The company is lowering its previously issued guidance for 2024 adjusted earnings per share by $0.04 per share to account for acquired in-process research and development expenses incurred for acquisitions and collaborations in the third quarter.
AbbVie in an SEC filing on Thursday said it now expects to deliver lower earnings overall in 2024, citing an unexpected milestone payment in the third quarter.
The company must make an “acquired IPR&D [in-process research and development] and milestone” payment of $82 million, before tax, which will deal a $0.04 blow to both its GAAP diluted earnings-per-share (EPS) and adjusted non-GAAP diluted EPS, according to the filing. AbbVie now projects third quarter adjusted EPS of $2.88 to $2.92, and a 2024 adjusted EPS of $10.67 to $10.87.
“While acquired IPR&D and milestones expense may be incurred upon execution of collaborations, licensing agreements, and other asset acquisitions, AbbVie does not forecast acquired IPR&D and milestones expense due to uncertainty of the future occurrence and timing of these transactions,” the pharma wrote in its SEC filing, explaining the unexpected expense to shareholders.
AbbVie has not yet finalized its third-quarter 2024 financials, which are still subject to the company’s closing procedures. “There can be no assurance that our final results will not differ from these preliminary estimates,” according to the filing.
The company is scheduled to report its third-quarter financial results on Oct. 30.
In Q2, the pharma brought in $14.462 billion in net revenues, logging a 4.3% year-over-year increase. AbbVie also beat several analyst forecasts, despite sustaining a nearly 30% drop in the sales of its blockbuster antibody Humira, which brought in $2.8 billion in the quarter. AbbVie’s other immune assets picked up Humira’s slack, including the plaque psoriasis drug Skyrizi, which generated $2.7 billion, and the ulcerative colitis therapy Rinvoq, which earned $1.4 billion.
At the time, AbbVie’s year-end adjusted diluted EPS guidance ranged from $10.81 to $10.91.
