Botox's long-awaited growth drives the recovery of the medical beauty industry! AbbVie's Q4 financial report (ABBV.US) exceeds expectations, while simultaneously raising full-year profit guidance.

Due to a series of measures to boost the struggling medical aesthetic business starting to take effect, AbbVie (ABBV.US) announced better-than-expected fourth-quarter results on Wednesday, while also raising its earnings guidance for 2026. The financial report showed that AbbVie's Q4 sales reached $16.6 billion, exceeding the market's expectation of $16.4 billion. CEO Rob Michael also stated that full-year net sales for 2025 reached a record high of $61.2 billion. Earnings per share for the quarter were $2.71 on an adjusted basis, also surpassing analysts' average expectation of $2.65. In particular, the company's medical aesthetic business showed signs of recovery: while sales for Juvederm products did not meet expectations, Botox achieved sales of $717 million, marking the first growth since the third quarter of 2024 and surpassing analysts' average expectation of $683.9 million. In the neuroscience product line, sales of the schizophrenia treatment drug Vraylar exceeded $1 billion, higher than the market's expectation of $985.3 million. Looking ahead, the company expects adjusted earnings per share for 2026 to be between $14.37 and $14.57, while analysts' average expectation is $14.22. Following the release of the financial report, AbbVie's stock rose by 1.75% in pre-market trading, but later fell by nearly 3%. As of Tuesday's close, the pharmaceutical company based in North Chicago, Illinois has seen its stock price decline by 1.2% year-to-date. For AbbVie, 2025 was the second full year after losing market exclusivity for its arthritis drug Humira (formerly the best-selling drug globally). In the fourth quarter, global sales of Humira dropped by 25.9% to $1.25 billion. However, thanks to strong demand for the new anti-inflammatory drugs Rinvoq and Skyrizi, the company successfully countered the impact of patent expiration. Additionally, a recent agreement with the Trump administration temporarily exempts the company from drug tariffs in the United States. In 2025, AbbVie's immunology business saw global net revenue reach $30.4 billion, a 14% increase year-over-year. In the fourth quarter, sales of Rinvoq and Skyrizi were $2.4 billion and $5 billion respectively, in line with market expectations. The strong performance of the immunology business has temporarily shielded investors from the recent struggles of the company's medical aesthetic business. Previously, AbbVie's medical aesthetic business faced obstacles due to competitors like Galderma Group (owner of Botox competitor Dysport) continuously taking market share and consumers reducing consumption of filler products due to concerns about unnatural effects. The better-than-expected sales of Botox in the fourth quarter were attributed to AbbVie's extensive efforts to win back medical aesthetic consumers. A new marketing strategy, including the introduction of the theme marketing campaign "Naturally You" for filler products, and Botox advertisements inviting the general public to participate, played key roles in this effort. In 2025, annual sales of Botox cosmetic products experienced a decline, marking the first time since AbbVie's acquisition of Allergan in 2019. However, this business will face more challenges in the future: under the Inflation Reduction Act, Botox has been included in the list of drugs subject to price negotiations by the federal Medicare program in the United States, meaning that the product will undergo price adjustments starting in 2028. Apart from the immunology and medical aesthetic business, AbbVie is also expanding its neurology and psychiatry drug product line. Previously, the company acquired Cerevel Therapeutics for $8.7 billion and obtained a schizophrenia drug, which failed in phase II clinical trials. In 2025, AbbVie acquired a trial-stage depression treatment drug from Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals for up to $1.2 billion. Gilgamesh has been developing so-called "neuroplasticity modulators," a new generation of psychedelic drugs that do not cause hallucinations. In May 2025, the company announced positive results from clinical trials of their bretisilocin drug in severe depression cases.