We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
How Will AbbVie's Oncology Drugs Aid Upcoming Q2 Results?
Read MoreHide Full Article
Key Takeaways
ABBV's Q2 oncology sales are estimated at $1.6 billion, a 2% drop despite broader portfolio expansion.
Imbruvica's continued decline outweighs gains from Venclexta, Epkinly and Elahere.
Modest Emrelis revenues expected following its mid-May approval for lung cancer treatment.
AbbVie (ABBV - Free Report) has been expanding its oncology portfolio over the past few years. While the company was originally focused on two blood-cancer drugs — Imbruvica and Venclexta — it has since built a broader franchise that now also includes solid tumors. The franchise now features five therapies, including Epkinly (for lymphoma), Elahere (for ovarian cancer), and most recently, Emrelis (for lung cancer). Sales from the oncology segment accounted for over 12% of AbbVie’s first-quarter revenues, which grew 6% year over year.
Our model estimates the second-quarter 2025 sales for the overall oncology segment to be $1.6 billion, representing a 2% year-over-year decline. While Venclexta, Epkinly and Elahere are likely to have contributed to growth during the quarter, these gains might have been more than offset by the continued decline in Imbruvica sales amid rising competition from novel oral therapies. As Emrelis was approved in mid-May, we expect AbbVie to record modest revenues from the drug’s sales during the quarter.
Though AbbVie’s oncology portfolio is contributing meaningfully, investor focus will largely remain on the company’s immunology franchise, which houses three flagship drugs, namely Humira, Rinvoq and Skyrizi. All eyes would be on the magnitude of their sequential growth and market share gains when the company reports second-quarter results on July 31.
For AstraZeneca, oncology sales now account for nearly 41% of total revenues. Sales in its oncology segment rose 13% in the first quarter of 2025. AstraZeneca’s strong oncology performance was driven by medicines such as Tagrisso, Lynparza, Imfinzi, Calquence and Enhertu (in partnership with Daiichi Sankyo).
Merck’s key oncology medicines are PD-L1 inhibitor, Keytruda and PARP inhibitor, Lynparza, which it markets in partnership with AstraZeneca. Keytruda, approved for several types of cancer, alone accounted for more than 46% of Merck’s total revenues in the first quarter of 2025.
Pfizer’s first-quarter oncology revenues grew 7% on an operational basis, driven by drugs like Xtandi, Lorbrena, the Braftovi-Mektovi combination and Padcev. The segment now accounts for over 27% of Pfizer’s total revenues.
ABBV’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of AbbVie have outperformed the industry year to date, as shown in the chart below.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, AbbVie is not very cheap. Based on the price/earnings (P/E) ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 14.21 times forward earnings, a tad lower than its industry’s average of 15.16. The stock is cheaper than some other large drugmakers, such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, but is priced much higher than most other large drugmakers. The stock is currently trading above its five-year mean of 15.16.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
While the EPS estimates for 2025 have declined from $12.28 to $12.08, the same for 2026 has increased from $14.05 to $14.06 over the past 30 days.
Image: Shutterstock
How Will AbbVie's Oncology Drugs Aid Upcoming Q2 Results?
Key Takeaways
AbbVie (ABBV - Free Report) has been expanding its oncology portfolio over the past few years. While the company was originally focused on two blood-cancer drugs — Imbruvica and Venclexta — it has since built a broader franchise that now also includes solid tumors. The franchise now features five therapies, including Epkinly (for lymphoma), Elahere (for ovarian cancer), and most recently, Emrelis (for lung cancer). Sales from the oncology segment accounted for over 12% of AbbVie’s first-quarter revenues, which grew 6% year over year.
Our model estimates the second-quarter 2025 sales for the overall oncology segment to be $1.6 billion, representing a 2% year-over-year decline. While Venclexta, Epkinly and Elahere are likely to have contributed to growth during the quarter, these gains might have been more than offset by the continued decline in Imbruvica sales amid rising competition from novel oral therapies. As Emrelis was approved in mid-May, we expect AbbVie to record modest revenues from the drug’s sales during the quarter.
Though AbbVie’s oncology portfolio is contributing meaningfully, investor focus will largely remain on the company’s immunology franchise, which houses three flagship drugs, namely Humira, Rinvoq and Skyrizi. All eyes would be on the magnitude of their sequential growth and market share gains when the company reports second-quarter results on July 31.
Competition in the Oncology Space
Other bigger players in the oncology space are AstraZeneca (AZN - Free Report) , Merck (MRK - Free Report) and Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) .
For AstraZeneca, oncology sales now account for nearly 41% of total revenues. Sales in its oncology segment rose 13% in the first quarter of 2025. AstraZeneca’s strong oncology performance was driven by medicines such as Tagrisso, Lynparza, Imfinzi, Calquence and Enhertu (in partnership with Daiichi Sankyo).
Merck’s key oncology medicines are PD-L1 inhibitor, Keytruda and PARP inhibitor, Lynparza, which it markets in partnership with AstraZeneca. Keytruda, approved for several types of cancer, alone accounted for more than 46% of Merck’s total revenues in the first quarter of 2025.
Pfizer’s first-quarter oncology revenues grew 7% on an operational basis, driven by drugs like Xtandi, Lorbrena, the Braftovi-Mektovi combination and Padcev. The segment now accounts for over 27% of Pfizer’s total revenues.
ABBV’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of AbbVie have outperformed the industry year to date, as shown in the chart below.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, AbbVie is not very cheap. Based on the price/earnings (P/E) ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 14.21 times forward earnings, a tad lower than its industry’s average of 15.16. The stock is cheaper than some other large drugmakers, such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, but is priced much higher than most other large drugmakers. The stock is currently trading above its five-year mean of 15.16.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
While the EPS estimates for 2025 have declined from $12.28 to $12.08, the same for 2026 has increased from $14.05 to $14.06 over the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.