AbbVie stock jumped Friday after the pharma titan hiked its full-year outlook on the back of strength from its immunology powerhouses Skyrizi and Rinvoq.
The duo now completely outearn AbbVie's previous kingpin, Humira. Skyrizi sales soared 71% year over year to $3.43 billion, as Rinvoq sales surged 57% to $1.72 billion. Both easily beat expectations, while Humira sales lagged. Humira, which is facing biosimilar competition, brought in $1.12 billion in sales, down 51%.
"Despite a miss with Humira (which came in below our estimate by $193 million), the immunology franchise beat our estimates by $132 million," William Blair analyst Matt Phipps said in a report.
On today's stock market, AbbVie stock advanced 3.2%, closing at 186.17. Shares hit a ceiling at their 200-day moving average.
AbbVie's Immunology Boost
Total sales increased more than 8% to $13.34 billion, beating estimates for $12.93 billion, according to FactSet. Adjusted earnings came in at $2.46 per share, up 6.5%. That topped forecasts for $2.38 a share despite taking a 13-cent hit due to taxes.
Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger noted strong sales of Skyrizi, Rinvoq, neuroscience and the company's blood cancer drugs helped drive AbbVie's beat. They offset downside from the aesthetics and eye care divisions.
All together, the blood cancer drugs generated $1.63 billion in sales, rising nearly 6%. That topped expectations by $150 million, William Blair's Phipps said. Neuroscience sales came in at $2.28 billion, up 16% and $123 million ahead of expectations.
But aesthetics sales of $1.1 billion missed forecasts and fell nearly 12%.
"Commentary on the call about the health of the aesthetics market in both the United States and major international markets will be important as investors look for the recovery of the franchise," Phipps said.
Hiked Earnings Outlook
Importantly, AbbVie raised its outlook for the year and now projects adjusted earnings of $12.09 to $12.29 per share. Analysts projected $12.16 earnings per share and $59.54 billion in sales.
AbbVie said its guidance is based on the existing trade environment and doesn't include potential changes in trade policies, including pharma sector tariffs, "that could impact AbbVie's business."
"Investors will be looking for greater clarity on the potential impacts of pharmaceutical tariffs on AbbVie's key brands and the aesthetics business could face greater headwinds from macroeconomic uncertainty," Phipps said. "But we continue to believe AbbVie has one of the cleanest revenue growth stories in the biopharma space over the next five years."
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