This Pharma Dividend Has Been Raised Every Single Year for Over a Decade

By Thomas Niel – Apr 7, 2026 at 9:30PM ESTKey PointsAbbVie has successfully navigated through a major patent cliff, enabling it to sustain a dividend growth streak for more than a decade.Thanks to two strong product portfolios, AbbVie's underlying growth, dividend growth, and share price growth are likely to persist.Poised for further strong growth, consider this stock a strong choice for "buy and hold" investors.AbbVie (ABBV 0.15%), spun off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013, has raised its quarterly dividend each year since becoming an independent, publicly traded company. This comes even as the North Chicago, Illinois-based pharmaceutical company has contended with a major headwind : losing major patent exclusivity for its prior flagship drug, Humira. But AbbVie was able to solidify its position thanks to the launches of autoimmune treatment Skyrizi and inflammatory disease treatment Rinvoq. Both helped to counter declining Humira sales, enabling AbbVie to remain a dividend growth stock for over a dozen years. Thanks to anticipated continued growth in Skyrizi and Rinvoq sales, plus growth from another of AbbVie's product portfolios, AbbVie investors appear positioned to benefit from further share appreciation and dividend growth. Image source: Getty Images. AbbVie has the ingredients in place for further growth Even as Humira's impact on AbbVie's bottom line declines, the pharma giant's sales are better than ever -- with more to come. Forecasts call for Skyrizi and Rinvoq, which generated $31 billion in revenue in 2025, to reach around $50 billion by 2030. ExpandNYSE: ABBVAbbVieToday's Change(-0.15%) $-0.32Current Price$206.37Key Data PointsMarket Cap$365BDay's Range$201.66 - $206.4952wk Range$164.39 - $244.81Volume8.8MAvg Vol7.3MGross Margin70.12%Dividend Yield3.22% Alongside Skyrizi and Rinvoq, both which are classified as within AbbVie's immunology portfolio, another area contributing to growth is the company's neuroscience portfolio. Sales of key products such as Vraylar, Botox Therapeutic, and Ubrelvy experienced year-over-year increases in the low-teens percentage range. The moderate growth with this portfolio is helping to counter declining sales among AbbVie's other drugs, such as oncology treatments like Imbruvica, as well as aesthetics treatments like Juvederm. In turn, as strong growth for the Skyrizi and Rinvoz persists into 2026, AbbVie remains positioned to experience major boost in earnings growth this year. What this means for future dividend growth and total returns Late last year, AbbVie announced a 5.5% increase to its quarterly dividend, raising it to $1.73 per share, or $6.92 per share annually. The current payout rate gives the stock a forward dividend yield of around 3.2%. However, with forecasts calling for earnings to rise by around 45.4% in 2026 and 10.8% in 2027, much larger dividend increases could occur down the road. In terms of share price, there's reason to believe that AbbVie will continue to move in line with earnings and dividend growth. Currently, the stock sells for around 17 times forward earnings. This may represent a valuation premium to other pharmaceutical stocks but may be justified given AbbVie's stronger growth prospects. While AbbVie is, of course, many years away from becoming one of the Dividend Kings, or companies with over 50 consecutive years of dividend growth, I wouldn't discount its eventual chances of hitting this milestone. After all, AbbVie was spun out of a Dividend King in Abbott. Alongside this pedigree, the company's success in navigating a patent cliff through the launch of new blockbuster drugs suggests strong results, dividend growth, and share price performance will continue.Read NextApr 7, 2026 •By David Jagielski, CPAShould You Buy AbbVie Stock Before April 29?Apr 6, 2026 •By Lyle DalyThe Largest Healthcare Companies by Market Cap in April 2026Apr 3, 2026 •By Matt DiLallo20 Best High-Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy in 2026Apr 2, 2026 •By Prosper Junior Bakiny2 Healthcare Dividend Stocks to Buy as the Tech-Heavy Nasdaq Dips Below Correction TerritoryMar 27, 2026 •By Selena MaranjianHere's How Many Shares of AbbVie (ABBV) Stock You'd Need for $10,000 in Yearly DividendsMar 25, 2026 •By Keith SpeightsThe Fed Is Worried About Trump-Fueled Inflation.

Are Your Stocks Safe?About the AuthorThomas Niel is a contributing Analyst at The Motley Fool, covering publicly traded companies in the consumer goods and technology sectors. Prior to the Motley Fool, Thomas was a contributing Analyst for several online investing publications, including InvestorPlace, Seeking Alpha, and TipRanks. He also has past career experience in the accounting and government contracting industries. He holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Marymount University. Thomas won his school's geography bee in the fifth grade, but retired from the professional geography bee circuit shortly thereafter.TMFThomasNielStocks MentionedAbbVieNYSE: ABBV$206.37(-0.15%)-$0.32Abbott LaboratoriesNYSE: ABT$101.83(-0.46%)-$0.47*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.