AbbVie Raises 2026 Earnings Outlook After Revenue Climbs 10.3%

AbbVie raised its 2026 adjusted earnings forecast on Friday after third-quarter revenue increased 10.3%, with continued growth from the immunology medicines Skyrizi and Rinvoq more than offsetting a decline in Humira sales. The drugmaker now expects full-year adjusted diluted earnings of $13.95 to $13.99 per share, up from its previous range of $13.76 to $13.96.

Revenue reached $17.404 billion in the quarter ended September 30, compared with $15.776 billion a year earlier. The increase came as AbbVie expanded sales in its largest business, immunology, and reported another quarter of double-digit growth in neuroscience. Its aesthetics business moved in the opposite direction.

In its October 30 earnings announcement, AbbVie put revenue growth at 10.5% on an operational basis, which removes the effects of foreign-exchange movements. The stronger sales performance gave the company room to lift the bottom of its annual adjusted earnings range by 19 cents, even as its forecast remained subject to future research and development charges.

Quarterly diluted earnings were $2.37 per share under generally accepted accounting principles, compared with 10 cents in the year-earlier period. Adjusted diluted earnings rose to $3.82 from $1.86. Those comparisons need context: acquired in-process research and development and milestone costs were $216 million this quarter, versus $2.68 billion a year earlier. AbbVie’s adjusted earnings figures included a per-share impact from these costs of 11 cents this year and $1.50 last year, helping explain why earnings increased much faster than revenue.

Skyrizi and Rinvoq Extend Immunology Growth

AbbVie’s immunology portfolio generated $9.165 billion in revenue, an increase of 16.3% from $7.885 billion in the third quarter of 2025. That represented more than half of the company’s total quarterly sales. The business continues to change shape as newer products expand and the once-dominant Humira contributes less revenue.

Skyrizi, used to treat several immune-mediated conditions, produced $5.776 billion in global sales, up 22.7% from $4.708 billion a year earlier. Rinvoq contributed $2.706 billion, an increase of 23.9% from $2.184 billion. Taken together, the two products delivered approximately $8.48 billion in quarterly sales, compared with about $6.89 billion a year ago.

Humira revenue fell 31.2% to $683 million from $993 million. AbbVie had already identified direct biosimilar competition following Humira’s loss of exclusivity as the primary cause of its decline in an earlier 2026 quarterly SEC filing. The latest figures show that the pressure continued through September, even though the pace of decline was less severe than in some earlier quarters.

The sales arithmetic captures the shift in the portfolio. Skyrizi and Rinvoq added roughly $1.59 billion in combined revenue compared with the same quarter last year, while Humira lost about $310 million. That left immunology revenue $1.28 billion higher overall. The figures make clear that the growth of the newer medicines is now more than compensating for the contraction of Humira, rather than merely keeping the division steady.

Neuroscience Sales Rise, but Aesthetics Remains Uneven

Neuroscience was another major contributor to AbbVie’s quarterly expansion. Revenue in the portfolio rose 19.4% to $3.389 billion, supported by established treatments and newer products. Vraylar, which is used in psychiatric care, generated $1.068 billion, up 14.3%, while Botox Therapeutic sales increased 9.8% to $1.080 billion.

The company’s migraine medicines also advanced. Ubrelvy sales rose 26.9% to $449 million and Qulipta grew 38.2% to $398 million. AbbVie reported $286 million in revenue for Vyalev, a Parkinson’s disease treatment. The breadth of the neuroscience portfolio means its growth is not dependent on a single product, although individual medicines are expanding at different rates.

Performance was more mixed elsewhere. Oncology revenue grew just 0.8% to $1.696 billion. Venclexta sales increased 10.7% to $803 million and Elahere rose 31.0% to $224 million, but Imbruvica revenue declined 26.1% to $522 million. The offsetting movements left total oncology growth considerably slower than in immunology or neuroscience.

In aesthetics, revenue declined 1.4% to $1.176 billion. Botox Cosmetic sales grew 4.9% to $669 million, but Juvederm revenue fell 11.9% to $222 million. Botox Cosmetic and Botox Therapeutic are reported in different AbbVie portfolios, so their results should not be treated as a single Botox sales figure. The weakness in Juvederm is also a reminder that the company’s 10.3% overall revenue gain was not shared across every business.

Higher Guidance Comes With a Much Narrower Range

The new full-year adjusted earnings forecast of $13.95 to $13.99 per share has a midpoint of $13.97, compared with $13.86 for the previous outlook. The 11-cent increase in the midpoint is smaller than the 19-cent rise in the lower end of the range because AbbVie raised the upper end by only three cents. With three quarters of the year reported, the forecast range has narrowed from 20 cents to four cents.

AbbVie’s first nine months provide additional context. Revenue for January through September totaled $49.396 billion, up 10.9% from $44.542 billion in the comparable period of 2025. Adjusted diluted earnings over those nine months were $10.12 per share, compared with $7.29 a year earlier. These are historical results; the full-year guidance remains a forecast and should not be presented as earnings already achieved.

The company said its revised adjusted earnings range includes a 69-cent-per-share unfavorable impact from acquired in-process research and development and milestone expenses incurred through the third quarter. It does not include possible charges of that kind after September, because their occurrence and timing cannot be forecast reliably. AbbVie also does not provide a direct reconciliation of its forward adjusted EPS outlook to a GAAP forecast, citing the unpredictability of several potential adjustments.

AbbVie completed its acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics in September, expanding its immunology research pipeline. The acquired programs include investigational medicines that still require development and, where applicable, regulatory review. Their potential future contribution is separate from the third-quarter sales figures, which principally reflect products already being sold.

Alongside the earnings announcement, AbbVie said its board had approved a 5.2% increase in the quarterly cash dividend, from $1.73 to $1.82 per share. The higher payment is scheduled for February 16, 2027, for shareholders of record on January 15, 2027. That gives investors a specific upcoming cash-return milestone, distinct from the remaining uncertainties in the company’s 2026 adjusted earnings forecast.