Preliminary brief— based on press release only. Full analysis including management tone and Q&A will be added when the transcript is available.

ABBV · Q1 2026 Earnings

AbbVie

Reported April 29, 2026

30-second summary

SENTIMENT: Constructive Revenue grew 12.4% YoY to $15.00B, beating management's own $14.7B guide by ~$300M, and adjusted EPS of $2.65 came in $0.07 above the revised guidance midpoint despite absorbing a $0.41/share acquired IPR&D and milestones charge. Management raised FY adjusted EPS guidance by $0.12 to $14.08–$14.28 (from the prior $13.96–$14.16 baseline, which had been reset down from the original $14.37–$14.57 to absorb Q1 IPR&D YTD). The FY adjusted operating margin guide moved to ~47.5% from ~48.5%, with management explicitly attributing the 100bps to the ~1% Q1 IPR&D drag — "in line with our previous expectations" on an ex-IPR&D basis. Top-line momentum is genuine, the EPS raise is real on a like-for-like basis, and the underlying margin assumption is unchanged.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q1 FY2026

$2.65

Revenue

Q1 FY2026

$15.00B

+12.4% YoY

Gross margin

Q1 FY2026

71.9%

Operating margin

Q1 FY2026

26.6%

Key financials

Q1 FY2026

Metric	Q1 FY2026	YoY	Q4 FY2025	QoQ
Revenue	$15.00B	+12.4%	$16.62B	-9.7%
EPS	$2.65	—	$2.71	-2.2%
Gross margin	71.9%	—	72.6%	-70bps
Operating margin	26.6%	—	27.3%	-70bps

Guidance

Guidance is issued for the full year only, refreshed each quarter. Prior and new below are the same FY updated this quarter.

Actuals vs prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	Actual	Δ	Result
Adjusted Diluted EPS	Q1 FY 2026	$2.97 - $3.01	2.65	-$0.32 to -$0.36 below guide	Beat
Total Net Revenues	Q1 FY 2026	approximately $14.7 billion	15.002	+$0.30B above guide	Beat

Changes to prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	New guide	Δ	Result
Adjusted Diluted EPS	FY 2026	$14.37 - $14.57	$14.08 - $14.28	-$0.29 to -$0.29 (midpoint -$0.19)	Raised
Total Net Revenues	FY 2026	approximately $67.0 billion	approximately $67.3 billion	+$0.3 billion	Raised
Adjusted Operating Margin Ratio	FY 2026	approximately 48.5%	approximately 47.5%	-1.0 percentage point	Lowered
Adjusted Net Interest Expense	FY 2026	approximately $2.8 billion	approximately $2.7 billion	-$0.1 billion	Lowered
Skyrizi Global Revenues	FY 2026	$21.5 billion	$21.6 billion	+$0.1 billion	Raised
Rinvoq Global Sales	FY 2026	$10.1 billion	$10.2 billion	+$0.1 billion	Raised
Total Neuroscience Revenues	FY 2026	$12.5 billion	$12.6 billion	+$0.1 billion	Raised

Reaffirmed unchanged this quarter: Adjusted Gross Margin (above 84%), Adjusted R&D Expense (approximately $9.7 billion), Adjusted SG&A Expense (approximately $14.2 billion)

Segment KPIs

Q1 FY2026

Segment	Q1 FY2026	YoY
Immunology	$7.29B	+16.4%
Neuroscience	$2.875B	+26.0%
Oncology	$1.631B	-0.2%
Aesthetics	$1.186B	+7.6%
Skyrizi	$4.483B	+30.9%
Rinvoq	$2.119B	+23.3%
Botox Therapeutic	$1.009B	+16.5%
Botox Cosmetic	$0.668B	+20.2%
Immunology Revenue Growth (Operational)	14.3%	—
Neuroscience Revenue Growth (Operational)	24.3%	—
Skyrizi Revenue Growth (Operational)	29.2%	—
Rinvoq Revenue Growth (Operational)	20.2%	—
Humira Revenue Decline (Operational)	-40.3%	—

Other KPIs

Q1 FY2026

Segment	Q1 FY2026
Adjusted Operating Margin	40.8%
Adjusted Gross Margin	83.6%
2026 Adjusted Diluted EPS Guidance	$14.08 - $14.28

Management tone

Q2 2025 "clear line of sight" → Q3 2025 pipeline depth as underappreciated → Q4 2025 telling the street consensus is too low → Q1 FY2026 combinations and BD as the structural moat.

