AbbVie (ABBV) reported impressive third-quarter results, surpassing expectations. However, AbbVie’s stock declined due to lower aesthetics sales and a continued decline in Humira sales.
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During the third quarter, AbbVie reported adjusted earnings of $2.95 per share on $13.93 billion in revenue.
Earnings exceeded expectations of $2.87 per share but showed a 19.4% year-over-year decline. AbbVie attributed a research and development charge to a negative 4-cent impact on earnings. Sales declined 6% on a reported basis and 5.8% operationally, surpassing estimates of $13.72 billion.
On a positive note, AbbVie increased its earnings outlook for this year and next.
However, AbbVie’s stock fell 4.5% to approximately $138.60 during morning trading.
AbbVie Stock Declines due to Lower Aesthetics Sales
Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger noted that “third-quarter sales were strong across the board, except aesthetics, which fell short.”
Sales of aesthetic treatments, including AbbVie’s Botox, decreased by 4.7% to $1.24 billion. This fell short of the projected $1.34 billion. Revenue from Botox as a cosmetic drug declined by 2.7%, while Juvederm sales slipped by 8.6%. Juvederm is a collection of skin fillers.
In contrast, sales of Botox as a therapeutic treatment increased by 7.1% to $748 million, meeting expectations of $745 million to $750.1 million, as reported by Piper Sandler analyst Christopher Raymond and FactSet.
Meanwhile, Humira sales continued to decline following the launch of biosimilar rivals in the U.S. Sales of the immunology blockbuster decreased by 36.2% to $3.55 billion, exceeding views for $3.48 billion, according to Raymond’s report.
“Humira is several quarters into the biosimilar event, and we are continuing to effectively manage erosion and maintain strong parity access,” AbbVie spokesperson Gabrielle Tarbert said in an email to Investor’s Business Daily. “We have been able to maintain significant volume, with the majority of impact to date driven by lower price.”
Encouragingly, sales of other immunology drugs, Skyrizi and Rinvoq, demonstrated growth of 52.1% and 59.8%, respectively. Skyrizi generated $2.13 billion in sales, while Rinvoq brought in $1.11 billion. Analysts had projected sales of nearly $2.1 billion for Skyrizi and $1.03 billion for Rinvoq. Revenue from cancer drugs also exceeded expectations at $1.51 billion, though it showed an 8.4% decline.
AbbVie Raises Its 2023 And 2024 Outlook
AbbVie raised its guidance for the year, now expecting to earn an adjusted $11.19 to $11.23 per share. Analysts had forecasted a profit of $11.06 per share for AbbVie stock.
The company also increased the floor for its 2024 earnings to $11 per share, up from the previous guidance of $10.70.
Leerink’s Risinger believes this move “supports investor expectations.” Analysts currently project earnings of $11.05 per share for next year, while Risinger estimates $11.07. He maintained his market perform rating on AbbVie stock.
Follow Allison Gatlin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_AGatlin.
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