AbbVie (ABBV) earnings preview: what to watch in Q3 2026

AbbVie will report its third-quarter 2026 results on Friday, October 30, 2026, before the US market opens, with a conference call at 8 a.m. Central time. The date comes from AbbVie's own announcement of October 1. Here is what last quarter showed, what management has already told investors about this one, and three things that will show whether the story is holding.

What Q2 2026 showed

Our Q2 2026 analysis found real, broad sales growth but profit headlines that overstated the improvement:

GAAP earnings per share nearly quadrupled mainly because two volatile charges shrank: a non-cash revaluation of the royalties AbbVie owes on Skyrizi ($1.518 billion against $2.795 billion a year earlier) and upfront payments for licensed drug candidates, which AbbVie calls "acquired IPR&D and milestones" ($291 million against $823 million). Adjusted EPS, the figure AbbVie guides on, does not strip out those licensing payments, so a light licensing quarter makes it look better too. Set against its own Q2 guidance before licensing charges ($3.74–$3.78), the quarter came in at $3.82.

What AbbVie has already said about Q3

On October 5, AbbVie filed a Form 8-K saying Q3 results will include $216 million of acquired IPR&D and milestones expense before tax, which cuts $0.11 from both GAAP and adjusted EPS. AbbVie does not forecast these payments, so it lowers its guidance after each quarter's charges are known. The filing's guidance table shows the effect:

The filing also says Q3 results "have not been finalized." So the simplest test on October 30 is whether adjusted EPS lands inside, above or below $3.73–$3.77. In Q2 the business beat its own pre-charge range by a few cents; a repeat would put Q3 at or slightly above the top of the range. Any licensing deal signed in Q4 would lower the full-year range again.

Three things to watch

1. Whether Skyrizi and Rinvoq keep growing in the mid-20s percent. Together they are almost half of AbbVie's revenue and added roughly $1.6 billion of sales from a year earlier in Q2, against about $0.4 billion lost on Humira. Humira, now facing cheaper near-copies (biosimilars), fell 47.0% in the US to $425 million. Our Q2 read was that mid-20s growth from the two newer drugs keeps total revenue rising by high single digits. A visible slowdown below about 20% for either drug would challenge that.

2. The soft spots: US Botox Cosmetic, fillers and Imbruvica. In Q2, US Botox Cosmetic sales fell 2.4% (all the growth was abroad), Juvederm fillers fell 6.0% on "decreased consumer demand," and the leukemia drug Imbruvica fell 29.4% to $532 million. Our Q2 report named a return to growth for US Botox Cosmetic as one thing the Q3 report would answer.

3. The cost of the Apogee deal. AbbVie completed its roughly $10.9 billion purchase of Apogee Therapeutics on September 3. Apogee's drugs are still in trials, so the deal adds cost and debt now and revenue only later, if the trials succeed. AbbVie's July guidance already included $0.14 a share of expected dilution from it. Watch net interest expense ($679 million in Q2) and total debt ($70.8 billion at June 30) for how the financing shows up. Also watch the cash AbbVie pays out in Skyrizi royalties, which grew from $722 million in Q1 to about $1.06 billion in Q2 and rises with the drug's sales.

Takeaway: AbbVie has already told investors to expect $3.73–$3.77 of adjusted EPS, $0.11 lower than before because of a $216 million licensing charge. The figure to read past is GAAP EPS, which swings with the non-cash Skyrizi royalty revaluation: that charge cost $1.53 a share in Q2 2025 and $0.83 in Q2 2026. The figures that matter are Skyrizi and Rinvoq growth and what Apogee does to interest costs.

We will publish our analysis of AbbVie's Q3 2026 results after they are filed. This preview is for information only and is not investment advice.