The Skyrizi defensive narrative has fully inverted. Two quarters ago management was sizing competitive headwinds from oral entrants; one quarter ago they argued IL-23 was an expanding class; this quarter the framing is that Skyrizi is gaining share despite known competition while simultaneously the market is expanding — "Despite incredibly high share, really over four times basically the in-play share and total share versus the next leading competitor, our MBRX has accelerated and continued to hit all-time highs." The Q1 +29.2% operational growth and the FY $21.6B raise validate the framing. What changed: management is no longer hedging the competitive setup at all.

The combination strategy moved from second-line option to first-line ambition. Last quarter combinations were framed for treatment-experienced patients; this quarter Rob explicitly positioned them to "raise that standard of care meaningfully higher" and added "we have not seen a competitor that can beat that other than us with our own combinations. And we have more to come." The signal is that AbbVie now views its internal IL-23 + TL1A + IRAK4 + TREM1 stack as a structurally superior bundle versus any single-mechanism external threat — a materially more aggressive framing than the "share defense" language of two quarters ago.

BD strategy is no longer being characterized as supporting existing franchises. Three quarters ago the messaging was incremental tuck-ins; this quarter Rob explicitly described the multi-year BD program as building toward the combination thesis: "we've been very active with business development over the last couple of years to add depth to our immunology pipeline...new mechanisms, TL1A, IRAK4, TREM1, as we think about this combination approach." This reframes the FY2025 IPR&D spend as a deliberate platform-build rather than opportunistic asset accumulation. It also implies BD intensity does not moderate in FY2026 — supporting the $0.41 Q1 IPR&D drag pattern.

Obesity moved from emerging optionality to a sized program. Two quarters ago Amylin was described as a tolerability play against GLP-1 dropout; this quarter management reported ABBV-295 delivered "clinically meaningful weight loss of nearly 10% after only 12 weeks" with Phase 2 starting Q3. That is a faster timeline and a more direct efficacy claim than any prior quarter — and it positions AbbVie's amylin program as a competitive program rather than a combination adjunct.

The disease-modification language is new this quarter. "Achieving this level of endoscopic remission in this setting is a particularly meaningful achievement, as this endpoint is an objective measure of mucosal healing and is associated with long-term benefits, including reduced rates of hospitalization, surgery, and disease progression." No prior quarter in the arc used surrogate-endpoint disease-modification framing — this is management positioning the immunology franchise for label expansion into earlier-line and prevention indications, a multi-year strategic anchor.

Recurring themes management leaned on this quarter:

Skyrizzy market leadership and share acceleration despite oral competitionNext-generation combination therapies as transformational efficacy driversAccelerated R&D timelines and regulatory advancement across multiple programsNeuroscience portfolio momentum with new indications and emerging therapiesImmunology portfolio expansion through strategic business developmentManufacturing investment and capacity expansion to support long-term growth

Risks management surfaced:

Competitive intensity from new oral agents in immunologyForeign exchange headwinds impacting revenue growthBiosimilar competition driving Humira decline (40.3% operational decline)Economic headwinds impacting dermal filler markets globallyFDA manufacturing questions on Trenibot E (complete response letter)

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Q1 FY2026 delivers revenue ~$14.7B and EPS $2.97–$3.01 (ex-IPR&D) cleanly — credibility test for $14.37–$14.57 FY range — Revenue cleared at $15.00B (+$300M above guide). Adjusted EPS of $2.65 beat the revised midpoint by $0.07 after absorbing a $0.41/share IPR&D charge. The FY range was reset to $13.96–$14.16 to absorb the Q1 IPR&D, then raised $0.12 to $14.08–$14.28 on this print. Status: Resolved positively on a like-for-like basis; the original ex-IPR&D range carried a real $0.41 BD cost.

