J&J or AbbVie: Which Stock Deserves a Place in Your Portfolio Now?

Johnson & Johnson JNJ and AbbVie ABBV are among the world's leading drugmakers, with strong franchises in immunology, oncology and neuroscience. In addition to these core therapeutic areas, J&J has a broad portfolio spanning cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, pulmonary hypertension and infectio…

Johnson & Johnson JNJ and AbbVie ABBV are among the world's leading drugmakers, with strong franchises in immunology, oncology and neuroscience. In addition to these core therapeutic areas, J&J has a broad portfolio spanning cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, pulmonary hypertension and infectious diseases, while also operating one of the industry's largest medical devices businesses. AbbVie, meanwhile, strengthened its presence beyond pharmaceuticals by entering the aesthetics market through its 2020 acquisition of Allergan, the maker of Botox.

J&J’s key growth drivers include blockbuster drugs like Stelara and Darzalex, while AbbVie relies on Humira and newer immunology assets, Skyrizi and Rinvoq. However, both face patent headwinds — AbbVie from Humira biosimilars and J&J from Stelara’s loss of exclusivity (LOE) — making pipeline execution and business development critical for sustained growth.

So, which stock appears to be the better investment today? The answer depends on several factors, including balance sheet strength, pipeline depth and each company's ability to offset patent-related revenue declines. Let's take a closer look.

The Case for J&J Stock

J&J’s biggest strength is its diversified business model, as it operates through pharmaceuticals and medical devices divisions. It has more than 275 subsidiaries and boasts 28 platforms or products with more than $1 billion in annual sales, with the aim of adding even more. Its diversification helps it withstand economic cycles more effectively. It also boasts strong cash flows and has increased its dividends for 64 consecutive years. J&J believes that the depth of its portfolio and pipeline is stronger than ever.

J&J’s Innovative Medicine unit is showing a growth trend despite Stelara LOE, driven by J&J’s key drugs like Darzalex, Erleada and Tremfya. New drugs like Carvykti, Tecvayli, Talvey, Rybrevant and Spravato also contributed significantly to growth. The company’s MedTech business has improved in the past four quarters.

J&J also rapidly advanced its pipeline in the past year, attaining significant clinical and regulatory milestones that will help drive growth through the back half of the decade. Key new drugs approved recently are Inlexzoh/TAR-200, a first-of-its-kind drug-releasing system, for treating high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, Imaavy (nipocalimab) for generalized myasthenia gravis and J&J and partner Protagonist Therapeutics’ PTGX oral targeted peptide inhibitor of the IL-23 receptor, Icotyde (icotrokinra) for treating moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO).

Backed by regular pipeline success, J&J expects a more pronounced impact from new products in 2026 than in 2025.

J&J believes 10 of its new products/pipeline candidates in the Innovative Medicine segment have the potential to deliver peak sales of $5 billion, including Talvey, Tecvayli, Imaavy, Caplyta, Inlexzo, Rybrevant, Lazcluze and Icotyde.

J&J expects 2026 to be a year of accelerated growth. The company expects both its Innovative Medicines and MedTech segments to deliver stronger growth this year. The company is confident that it can achieve its target of generating around $100 billion in revenues in 2026. It expects sales to continue to improve in 2027, with a “line of sight” to double-digit growth by the end of the decade. J&J believes that it is already achieving this growth. Though J&J’s total revenues are currently rising in a mid-single-digit range, excluding Stelara, J&J’s top line grew in a double-digit range in the first quarter.

However, J&J faces its share of headwinds like the legal battle surrounding its talc lawsuits, the Stelara patent cliff, the upcoming LOE of key drugs Opsumit and Simponi, and softness in MedTech China.

The Case for AbbVie Stock

AbbVie has successfully navigated the LOE of its blockbuster drug, Humira, which once generated more than 50% of its total revenues. It has accomplished this by launching two other successful new immunology medicines, Skyrizi and Rinvoq, which are performing extremely well, bolstered by approvals in new indications, and should support top-line growth in the next few years.

