AbbVie Little Changed Despite Big Bottom-Line Beat

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 11, 3:28PM EST · Published Nov 2, 10:23AM EDT

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AbbVie Little Changed Despite Big Bottom-Line Beat — © Thinkstock

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) released its third-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Friday. The pharma giant said it posted $2.14 in earnings per share (EPS) and $8.24 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates that called for $2.02 in EPS and $8.23 billion in revenue. The same period from last year the North Chicago, Illinois-based company reported $1.41 in EPS and $7.0 billion in revenue.

AbbVie’s board of directors declared an increase in the company’s quarterly cash dividend from $0.96 per share to $1.07 per share, beginning with the dividend payable on Feb. 15, 2019, to shareholders of record as of Jan. 15, 2019.

In terms of its segments, AbbVie reported:

Immunology (Humira) revenues climbed 18.5% to $5.12 billion
Hematologic Oncology revenues increased 48.2% to $1.07 billion.
HCV revenue more than doubled to $862 million.
Other Key Products revenue rose 1.7% to $1.16 billion.

Looking ahead to the full year, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $7.90 to $7.92. Consensus estimates are calling for $7.88 in EPS and $32.89 billion in revenue for the 2018 full year.

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Richard A. Gonzalez, chairman and chief executive officer of AbbVie, commented:

We delivered another exceptional quarter, with results well ahead of our expectations, including operational revenue growth above 18 percent and EPS growth greater than 50 percent. Based on our continued momentum across multiple products in our portfolio, we are raising our full year 2018 EPS guidance once again. We’re particularly pleased with our progress in building a leading hematologic oncology franchise, which is now delivering revenue in excess of $1 billion per quarter and is poised for continued strong growth next year and beyond.

Shares of AbbVie were up less than 1% to $81.00, as of 10:20 a.m., with a consensus analyst price target of $105.79 and a 52-week range of $77.50 to $125.86.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.