AbbVie management check
ABBV · Health Care · Biotechnology · CEO Mr. Michael
Filings as of
4 good · 2 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $259, against $187 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Watch
Does pay follow performance?
Pay only loosely tracked returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of -0.03 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.8% of net income$32.5m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $4.2bn of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingLight activity: no buys, $8.2m sold in six months.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed +0.0% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 1.6% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Mr. Michael, Mr. Gonzalez. 6 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Health Care.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 99 | 26 | |
| Pay for performance | 48 | 85 | |
| CEO cost | 59 | 44 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 46 |
| Dilution | 50 | 68 | |
| Stable leadership | 55 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Biotechnology, by management score. AbbVie is 23rd of 60 in its sector.
- 19VRTXVertex Pharmaceuticals86
- 43GILDGilead Sciences82
- 93REGNRegeneron Pharmaceuticals77
- 136AMGNAmgen73
- 199ABBVAbbVie69
- 298INCYIncyte61
- 401MRNAModerna53
- 447BIIBBiogen47
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 23, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. Michael, Mr. Gonzalez | $32.5m | $57.4m | $12.1m | $259 | $187 | $4.2bn |
| 2024 | — | $28.5m | $67.6m | $11.3m | $195 | $151 | $4.3bn |
| 2023 | — | $25.7m | $34.7m | $12.3m | $164 | $143 | $4.9bn |
| 2022 | — | $26.3m | $67.4m | $9.1m | $164 | $133 | $11.8bn |
| 2021 | — | $23.9m | $66.4m | $11.0m | $132 | $123 | $11.5bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Adjusted diluted EPS. Its other key measures: Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, Relative Return on Invested Capital, Adjusted Return on Assets, Non-GAAP Income Before Taxes, Non-GAAP Operating Margin, Platform Revenue, Total Shareholder Return.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Light activity: no buys, $8.2m sold in six months.
- SoldNicholas DonoghoeEVP, CHIEF BUS/STRAT OFFICER$8.2mAug 14, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Oct 15, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 13, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 14, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 13, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 8, 2024Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Feb 20, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 12, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 29, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 29, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 17, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 14, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 28, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 12, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $59.6bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 162% of net income, and $4.0bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $56.2bn | $58.1bn | $54.3bn | $56.3bn | $61.2bn |
| Net income | $11.5bn | $11.8bn | $4.9bn | $4.3bn | $4.2bn |
| Stock-based pay | $692.0m | $671.0m | $747.0m | $911.0m | $955.0m |
| Buybacks | $934.0m | $1.5bn | $2.0bn | $1.7bn | $980.0m |
| Dividends | $9.3bn | $10.0bn | $10.5bn | $11.0bn | $11.7bn |
| Diluted shares | 1777m | 1778m | 1773m | 1773m | 1773m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.