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AbbVie's (ABBV) Q4 Earnings May Reflect Slower Sales Recovery

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AbbVie, Inc.’s (ABBV - Free Report) fourth-quarter results are likely to reflect the impact of the recovering trend in drug sales being observed since the second quarter of 2021. The majority of the company’s drugs, especially the aesthetics franchise, witnessed a strong recovery in the past two quarters. However, in certain disease areas like chronic lymphocytic leukemia and hepatitis C, there continued to be a residual impact of the pandemic. The impact of the resurgence of COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant since September remains to be seen.

The robust sequential revenue growth for new immunology drugs — Skyrizi and Rinvoq— are likely to have continued in the fourth quarter of 2021. The higher sales from these drugs are likely to have helped the company partially offset lower Humira sales in international markets amid biosimilar competition. The U.S. sales of Humira are likely to have continued their uptrend in the soon-to-be reported quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Skyrizi and Rinvoq sales is pegged at $861 million and $540 million, respectively.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for U.S. sales of Humira is pegged at $4.67 billion while that for international sales is $748 million.

AbbVie’s stock has gained 34.8% in the past year compared with an increase of 17.5% for the industry.

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U.S. sales growth of key oncology medicine, Imbruvica — developed in partnership with J&J (JNJ - Free Report) — was hurt by slower-than-expected market recovery from COVID-19 pandemic and increased competition from newer therapies in the past two quarters. We expect fourth-quarter sales growth to be muted for the J&J and AbbVie’s physician-administered drug amid the resurgence of COVID-19 cases. However, strong demand for J&J-partnered Imbruvica in the international market is likely to have aided sales of the drug during the soon-to-be-reported quarter. On its fourth -quarter earnings call, J&J reported a decline in Imbruvica sales. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the drug is pegged at $1.47 billion, comprising sales of $1.19 billion in the United States and $281 million of international profit sharing with J&J.

Sales of another leukemia drug, Venclexta — developed in partnership with Roche (RHHBY - Free Report) —is likely to have gained from continued share gains across all approved indications similar to the past few quarters. The increasing momentum internationally in the AML indication is likely to have been the key driver of the Roche-partnered drug’s sales in the fourth quarter. However, potential lower new patient utilization amid Omicron-prevalence may have impacted the fourth-quarter performance of Roche and AbbVie’s Venclexta. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the drug is pegged at $480 million.

Sales of AbbVie’s new Hepatitis C drug, Mavyret, had shown a recovering trend in the past two quarters. However, patient volumes remained below pre-COVID levels. The continuation of the recovery in sales of Mavyret in the fourth quarter remains uncertain amid increased COVID-19 cases during the quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Mavyret stands at $463 million.

Sales of the company’s neuroscience franchise are expected to have been driven by Vraylar Botox and the new oral migraine drug, Ubrelvy during the fourth quarter.

The strong recovery in the aesthetics franchise, led by Botox Cosmetic and Juvederm, is likely to have boosted the top line in the soon-to-be-reported quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the aesthetic franchise stands at $1.34 billion and $1.62 billion for the neuroscience franchise.

AbbVie Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

AbbVie Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

AbbVie Inc. price-eps-surprise | AbbVie Inc. Quote

Zacks Rank & Stock to Consider

AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here

A better-ranked pharma company is Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) , carrying a Zacks Rank #1. Earnings estimates for Pfizer have risen from $5.66 to $6.14 for 2022 over the past 30 days. Pfizer beat earnings estimates thrice in the past four quarters, with the average beat being 10.85%.

Shares of Pfizer have gained 51.7% in the past year.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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