AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) reported its second-quarter financial results Friday before the markets opened. The pharmaceutical giant had $1.08 in earnings per share (EPS) on $5.48 billion in revenue. That compared to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates of $1.06 in EPS on $5.62 billion in revenue. In the same quarter of the previous year, it posted EPS of $0.82 and $4.93 billion in revenue.
The company confirmed its guidance for 2015; it expects EPS to be $4.10 to $4.30. The consensus analyst estimates are $4.24 in EPS and revenue of $23.35 billion.
Second-quarter sales were driven by the continued strength of Humira and other promoted products.
Gross margin in the second quarter was 85.3%. Its expansion in this quarter was driven by product mix, operating efficiencies and the impact of foreign exchange rates. At the same time, operating margin in the second quarter was 44.2%, compared to 36.4% in second quarter of 2014.
On June 18, the AbbVie board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.51 per share, payable August 14, to stockholders of record at the close of business on July 15.
Richard A. Gonzalez, chairman and CEO of AbbVie, said:
We are pleased with the high level of performance we’ve delivered through the first-half of 2015, consistent with our commitment to shareholders for top-tier growth this year and beyond. With the completion of the Pharmacyclics transaction, continued momentum from our on-market products and rapid evolution of our robust development pipeline, we are well positioned to deliver strong performance in the future.
Shares of AbbVie closed Thursday relatively flat at $70.52. Following the release of the earnings report, shares were down 2.9% at $70.52 in early market indications Friday. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $75.47 and a 52-week trading range of $51.37 to $71.60.
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