AbbVie vs Merck: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

AbbVie spent years managing investor anxiety about Humira's US patent expiry, and the actual cliff turned out less severe than feared. Skyrizi and Rinvoq are carrying the immunology business, and Allergan's aesthetics portfolio adds revenue that doesn't correlate to pharma cycles. Merck's business is cleaner from a transition perspective — Keytruda keeps growing and faces no major biosimilar threat for years. Different stages of the patent cycle risk management story.

AbbVie's Humira transition has gone better than most analysts expected — Skyrizi and Rinvoq are growing into the gap faster than biosimilar erosion is taking share, and the Allergan aesthetics business (Botox, Juvederm) provides a non-correlated revenue stream. Merck's Keytruda is arguably the most commercially important cancer drug in pharmaceutical history, with approvals expanding into more tumor types annually and patent protection into the early 2030s. Strong execution stories on both sides — AbbVie's transition; Merck's ongoing expansion.