AbbVie’s (NYSE: ABBV) earnings and revenue for the second quarter of 2019 surpassed Wall Street’s estimates. AbbVie reported adjusted EPS of $2.26 on revenue of $8.26 billion. Analysts had expected the company to earn $2.20 per share on revenue of $8.1 billion. AbbVie also hiked 2019 adjusted earnings outlook. ABBV stock rose 2% in the pre-market trading session.
Second quarter GAAP earnings of $741 million or $0.49 per share dropped from $1.98 billion or $1.26 per share in the prior-year quarter. A month ago, AbbVie acquired Allergan for $63 billion. This deal will provide immediate scale, diversity and profitability to AbbVie’s growth platform. The combined company is expected to produce robust cash flow to support continued dividend growth and reduction of debt levels.
Related: Abbott exceeds Q2 earnings estimates; raises 2019 outlook
Based on the strong year-to-date performance and confidence in the outlook for the second half, AbbVie lifted its earnings guidance for full-year 2019. AbbVie hiked its previously announced adjusted EPS guidance range from $8.73 to $8.83 to $8.82 to $8.92, representing growth of 12.1% at the midpoint. AbbVie lowered GAAP EPS guidance for the full-year 2019 from the previously stated range of $7.26 to $7.36 to a range of $5.69 to $5.79.
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“We continue to see strong momentum in our business, as we delivered revenue and adjusted EPS ahead of our expectations for the quarter and announced plans to acquire Allergan, a transformative transaction that will provide scale and diversity to our business and position AbbVie for top-tier performance over the long term,” said CEO Richard Gonzalez.
Shares of AbbVie, which plunged to a 52-week low ($65.06) a month back, ended Thursday’s trading session down 1.19% at $66.66. AbbVie stock had dropped 28% both in the year-to-date period and from the year earlier level.