By Angela Palumbo
AbbVie beat revenue expectations for its fiscal fourth quarter and raised its long-term sales outlook for two of its biggest immunology drugs. Humira revenue slumped in the quarter, hit by competition.
AbbVie posted fourth-quarter earnings of $2.79 a share, which were in line with analyst’s expectations but down from $3.60 a share last year. Revenue of $14.3 billion beat the consensus call for $14 billion but was down from last year’s $15.1 billion.
“2024 is an exciting year for AbbVie, as we are well positioned to fully absorb Humira erosion and achieve modest operational revenue growth, followed by a return to robust growth in 2025,” Chief Executive Richard Gonzalez said in a press release.
Sales in the company’s immunology portfolio — the portfolio that brings in the most revenue — fell 12% from last year as Humira faces biosimilar competition. Humira is a treatment of certain inflammatory disorders like arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis.
But while Humira sales dropped, immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq saw sales increase 52% and 63%, respectively, from the prior year.
AbbVie said it was raising its long-term guidance for Skyrizi and Rinvoq, and now expects combined 2027 revenue for the drugs of more than $27 billion, an increase of about $6 billion from previous guidance.
AbbVie also said it expects to post 2024 earnings of between $11.05 to $11.25 a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of $11.13 a share.
Shares of AbbVie were up 0.5% in premarket trading Friday. Coming into the session, the stock has gained 15% this year.
Shares of peer drugmaker Pfizer were down 0.4%, Moderna dropped 0.8%, Amgen declined 0.6%, and Eli Lilly rose 0.4%.
Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com