艾伯维公司（纽约证券交易所代码：ABBV）没有被忽视_新浪财经

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 65.6x AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios under 16x and even P/E's lower than 9x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

Recent times haven't been advantageous for AbbVie as its earnings have been falling quicker than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the company will turn things around completely and accelerate past most others in the market. If not, then existing shareholders may be very nervous about the viability of the share price.

NYSE:ABBV Price to Earnings Ratio vs Industry March 25th 2024

Ifyou'dliketoseewhatanalystsareforecastinggoingforward,youshouldcheckoutour

free

report on AbbVie.

Is There Enough Growth For AbbVie?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, AbbVie would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 59%. At least EPS has managed not to go completely backwards from three years ago in aggregate, thanks to the earlier period of growth. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 43% each year over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 10% each year, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we can see why AbbVie is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

What We Can Learn From AbbVie's P/E?

We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

As we suspected, our examination of AbbVie's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - AbbVie has 5 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on AbbVie, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.