AbbVie guided for 2021 earnings that slightly exceeded the consensus.
Dreamstime
With an earnings multiple below those of most drug stocks, AbbVie shares show investors’ concern for the 2023 arrival in the U.S. of competitors to the autoimmune treatment Humira.
In the 2020 results reported by AbbVie on Wednesday morning, Humira accounted for nearly 45% of the year’s $45.8 billion in revenue. Sales and earnings for the 2020 year and its final quarter came in slightly ahead of Wall Street’s expectations, and AbbVie unveiled 2021 guidance that is also a bit above analyst forecasts. The company believes it can grow.
In premarket trading Wednesday, AbbVie stock (ticker: ABBV) rose 3.8% to $106.14 from Tuesday’s close of $103.47. “Based on our broad portfolio of diversified growth assets and the robust momentum of our business,” said chief executive Richard Gonzalez in the announcement, “we expect impressive growth again in 2021.”
December quarter revenue of $13.9 billion was 59% larger than the prior-year quarter, mainly due to the acquisition of Botox maker Allergan. On an apples-to-apples basis, the quarter’s sales grew 7%. According to Sentieo.com, analysts had forecast $13.7 billion in revenue. Under generally-accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, AbbVie made just one cent a share in the quarter. After excluding a raft of noncash charges like a $4.7 billion provision for future payments to the inventor of the psoriasis drug Skyrizi, AbbVie says its December earnings were $2.92 a share. Analysts had expected $2.85.
The $45.8 billion in 2020 year sales came in a bit ahead of the $45.65 billion consensus forecast. On a GAAP basis, AbbVie made $2.72 a share, but after a bunch of noncash or one-time adjustments, it reported $10.56 a share. Sentieo says analysts expected $10.48.
Humira’s sales growth continued in the U.S., rising 8% in the quarter. But with biosimilar competition abroad, the product’s quarterly revenue fell 9%. Globally, Humira sales were $5 billion in the quarter. AbbVie is betting on next-generation autoimmune treatments to pick up the slack, and global sales of Skyrizi were half a billion dollars, while Rinvoq sales were $280 million. Sales of cancer drugs like Imbruvica grew 15.7%, to $1.8 billion.
Looking to the future, AbbVie’s announcement highlighted recent study results and regulatory approvals for Rinvoq and Skyrizi. In an investor meeting in December, the company raised its 2025 year combined sales forecast for the two drugs from $10 billion, to $15 billion.
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