By Puyaan Singh and Christy Santhosh
Feb 4 (Reuters) – AbbVie forecast 2026 profit above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday after posting a fourth-quarter results beat, fueled by strong demand for newer immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq and a smaller-than-expected decline in sales of its older medicine Humira.
The drugmaker has been relying on Skyrizi and Rinvoq to counter a drop in Humira sales, which have been facing competition from cheaper biosimilars, or near copies of a biological drug. Humira was once the world’s top-selling drug, with peak global sales of more than $21 billion in 2022 before it lost patent exclusivity in the U.S.
AbbVie expects adjusted annual profit per share of between $14.37 and $14.57, higher than analysts’ average estimate of $14.24, according to data compiled by LSEG.
However, shares fell 3% in premarket trading after analysts noted that the revenue beat was primarily driven by Humira, which is a legacy drug whose sales are eroding.
UBS analyst Michael Yee said some analysts were expecting disclosures on long-term guidance, which was noted as raised in last year’s release at the same time.
In January 2025, AbbVie said it expects Rinvoq and Skyrizi to bring more than $31 billion in sales by 2027.
AbbVie posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and revenue on Skyrizi and Rinvoq demand, and a surprise beat for Humira for the first time in nearly two years.
Skyrizi recorded sales of $5.01 billion, growing 32.5%, and beating Wall Street estimates of $4.82 billion, and while Rinvoq sales grew 29.5% to $2.37 billion they missed estimates of $2.41 billion.
Global sales of Humira fell 25.9% to $1.25 billion in the fourth quarter, but beat estimates of $983.8 million.
The company earned an adjusted quarterly profit of $2.71 per share, beating analysts’ average estimate of $2.65 per share.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
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