AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) is playing out the classic pharmaceutical transition story: watching a legendary blockbuster drug fade away while betting big on its successors. The company reported Wednesday that it pulled off a solid fourth quarter, but investors weren't entirely thrilled about how it got there.
The drugmaker posted Q4 sales of $16.62 billion, topping the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Revenue climbed 10% on a reported basis (9.5% operationally). Adjusted earnings came in at $2.71 per share, up a robust 25.5% and ahead of the $2.65 consensus.
Here's where the story gets interesting. AbbVie's immunology portfolio generated $8.63 billion in global revenue, up 18.3%. The growth engines Skyrizi and Rinvoq are doing exactly what they're supposed to do. Skyrizi sales jumped 32.5% to $5.01 billion, while Rinvoq reached $2.37 billion, up 29.5%. Meanwhile, the former cash cow Humira saw sales tumble 25.9% to $1.25 billion as biosimilar competition continues taking its toll.
The neuroscience portfolio contributed $2.96 billion, up 17.9%. Vraylar brought in $1.02 billion (up 10.5%), and Botox Therapeutics generated $991 million (up 13.4%).
Oncology had a tougher quarter, with sales slipping 1.5% to $1.66 billion. Imbruvica revenues dropped 20.8% to $671 million, though Venclexta climbed 8.6% to $711 million and Elahere posted $182 million.
On the aesthetics front, results were mixed. Botox Cosmetic revenue rose 4.2% to $717 million, but Juvederm fell 10.7% to $249 million. The adjusted gross margin stood at 83.6%.
