AbbVie (ABBV) Earnings Live: Why The Stock Is Up Big Today

Shares of AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV | ABBV Price Prediction) are surging 7% this morning after the pharmaceutical giant reported solid fourth quarter earnings as two key immunology drugs continue to enjoy significant support.

Operational sales jumped 6.1% for the period to $15.1 billion as revenue for plaque psoriasis treatment Skyrizi rocketed 59% higher to $3.78 billion and Rinvoq, a rheumatoid arthritis therapy, saw sales hit $1.8 billion, up 47% from last year.

Management also offered up guidance for the full year of 2025 that was ahead of analyst expectations.

What happened

AbbVie has been in a rut since last November when, despite reporting healthy financials, it also said its adult schizophrenia treatment emraclidine failed to meet is primary endpoint in Phase 2 trials.

It was a cold bucket of water thrown on the pharma that had  purchased biotech Cerevel Therapeutics last year for $8.7 billion specifically for emraclidine. Worse, rival Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) had previously been approved for its own schizophrenia treatment. More than 24 million patients globally made the drug a significant growth opportunity.

While that still stings, Skyrizi and Rinvoq are putting a salve on the wound.

AbbVie has been looking for drugs to replace Humira, which was long its biggest revenue contributor, but since losing patent protection has been under pressure from biosimilars. Sales plunged 49% in the quarter to $1.68 billion, well below expectations of $2 billion.

The pharma forecasts Skyrizi will generate as much as $20 billion in sales by 2027 while Rinvoq will rack up revenue of $11 billion. 

To put it in perspective, Humira, which was once the world’s best-selling drug at its height, generated peaks sales of $21 billion in 2022.

What it means for the stock

The selloff in ABBV stock was always a bit overdramatic. The pharma has over 90 therapies under development, over half of them being in mid- to late-stage trials. AbbVie spent $12.8 billion on research and development in 2024.

Pharma stocks like ABBV live and die by their drug pipelines and its was always robust. With patent protection on Skyrizi and Rinvoq through 2033, with possible extensions until 2038, AbbVie has a wide moat to protect and finance its research.

CEO Robert Michael said in a statement, “We are entering 2025 with significant momentum and expect net revenues to exceed their previous peak in just the second full year following the U.S. Humira loss of exclusivity.”

Yet ABBV stock is not cheap. At 66 times earnings, it is second to only fellow drugmaker Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), which trades at 90 times earnings. AbbVie also goes for 6 times sales and 21 times free cash flow.

Key takeaway

AbbVie offered up earnings guidance for the coming year of $12.12 to $12.32 per share that at the midpoint was well ahead of Wall Street’s forecast of $12.13 per share.

It also gave a long-term outlook beyond just Skyrizi and Rinvoq sales. The pharma expects total revenue to grow at high-single-digit rates through 2029 and it sees its aesthetics business, which includes Botox, is also expected to achieve high-single-digit compound annual growth rates.

This looks like the beginning of a comeback for AbbVie that can continue on through its previous high. With a dividend that yields a healthy 3.5% annually, the pharma stock is a Dividend King worth including in any income investors portfolio.

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