AbbVie 4Q Sales Lower as Humira Revenue Sinks

By Dean Seal

AbbVie posted lower revenue in the fourth quarter following a drop in sales for its blockbuster therapy Humira, but the top line still beat analyst estimates with growth from other drugs in its immunology portfolio.

The drugmaker recorded a profit of $822 million, or 46 cents a share, compared with $2.47 billion, or $1.38 a share, in the same quarter a year ago.

AbbVie's adjusted earnings of $2.79 a share were in line with the expectations of analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue slid to $14.3 billion from $15.12 billion in last year's fourth quarter, above analyst forecasts for $14.02 billion, according to FactSet.

Revenue from its immune-disease therapy Humira, which is facing biosimilar competition, fell 41% to $3.3 billion, while sales of its arthritis drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq were up 52% and 63%, respectively.

Abbvie expects to post adjusted earnings of $11.05 to $11.25 in 2024, which includes a 32 cent per-share dilutive impact from the proposed acquisitions of ImmunoGen and Cerevel Therapeutics, which are expected to close in the middle of the new year.

The North Chicago, Ill.-based company is also lifting its long-term outlook for Skyrizi and Rinvoq, saying it now expects revenue of $27 billion from the drugs in 2027 instead of $21 billion as it had previously projected.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications

This headline was corrected at 8:35 a.m. ET because the name of the drug Humira was misspelled as Himura.

This item was corrected at 10:20 a.m. ET to show that AbbVie's adjusted earnings of $2.79 a share were in line with the expectations of analysts polled by FactSet. An earlier version compared the adjusted earnings result to FactSet's original consensus estimate of $2.80 a share, which has been updated to $2.79.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 02, 2024 08:20 ET (13:20 GMT)

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