AbbVie shares declined nearly 4% to $247.50 in pre-market trading on July 31 after the company reported second-quarter results that exceeded consensus estimates but did not meet high investor expectations. BMO Capital Markets said, “AbbVie beat consensus expectations across its I&I portfolio, but beats were more modest than investors are typically accustomed to,” adding that this “may not be enough for ABBV investor high expectations.”
William Blair attributed the share decline to an update of earnings per share guidance, as AbbVie reduced its range by four cents to between $13.87 and $14.07. William Blair said, “We think that is misinterpreted given the net four-cent decline is due to the previously announced acquisition of Apogee.”
The company’s immunology and inflammation portfolio beat consensus by about 1%, generating total revenue of $8.79 billion—a 15% increase over the same period last year. Humira brought in $756 million (a 3% beat), Skyrizi reached $5.5 billion (a 1% beat), and Rinvoq recorded $2.53 billion (a 2% beat). William Blair said, “While the magnitude of Skyrizi and Rinvoq outperformance in the quarter will not fully quell fears of increasing competition, we believe they will continue to perform well and drive strong revenue growth for the company.”
Overall net revenue for AbbVie was $16.99 billion for the second quarter. The neurology unit saw a stronger performance with a 4% beat led by Vraylar, which treats schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder; neuroscience revenues totaled $3.23 billion for the quarter. Parkinson’s disease therapy Vyalev generated $256 million during its launch phase.
Chief Commercial Officer Jeffrey Stewart discussed regulatory prospects for tavapadon in Parkinson’s disease: “There’s nothing else like it in the marketplace,” Stewart said during Friday's earnings call, highlighting clinical study results showing more than 90% of patients did not need increased doses of standard therapies after extended use.
Toward quarter end, AbbVie announced a planned acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics valued at $10.9 billion aimed at strengthening its immunology portfolio against competitors such as Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent franchise.
CEO Robert Michael addressed future business development opportunities: “We have ample financial capacity for more business development and remain focused on adding both early and late-stage opportunities across our core disease areas,” Michael said.
