How Did ABBV's Oncology Sales Hold Up in Q2 Amid Imbruvica Headwinds?

AbbVie’s ABBV oncology franchise continued to face pressure in the second quarter of 2026, primarily due to the ongoing decline in sales of the blood cancer drug Imbruvica. The company generated oncology revenues of $1.65 billion in the quarter, down 2.4% year over year on an operational basis.

Imbruvica sales declined 29.4% year over year to $532 million. AbbVie attributed the decline to competitive pressure and IRA-driven pricing changes that took effect at the start of 2026.

However, growth across the rest of the oncology portfolio helped partially offset the impact of Imbruvica’s decline. The biggest growth contributor within the segment remained Venclexta, which recorded sales of $771 million, up nearly 10% year over year. The uptick was attributed to strong demand in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), as the drug’s use in combination with BTK inhibitors expanded as a preferred fixed-duration treatment globally.

AbbVie’s newer oncology products continued to show encouraging growth. Management noted that double-digit sales growth from ovarian cancer therapy Elahere, lymphoma drug Epkinly and lung cancer therapy Emrelis helped partially offset the decline in Imbruvica. While Elahere sales rose 32% year over year to $211 million, Epkinly sales increased 48% to $103 million.

Emrelis is also gaining traction in its second-line c-Met lung cancer indication. Management said physicians are becoming more familiar with c-Met testing and that the drug’s uptake is exceeding expectations, providing encouraging momentum for the company’s emerging antibody drug conjugate (ADC) portfolio.

The second quarter also marked the launch of Decnupaz, AbbVie’s first marketed ADC in hematology, following the recent FDA approval for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN). Management highlighted the therapy’s outpatient administration, durable responses and manageable safety profile as key benefits for patients.

ABBV’s Competition in the Oncology Space

Other bigger players in the oncology space include AstraZeneca AZN, Merck MRK and Pfizer PFE.

For AstraZeneca, oncology sales now represent 46% of total revenues. Sales in its oncology segment rose 15% year over year in the first half of 2026, driven by the strong performance of medicines such as Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Calquence and Enhertu (in partnership with Daiichi Sankyo).

Merck’s key oncology medicine is its PD-L1 inhibitor Keytruda. The drug, approved for several types of cancer, alone represented 48% of MRK’s total revenues in first-half 2026.

Pfizer’s oncology revenues grew 2% in the first half of 2026, driven by drugs like Padcev, Lorbrena and the Braftovi-Mektovi combination. The segment now represented nearly 28% of its total revenues.

ABBV’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of AbbVie have gained 16% so far this year compared with the industry’s 18% growth, as seen in the chart below.

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From a valuation standpoint, AbbVie is trading at a discount to the industry. Based on the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 17.15 times forward earnings, below the industry average of 19.44.

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ABBV’s EPS estimates for 2026 and 2027 have declined during the past 30 days.

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AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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