In 2026, AbbVie expects combined Skyrizi and Rinvoq sales of more than $31 billion. Combined, Skyrizi and Rinvoq are expected to deliver more than 20% growth in 2026. However, AbbVie expects a low single-digit pricing headwind for both Skyrizi and Rinvoq in 2026 and over the next few years. Moreover, the launch of J&J’s new oral pill for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, Icotyde, has increased competitive pressure on Skyrizi, which may affect the product’s prescribing trends. However, AbbVie seems confident that it can navigate competition from Icotyde.

AbbVie is also benefiting from strong momentum outside immunology. The oncology franchise remains anchored by Venclexta and Elahere, while the neuroscience portfolio is also contributing to top-line growth, driven by higher sales of Botox Therapeutic, depression drug Vraylar, newer migraine drugs Ubrelvy and Qulipta and new Parkinson’s disease drug, Vyalev.

The company has been on an acquisition spree over the past couple of years to bolster the early-stage pipeline that should drive long-term growth. It is signing several M&A deals in the immunology space, its core area, and some early-stage deals in oncology and neuroscience. A key recent acquisition announcement was that of Apogee Therapeutics APGE for a total equity value of approximately $10.9 billion, which is expected to strengthen its long-term immunology pipeline.

AbbVie also boasts a robust pipeline and expects important data readouts, regulatory submissions and approvals throughout 2026

The company faces some near-term headwinds like Humira’s biosimilar erosion, slowdown in oncology sales and soft sales of its Aesthetics unit for the past couple of years due to continued macro challenges and weakened consumer sentiment.

How Do Estimates Compare for JNJ & ABBV?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for J&J’s 2026 sales and EPS implies a year-over-year increase of 7.02% and 7.23%, respectively. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings has been stable at $11.57 per share over the past 60 days, while that for 2027 earnings has gone up from $12.58 per share to $12.61 over the same time frame.

JNJ Estimate Movement

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AbbVie’s 2026 sales and EPS implies a year-over-year increase of 10.06% and 42.8%, respectively. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings has risen from $14.27 to $14.28 per share over the past 60 days, while that for 2027 has declined from $16.25 per share to $16.03 per share over the same timeframe.

ABBV Estimate Movement

Price Performance and Valuation of J&J & ABBV

Stocks of both JNJ and ABBV have risen so far this year. While J&J’s stock has risen 24.1%, AbbVie’s stock has risen 11.7% compared with the industry’s increase of 12.7%

AbbVie looks more attractive than JNJ from a valuation standpoint. Going by the price/earnings ratio, AbbVie’s shares currently trade at 16.51 forward earnings, lower than 18.70 for the industry, but higher than its 5-year mean of 13.94. J&J’s shares currently trade at 21.01 forward earnings, which is higher than the industry as well as the stock’s 5-year mean of 15.65.

Both companies offer almost similar dividend yields. J&J’s dividend yield is 2.08%, while AbbVie’s is around 2.11%.

JNJ or ABBV: Which is a Better Pick?

AbbVie and J&J have a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each, which makes choosing one stock a difficult task. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

AbbVie has faced its biggest challenge — Humira’s patent cliff — quite well and looks well-positioned for continued strong growth in the years ahead. ABBV delivered robust net sales growth in 2025, which was just the second full year following the Humira LOE in the United States. AbbVie expects another year of robust growth in 2026. It expects total revenues to rise around 10% in 2026. It expects high single-digit revenue growth through 2029, as the company has no significant LOE events for the rest of this decade.

Similarly, J&J has shown steady revenue and EPS growth for years and expects further growth in 2026. Despite headwinds like the legal battle surrounding its talc lawsuits, the Stelara patent cliff, the upcoming LOE of key drugs Opsumit and Simponi and softness in MedTech China, J&J looks quite confident that it will be able to navigate these challenges.

As you can see, both companies have done well in the past and look poised for continued growth in 2026. J&J has a slight edge over AbbVie simply on the basis of a better stock performance and stronger estimate revisions, which reflect analysts’ optimistic outlook for future growth. Increased costs related to recent acquisitions have resulted in downward estimate revisions for AbbVie.

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