AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) stock soared to the highest level in the last twelve months amid revenue and earnings beat for the fourth quarter of 2019. The updated guidance for fiscal 2020 added to investor’s sentiments. The company’s revenue growth momentum is backed by the recent launches of Skyrizi and Rinvoq.
The completion of Allergan acquisition is among the contributors to bullish sentiments. The company plans to close the acquisition by the end of the first quarter. AbbVie stock price is currently trading around 52-weeks high of $92, up 35 per cent in the past six months. On the flip side, ABBV offers a quarterly dividend of $1.18 per share, yielding above 5 per cent. It has recently increased the quarterly dividend by 10.3 per cent for fiscal 2020.
Fourth Quarter Beat Helped AbbVie Stock Price to Accelerate Momentum
The company topped fourth-quarter revenue and earnings estimate by $20ml and $0.02 per share. Its fourth-quarter revenue of $8.7bn grew $4.7 per cent from the past year period. Its key products such as Humira generated quarterly revenue of $4,917M while revenue from Imbruvica increased 28.9 per cent from the year-ago period.
“Our strong performance this quarter completes another excellent year for AbbVie,” said Richard A. Gonzalez, chairman, and chief executive officer, AbbVie. “The launches of Skyrizi and Rinvoq are going extremely well, and we are entering 2020 with substantial momentum. We also look forward to completing the planned Allergan acquisition in the first quarter.”
Strong Outlook Backs Cash Returns
AbbVie expects fiscal 2020 revenue to increase by 8 per cent on an operational basis. The earnings per share guidance increased to $9.61 – 9.71 compared to the previous estimate of $9.48. The earnings growth forecast indicates an almost 46% increase compared to the past year period. The company also anticipates similar growth in cash flows for 2020. The market pundits believe free cash flow growth could offer a big room for a dividend increase. Goldman Sachs portfolio of dividend all-stars includes AbbVie for 2020.
