AbbVie’s stock gains on fourth-quarter earnings as it reports better-than-expected sales of Humira

Shares of AbbVie Inc.
ABBV,
+0.08%
gained 1.4% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the company beat earnings expectations and generated more sales than expected of its top-selling rheumatoid arthritis drug, Humira. AbbVie had earnings of $4.0 billion, or $2.26 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with $36.0 million, or 1 cent per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were $3.31, against a FactSet consensus of $3.28. The company reported revenue of $14.8 billion in the final quarter of 2021, compared with the $13.8 billion it reported in the fourth quarter of last year. The FactSet consensus was $14.9 billion. Humira remains the company’s top-selling drug, bringing in $5.3 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2021. That’s about one-third of AbbVie’s total revenue for the quarter. The FactSet consensus for Humira revenue was $5.4 billion. AbbVie said it now expects to have adjusted EPS of $14.00 to $14.20 in 2022. The company’s stock is up 32.4% over the past year, while the broader S&P 500
SPX,
+0.69%
has gained 20.4%.