Skyrizi Q1 run-rate against the implicit ~$5.4B/qtr needed for the $21.5B FY2026 guide — Skyrizi printed $4.48B in Q1 (operational +29.2%), below the $5.4B/qtr full-year average — though Q1 is seasonally light and the FY guide was raised to $21.6B. The franchise is tracking but needs material H2 acceleration. Status: Continue monitoring.

Rinvoq Q1 trajectory toward $10.1B FY2026 anchor (Q1 guided ~$2.0B given seasonality) — Rinvoq printed $2.12B in Q1, above the implied seasonal floor, and the FY guide was raised to $10.2B. Status: Resolved positively.

Humira Q1: $2.9B FY2026 guide implies ~$725M/qtr — Humira printed $688M (-38.6% reported, -40.3% operational), tracking in line with the implied $725M/qtr seasonal pacing. The decline rate is less steep than Q3/Q4 2025 trajectories suggested. Status: Resolved positively — floor holding in line with guidance assumption.

Vyalev quarterly run-rate against the $1B FY2026 blockbuster guide — Vyalev Q1 $201M, up ~10% sequentially, tracking the $1B FY anchor (~$250M/qtr implied); management reiterated "on track to achieve blockbuster revenue this year." Status: Resolved positively.

BD pace moderation in H1 2026 so 48.5% operating margin guide is achievable — BD pace did not moderate: Q1 absorbed a $0.41/share acquired IPR&D and milestones charge, and the FY operating margin guide was moved to ~47.5% to reflect that ~1% drag (ex-IPR&D, management says the underlying margin assumption is unchanged). Status: Resolved as expected — BD intensity remains elevated; underlying margin assumption intact.

Aesthetics: does the -0.9% Q4 inflection convert to YoY positive or stall — Aesthetics printed +7.6% YoY (+5.1% operational) in Q1, a clean inflection from -0.9% in Q4. The $5.0B FY guide now looks conservative against a Q1 annualized pace of ~$4.74B. Status: Resolved positively.

Trenibotulinumtoxin E U.S. approval and launch progress — Management confirmed an FDA complete response letter on manufacturing questions for Trenibot E. This is a regulatory setback versus the Q4 framing of a 2026 U.S. launch; key international launches (Europe, Canada, Japan) still anticipated this year. Status: Resolved negatively for U.S.

What to watch into next quarter

Whether Q2 EPS prints inside the $3.74–$3.78 range cleanly or whether another BD-quarter IPR&D drag widens the wedge between guide (ex-IPR&D) and reported numbers — the FY $14.08–$14.28 range depends on H2 IPR&D normalizing.

Skyrizi Q2 step-up toward the ~$5.4B/qtr run-rate implied by the $21.6B FY guide — Q1 at $4.48B leaves meaningful catch-up required, and any Q2 print below $5.0B would put the FY anchor under scrutiny.

The FY operating margin guide path: management says the ~47.5% guide is unchanged ex-IPR&D — watch whether Q2 holds the ~50% bar guided or whether further intra-year erosion emerges.

Trenibot E manufacturing CRL resolution timeline — the original 2026 U.S. launch is now at risk, with downstream implications for the Aesthetics FY trajectory (currently +7.6% Q1 vs flat-to-positive FY).

Humira full FY trajectory versus the $2.9B guide — Q1 print of $688M is in line; whether the FY guide is revised upward in Q2 is the cleanest test of whether the LOE floor is genuinely established.

BD cadence in Q2: another $0.40+/share IPR&D quarter would confirm a structurally elevated run-rate and would require a corresponding reset in the FY operating margin guide.

Q2 Vyalev disclosure against the $1B FY anchor (~$250M/qtr implied) — Q1 printed $201M (+10% sequential), already tracking ahead of the implied pace.

Sources

AbbVie Q1 FY2026 Press Release, SEC EDGAR — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551152/000155115226000013/abbv-20260331xexhibit991.htm
AbbVie Q1 FY2026 earnings call commentary (as captured in transcript extraction inputs)

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