earnings early Thursday, sending shares of the drugmaker up in premarket trading.

The company now sees adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for 2025 in the range between $11.88 and $12.08, up from a prior guidance of between $11.67 and $11.87 to $11.88.

Its improved financial outlook comes after the U.S. recently agreed a deal with the European Union under which pharmaceuticals produced in the EU will face a 15% tariff upon entering the U.S. AbbVie has large manufacturing operations in Ireland.

Second-quarter adjusted EPS came in at $2.97 on revenue of $15.4 billion, beating analysts’ expectations for $2.88 on revenue of $15 billion, according to FactSet.

Shares were up 3.3% to $195.69 in early trading Thursday while the S&P 500 was up 0.7%.

AbbVie is relying on its newer immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq to offset the drop in sales of its formerly best-selling arthritis medicine Humira, which is facing competition from cheaper generic drugs amid patent expirations.

Humira sales were $1.2 billion in the quarter, falling 58% compared with a year ago and missing expectations of $1.45 billion. Skyrizi sales rose 62% to $4.4 billion, while Rinvoq sales were up 42% to $2 billion.

The company has several potential catalysts ahead, Leerink Partners analysts led by David Risinger noted. The company expects results from a late-stage clinical trial for a treatment for the skin condition Vitiligo in the second half of 2025. In early 2026, the analysts expect a readout of an early-stage trial for its amylin candidate for obesity.

Risinger rates AbbVie Outperform with a price target of $210.

Write to Elsa Ohlen at elsa.ohlen@barrons.com