Prognosis

AbbVie Outlook Reassures Investors Despite New Humira Rivals

  • Forecast clarifies post-competition picture, shares gain
  • Mixed quarterly results seen from some key newer drugs
AbbVie’s HumiraPhotographer: JB REED
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AbbVie Inc. shares rose the most in over two years after investors got a reassuring first look at projections for profit now that the company’s $20 billion-a-year drug, Humira, faces direct competition in the US.

Adjusted earnings for 2023 will range from $10.70 to $11.10 a share, the North Chicago-based drugmaker said Thursday, an outlook well short of Wall Street’s $11.65 consensus estimate. Several outliers skewed that estimate for AbbVie’s 2023 earnings, and many projections were closer to $10.50 a share, JPMorgan Securities analyst Chris Schott wrote in a note. AbbVie’s guidance should ease concerns, Schott said.