Skyrizi: $17.6 Billion and Still Growing 24%Wide moat

AbbVie (ABBV) — moat facet

Skyrizi alone now sells almost four times what Humira does, and its main patent runs to 2033.

Skyrizi is the drug that made AbbVie's recovery possible. It sold $17,562 million in 2025, up from $11,718 million in 2024 and $7,763 million in 20231, and in the second quarter of 2026 it sold $5,505 million, up 24.4%2. Humira, the drug it replaced in AbbVie's immunology business, sold $4,540 million in 20253.

Skyrizi net revenues ($M)5,16520227,763202311,718202417,5622025AbbVie Forms 10-K FY2024 and FY2025
More than tripled in three years.

Skyrizi is an IL-23 inhibitor used in psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. Management said on the fourth-quarter 2025 call that it had more than 45% of total prescriptions in American psoriasis4, and it expected Skyrizi revenue of $21.5 billion in 20265. The United States accounts for most of it: $15,202 million of the $17,562 million in 20256.

Its protection is long by the standards of this industry. The United States composition of matter patent covering risankizumab, Skyrizi's molecule, is expected to expire in 20337. That gives the drug about seven more years of growth before the copies AbbVie itself knows so well begin.

The drug carries an unusual accounting burden. Part of its economics is owed to a royalty from an earlier acquisition, and AbbVie's contingent consideration liability, $25,374 million at the end of 20258, rose partly because of higher estimated Skyrizi sales9. The better Skyrizi does, the larger that charge against reported earnings.

The drug's growth has come from adding diseases. Skyrizi began in psoriasis and has since been approved in psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis; its second-quarter 2026 release lists a new approval in pediatric psoriasis10. Each new label brings a new set of patients to a drug whose manufacturing and sales force AbbVie already pays for, which is why its growth has been so profitable.

Skyrizi is the strongest single asset AbbVie owns. Its quarterly growth rate is the number to follow, 24.4% in the second quarter of 202611; a fall below 10% before 2030 would mean the drug has matured early and the post-2033 gap will arrive from a smaller peak.

Moat trajectory: Widening

Grew 24.4% in Q2 2026 on a $17.6bn base; 2026 plan $21.5bn.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Skyrizi sales, latest quarter
$5,505M, +24.4% (Q2 2026)

The largest product's growth; a fall below 10% well before 2033 would mean it peaks early.

Source: AbbVie Q2 2026 results release ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Tremfya and the IL-23 Race
Johnson & Johnson built Tremfya to do for Stelara what Skyrizi did for Humira, and the two now compete for the same patients.
References
  1. ReportedIt sold $17,562 million in 2025, up from $11,718 million in 2024 and $7,763 million in 2023, and in the second quarter of 2026 it sold $5,505 million, up 24.4%.
    AbbVie Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1 business: products, customers, competition and research. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIt sold $17,562 million in 2025, up from $11,718 million in 2024 and $7,763 million in 2023, and in the second quarter of 2026 it sold $5,505 million, up 24.4%.
    AbbVie second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1. — Q2 2026 · publ. 31 July 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedHumira, the drug it replaced in AbbVie's immunology business, sold $4,540 million in 2025.
    AbbVie Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 7 MD&A: net revenues by product and region, and rebates. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedManagement said on the fourth-quarter 2025 call that it had more than 45% of total prescriptions in American psoriasis, and it expected Skyrizi revenue of $21.5 billion in 2026.
    The Motley Fool, AbbVie Q4 2025 earnings call transcript - 2026 revenue assumptions by product and management's comments on share and competitors. — Q4 2025 · publ. 4 February 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedManagement said on the fourth-quarter 2025 call that it had more than 45% of total prescriptions in American psoriasis, and it expected Skyrizi revenue of $21.5 billion in 2026.
    The Motley Fool, AbbVie Q4 2025 earnings call transcript - 2026 revenue assumptions by product and management's comments on share and competitors. — Q4 2025 · publ. 4 February 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedThe United States accounts for most of it: $15,202 million of the $17,562 million in 2025.
    AbbVie Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 7 MD&A: net revenues by product and region, and rebates. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedThe United States composition of matter patent covering risankizumab, Skyrizi's molecule, is expected to expire in 2033.
    AbbVie Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1A risk factors, patents and exclusivity, government pricing and legal proceedings. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedPart of its economics is owed to a royalty from an earlier acquisition, and AbbVie's contingent consideration liability, $25,374 million at the end of 2025, rose partly because of higher estimated Skyrizi sales.
    AbbVie Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - financial statements and notes: earnings, cash flow, balance sheet, acquisitions and contingent consideration. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedPart of its economics is owed to a royalty from an earlier acquisition, and AbbVie's contingent consideration liability, $25,374 million at the end of 2025, rose partly because of higher estimated Skyrizi sales.
    AbbVie Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - financial statements and notes: earnings, cash flow, balance sheet, acquisitions and contingent consideration. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedSkyrizi began in psoriasis and has since been approved in psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis; its second-quarter 2026 release lists a new approval in pediatric psoriasis.
    AbbVie second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1. — Q2 2026 · publ. 31 July 2026 · source ↗
  11. ReportedIts quarterly growth rate is the number to follow, 24.4% in the second quarter of 2026; a fall below 10% before 2030 would mean the drug has matured early and the post-2033 gap will arrive from a smaller peak.
    AbbVie second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1. — Q2 2026 · publ. 31 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 25, 2026