AbbVie Faces Headwinds in Q4 but Remains Confident in Long-Term Strategy
AInvestFriday, Feb 2, 2024 12:49 pm ET
1min read
ABBV --

In its recent earnings report, AbbVie recorded a Q4 earnings result of $2.79 per share, excluding non-recurring items, falling slightly below analyst estimates of $2.80 by $0.01. The company's revenues also declined by 5.4% year-over-year, reaching $14.3 billion, compared to the $14.02 billion estimates. AbbVie issued guidance for FY24 with a projected EPS of $11.05-11.25, excluding non-recurring items, which is below the consensus estimate of $11.26.

The lowered guidance includes a $0.32 per share dilutive impact related to the proposed acquisitions of ImmunoGen and Cerevel Therapeutics, expected to close in mid-2024. The company's adjusted diluted EPS guidance for 2024 excludes any impact from acquired IPR&D and milestones, which are unreliable to forecast.

AbbVie's 2023 financial results were affected by the significant impact of Humira biosimilar competition, leading to a 9.6% decrease in full-year net revenues for its immunology portfolio. The oncology portfolio also experienced a 10.1% decrease in full-year net revenues. Despite these challenges, the company witnessed growth in its neuroscience and aesthetics portfolios, with the neuroscience portfolio increasing by 18.2% and the aesthetics portfolio growing by 0.9% on an operational basis.

AbbVie's full-year revenues decreased by 6.4% to $54.318 billion, while diluted EPS dropped by 59.0% on a GAAP basis to $2.72. The adjusted diluted EPS also fell by 19.3% to $11.11. The earnings report highlights the company's strategic investment in research and development (R&D), which accounted for 13.4% of net revenues in 2023. This investment is aimed at bolstering its pipeline and preparing for future growth.

AbbVie's chairman and CEO, Richard A. Gonzalez, stated that 2023 was a successful year marked by strong operational execution and significant overperformance from its non-Humira growth platform. The company's confidence in its long-term strategy is evident in its reaffirmed expectation of a high single-digit compound annual revenue growth rate through 2029 and raised sales outlook for Skyrizi, Rinvoq, Ubrelvy, and Qulipta.

ABBV shares are higher by about 1% in midday Friday in reaction to the premarket earnings release.

$ABBV(ABBV)

Disclaimer: the above is a summary showing certain market information. AInvest is not responsible for any data errors, omissions or other information that may be displayed incorrectly as the data is derived from a third party source. Communications displaying market prices, data and other information available in this post are meant for informational purposes only and are not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Please do your own research when investing. All investments involve risk and the past performance of a security, or financial product does not guarantee future results or returns. Keep in mind that while diversification may help spread risk, it does not assure a profit, or protect against loss in a down market.