AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) spent years preparing investors for the decline of Humira, once one of the best-selling medicines in the world. Its fiscal Q2 2026 results provide some of the clearest evidence yet that the company’s replacement strategy might be working. Its worldwide revenue increased 10.2% to $16.99 billion, supported by strong growth in immunology and neuroscience.
However, AbbVie’s (NYSE:ABBV) progress is becoming increasingly dependent on a limited number of major products. While Skyrizi and Rinvoq are more than compensating for Humira’s decline, weaker results in oncology and aesthetics demonstrate that growth is not equally distributed across the portfolio.
Bull Case
The strongest part of AbbVie’s (NYSE:ABBV) investment case is the continued expansion of Skyrizi and Rinvoq. Skyrizi revenue increased 24.4% to $5.51 billion, while Rinvoq revenue rose 24.5% to $2.53 billion. Together, the two medicines generated more than $8 billion during the quarter, compared with $756 million from Humira. These results suggest that AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) has successfully transferred much of its immunology leadership to newer products rather than simply attempting to protect Humira’s declining franchise. Total immunology revenue grew 15.1% to $8.79 billion despite Humira sales falling 35.9%.
AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) is also finding growth outside immunology. Neuroscience revenue increased 20.3% to $3.23 billion, supported by several products rather than a single medicine. Vraylar sales rose 18.9% to $1.07 billion, Botox Therapeutic increased 12.2% to $1.04 billion, and Qulipta grew 30.9% to $350 million. Vyalev, AbbVie’s (NYSE:ABBV) treatment for advanced Parkinson’s disease, contributed $256 million.
Profitability remained strong as well. Adjusted diluted EPS increased 22.9% to $3.65, despite including a $0.17-per-share unfavorable impact from acquired research and development and milestone expenses. AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) also reported an adjusted operating margin of 48.3%, indicating that revenue growth continued to translate into substantial earnings.
Bear Case
AbbVie’s (NYSE:ABBV) increasing dependence on Skyrizi and Rinvoq creates concentration risk, as the two products accounted for approximately 47% of total quarterly revenue. Their current momentum is strong, but any future regulatory, competitive, or pricing pressure affecting either franchise could have a disproportionate effect on companywide growth.
Other parts of AbbVie’s (NYSE:ABBV) portfolio were less impressive. Oncology revenue declined 1.5% to $1.65 billion, primarily reflecting a 29.4% decline in Imbruvica sales. Although Venclexta grew 11.6% and Elahere increased 33.1%, they were not sufficient to return the entire oncology portfolio to growth. Aesthetics also remained subdued, as portfolio revenue increased only 0.3% on a reported basis and declined 0.9% operationally. Continued weakness in aesthetics could limit AbbVie’s (NYSE:ABBV) ability to develop a more balanced growth profile.
The company also lowered its adjusted EPS guidance from $13.91–$14.11 to $13.87–$14.07. Although this reduction reflects the anticipated dilution from the proposed Apogee Therapeutics acquisition rather than deterioration in AbbVie’s (NYSE:ABBV) existing operations, the deal introduces additional execution and financial risk.
Conclusion
AbbVie’s (NYSE:ABBV) quarter strengthens the argument that its post-Humira transition is succeeding. Skyrizi and Rinvoq continue to deliver substantial growth, while neuroscience is emerging as a meaningful second engine. The principal concern for the company can be seen as going beyond AbbVie’s (NYSE:ABBV) replacement of Humira to broadening its growth beyond two dominant immunology products. For now, the strength of those franchises supports the bullish case, but sustained expansion in neuroscience, oncology, and aesthetics would prove significant if AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) is to maintain its momentum over the longer term.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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