Okay bestie, let’s talk about one of my favorite “boring but brilliant” stocks — because AbbVie just proved something big about reinvention.
Here’s the tea: losing patent protection on a blockbuster drug is basically the pharma version of your biggest client ghosting you. It can wreck a company. Humira was once the world’s best-selling drug, and when AbbVie lost exclusivity on it, a lot of people assumed the party was over. Spoiler: it wasn’t. AbbVie moved past it and kept growing — and investors have noticed in a big way. The stock closed at a record $290.79 right before its third-quarter earnings report on Oct. 30, then gained another 1.4% to hit yet another all-time high.
So the question on everyone’s group chat: is it still a buy at these levels? Let’s break it down like I would over coffee with a coaching client.
The numbers, minus the intimidation factor
Third-quarter revenue came in at $17.4 billion, up 10.3% from a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share hit $3.82, beating the midpoint of management’s guidance by about $0.07. On paper, that’s more than double the $1.86 per share from a year earlier — and yes, my eyes went wide too. But here’s the catch (there’s always a catch, and I’d rather you hear it from me than from a scary headline).
Last year’s numbers included $1.50 per share in expenses tied to acquiring experimental drugs, versus just $0.11 this year. Strip those out of both periods, and adjusted EPS grew about 17%, from $3.36 to $3.93. Still solid! Just a more honest picture. This is exactly why I tell my coaching clients: always dig one layer below the headline number before you get excited.
The real stars of the show
The growth engines here are Skyrizi and Rinvoq, two immunology drugs that have more than stepped into Humira’s heels. Skyrizi revenue jumped 22.7% to $5.78 billion, and Rinvoq climbed 23.9% to $2.71 billion. Together they pulled in nearly $8.5 billion — that’s 48.7% of AbbVie’s total revenue. Meanwhile, Humira fell to $683 million from $993 million a year ago.
Think of it like this: AbbVie didn’t panic when its signature piece went out of style. It built a whole new wardrobe, and honestly? The new collection is selling better than the old one ever did. That’s not luck — that’s strategy, and it’s the kind of resilience I want in any company I own.
About that guidance raise
AbbVie also nudged its full-year outlook upward. Adjusted EPS is now guided to $13.95 to $13.99, up from $13.76 to $13.96, and revenue guidance moved from $67.6 billion to $67.8 billion. Great — but the midpoint of that earnings guidance went up by less than 1%. This is a “modest raise,” not a mic drop. And the forecast doesn’t include potential expenses from future R&D deals, which have dinged reported earnings in recent quarters. Just something to keep on your radar.
Now, valuation. With shares trading just under $300, the forward price-to-earnings ratio sits at roughly 21. That’s not crazy for a growing pharma company — but it doesn’t leave much wiggle room for disappointment. Translation: expectations are priced in. Management’s 2027 guidance, expected alongside fourth-quarter results, will be the moment that really matters. I’d be watching that closely.
The Dividend King crown 👑
Okay, this is the part that makes my income-investing heart sing. AbbVie announced a 5.2% dividend increase, raising the quarterly payout from $1.73 to $1.82 per share starting in February. That brings the annual dividend to $7.28 per share — about 52% of the midpoint of its adjusted EPS forecast, so it’s comfortably supported by earnings.
AbbVie is a Dividend King, meaning at least 50 consecutive years of dividend increases. Technically, it inherited that streak from Abbott Laboratories when the companies split in 2013 — but to its credit, AbbVie has kept raising since the spinoff, hiking the payout by a whopping 355%.
For income investors, that track record — proven right after surviving Humira’s patent cliff — is genuinely attractive. It says the company pays you to be patient, and it has shown it can reinvent itself while doing so.
So… is it still a buy?
Here’s what I’d do: I’d stay interested, but I wouldn’t chase. The business is delivering — real growth, strong new drugs, a well-covered dividend, and a management team that handled one of the toughest tests in pharma. But at roughly 21 times forward earnings, you’re paying up for that quality, and the upcoming 2027 guidance will be the real tell on whether the growth story keeps compounding.
The lesson here isn’t really about AbbVie anyway. It’s this: great companies can lose their star product and still thrive if they planned ahead — and your job as an investor is to know what you’re paying for that resilience before you swipe your card.
If you want help building a portfolio that balances growth like Skyrizi with income like that Dividend King payout, come hang out with me — DM me your biggest investing question or join the mailing list so you never miss a breakdown like this one. Your future wealthy self says thanks in advance. 💛
