What Is One of the Best Pharmaceutical Stocks to Buy Right Now?

Key Points

• AbbVie is a sector mainstay that had no fewer than 12 drugs with net sales above $1 billion last year.

• It also paid a generous dividend.

• 10 stocks we like better than AbbVie ›

It isn't easy to find a pharmaceutical company that has a strong product lineup and a robust pipeline, but also cranks out a generous dividend every quarter. I've been an AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) bull for years, and especially these days, I think it's a bargain stock that can produce outsized returns for a long time to come. Here's why.

A blockbuster developer

Some pharmaceutical companies dream of developing and launching one blockbuster drug that will sustain it. Going by full-year 2024 sales, AbbVie had no fewer than 12 of them, a lineup that includes its top seller Skyrizi and the well-known Botox. Collectively, that dozen brought in net revenue of nearly $47 billion.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Image source: Getty Images.

Patients across various therapeutic areas are constantly being prescribed medicines made by AbbVie. In the company's most recently reported quarter, net revenue rose by nearly 7% year over year (to $15.4 billion). That's an impressive rate given the company's size and longevity. Non-GAAP (adjusted) net income per share rose more meaningfully, advancing by 12% to $2.97.

AbbVie's profit can swing around some -- this isn't unusual, given that large pharmaceutical companies are always staring down from patent cliffs, and development pipelines are expensive. But it consistently manages to make a buck and throw off plenty of cash while doing it. Over the past five years, its free cash flow has ranged from almost $16.8 billion to $24.2 billion.

Pharmaceutical royalty

That's a lot of scratch, and AbbVie is always willing to share some of it in the form of shareholder dividends. In fact, the company is a Dividend King, having raised its dividend for at least 50 consecutive years, and a well-paying one at that. Its quarterly payout currently stands at $1.64 per share, which yields just under 3% -- well above the 1.2% average of all component stocks of the S&P 500 index.

In any industry, the combination of a solid product lineup and a high payout is irresistible. In pharmaceuticals, it's very rare. AbbVie is a special stock, and to me it's undoubtedly a buy candidate.

Should you invest $1,000 in AbbVie right now?

Before you buy stock in AbbVie, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and AbbVie wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $661,694!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,082,963!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,067% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 190% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 22, 2025

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.