AbbVie Inc.

The stable rating outlook on AbbVie Inc. reflects S&P Global Ratings' expectation that AbbVie's revenue will grow at a low- to mid-single-digit rate, supported by relative stability of worldwide sales of immunology drug, Humira, as well as continued growth in the rest of AbbVie's portfolio. We also expect the company's EBITDA margin will remain stable and cash flow generation will remain strong. We expect this will enable AbbVie's leverage to remain between 2x and 3x. We could lower the rating if the company sustained leverage above 3x. This could happen if the company completed another non-accretive debt-funded acquisition or share repurchases approaching $12 billion. In our opinion, a slowdown of growth is unlikely to precipitate a downgrade on its own,

...We expect sales of Humira to remain relatively stable over the next few years, despite biosimilar competition in Europe. Humira constitutes 65% of AbbVie's sales. It faces biosimilar competition in Europe, but we still expect global sales will be relatively stable because of growth in the U.S. and our expectation that the company will not have biosimilar competition in the U.S. until 2023. The company's growth to remain solid with an improving pipeline. We expect solid growth from Imbruvica. The company has several other drugs in late-stage trials and ongoing trials of existing drugs, which should fuel growth. Leverage expected to remain in the 2x-3x range due to the company's strong free cash flow. Despite the company's potentially increasing appetite for acquisitions, leverage should remain in the 2x-3x range given its projected strong free cash flow generation. AbbVie is focused on diversifying its portfolio and deepening its product pipeline ahead of the prospect of biosimilar competition...

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