If you're in the market for a healthcare stock for your long-term portfolio, give some consideration to AbbVie (ABBV +0.17%). It's a drug company that was spun off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013, and there are multiple reasons you might want to invest in it.
Here's a closer look at AbbVie, and at some of those reasons to consider it.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Meet AbbVie
Here are some things to know about AbbVie:
- It boasts 12 blockbuster products that generated more than $1 billion in revenue in 2025.
- It has invested more than $85 billion in research and development since 2013.
- It treats more than 75 health conditions.
- Its stock has averaged annual gains of about 15% over the past decade.
Here are some key reasons it's a promising investment.
1. It's a dividend payer
AbbVie is a dividend-paying stock, with a recent dividend yield of 3.4%. Better still, it has a solid track record of increasing its payouts -- by more than 330% since 2013. Consider that it's now paying a total annual dividend sum of $6.92 per share, up from $4.72 in 2020 and $2.28 in 2016.
2. It's got a rich pipeline
The future of any pharmaceutical company rests on its pipeline of treatments in development. AbbVie is impressive in this regard, with around 90 such treatments in development, in-house, in collaboration, or via license. The company notes that around 60 of those are in mid- or late-stage development, meaning that they're getting much closer to consideration for approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Better still, five have been fast-tracked in one way or another.
AbbVie has shown the power of an effective pipeline in its recent history. Many investors were worried about what would happen when its antirheumatic drug Humira lost its U.S. patent exclusivity in 2023, but the company is making up for that with Humira's fast-selling successors, Skyrizi and Rinvoq. The company is also showing strength in its neuroscience portfolio, led by Vraylar and Botox, and in cancer treatments, with its drugs Elahere and Epkinly.
NYSE: ABBV
Key Data Points
3. Its valuation is reasonable
Finally, AbbVie's stock, while not bargain-priced at recent levels, also doesn't seem too pricey. Its recent forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 14 is only a bit above its five-year average of 13. Those numbers don't seem high at all for a company that recently reported year-over-year first-quarter revenue growth of 12.4% (10.3% on an operational basis).
That revenue is likely to increase robustly, too. Revenue from Skyrizi jumped 30.9% year over year in the first quarter, while Rinvoq's revenue popped by 23.3%. Long-term investors, especially those seeking income, should give AbbVie a closer look.
