ABBV US Equity☆

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the following risks and other information in this Form 10-K in evaluating AbbVie and AbbVie's common stock. Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect AbbVie's results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. The risk factors generally have been separated into two groups: risks related to AbbVie's business and risks related to AbbVie's common stock. Based on the information currently known to it, AbbVie believes that the following information identifies the most significant risk factors affecting it in each of these categories of risks. However, the risks and uncertainties AbbVie faces are not limited to those set forth in the risk factors described below and may not be in order of importance or probability of occurrence. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to AbbVie or that AbbVie currently believes to be immaterial may also adversely affect its business. In addition, past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results or trends in future periods.

If any of the following risks and uncertainties develops into actual events, these events could have a material adverse effect on AbbVie's business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. In such case, the trading price of AbbVie's common stock could decline.

Risks Related to AbbVie's Business

Public health outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics, such as the coronavirus (COVID-19), have had, and could in the future have, an adverse impact on AbbVie’s operations and financial condition.

Public health outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics have had, and could in the future have, an adverse impact on AbbVie’s operations and financial condition. The continuing pandemic caused by the novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused many countries, including the United States, to declare national emergencies and implement preventive measures such as travel bans and shelter in place or total lock-down orders, some of which have eased. The continuation or re-implementation of these bans and orders remains uncertain. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused AbbVie to modify its business practices (including instituting remote work for many of AbbVie’s employees), and AbbVie may take further actions as may be required by government authorities or as AbbVie determines are in the best interests of AbbVie’s employees, patients, customers and business partners.

While the impact of COVID-19 on AbbVie’s operations, including, among others, its manufacturing and supply chain, sales and marketing, commercial and clinical trial operations, to-date has not been material, AbbVie has experienced lower

new patient starts across the therapeutic portfolio. The impact of COVID-19 on AbbVie over the long-term is uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence. The extent of the adverse impact of COVID-19 on AbbVie’s operations will depend on the extent and severity of the continued spread of COVID-19 globally, the timing and nature of actions taken to respond to COVID-19 and the resulting economic consequences. Ultimately, the outbreak could have a material adverse impact on AbbVie’s operations and financial condition.

The expiration or loss of patent protection and licenses may adversely affect AbbVie's future revenues and operating earnings.

AbbVie relies on patent, trademark and other intellectual property protection in the discovery, development, manufacturing and sale of its products. In particular, patent protection is, in the aggregate, important in AbbVie's marketing of pharmaceutical products in the United States and most major markets outside of the United States. Patents covering AbbVie products normally provide market exclusivity, which is important for the profitability of many of AbbVie's products.

As patents for certain of its products expire, AbbVie will or could face competition from lower priced generic or biosimilar products. The expiration or loss of patent protection for a product typically is followed promptly by substitutes that may significantly reduce sales for that product in a short amount of time. If AbbVie's competitive position is compromised because of generics, biosimilars or otherwise, it could have a material adverse effect on AbbVie's business and results of operations. In addition, proposals emerge from time to time for legislation to further encourage the early and rapid approval of generic drugs or biosimilars. Any such proposals that are enacted into law could increase the impact of generic competition.

AbbVie's principal patents and trademarks are described in greater detail in Item 1, "Business—Intellectual Property Protection and Regulatory Exclusivity" and Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Results of Operations," and litigation regarding these patents is described in Item 3, "Legal Proceedings." The United States composition of matter patent for Humira, which is AbbVie's largest product and had worldwide net revenues of approximately $19.8 billion in 2020, expired in December 2016, and the equivalent European Union patent expired in the majority of European Union countries in October 2018.

AbbVie's major products could lose patent protection earlier than expected, which could adversely affect AbbVie's future revenues and operating earnings.

Third parties or government authorities may challenge or seek to invalidate or circumvent AbbVie's patents and patent applications. For example, manufacturers of generic pharmaceutical products file, and may continue to file, Abbreviated New Drug Applications with the FDA seeking to market generic forms of AbbVie's products prior to the expiration of relevant patents owned or licensed by AbbVie by asserting that the patents are invalid, unenforceable and/or not infringed. In addition, petitioners have filed, and may continue to file, challenges to the validity of AbbVie patents under the 2011 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, which created inter partes review and post grant review procedures for challenging patent validity in administrative proceedings at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Although most of the challenges to AbbVie's intellectual property have come from other businesses, governments may also challenge intellectual property rights. For example, court decisions and potential legislation relating to patents, such as legislation regarding biosimilars, and other regulatory initiatives may result in further erosion of intellectual property protection. In addition, certain governments outside the United States have indicated that compulsory licenses to patents may be sought to further their domestic policies or on the basis of national emergencies, such as HIV/AIDS. If triggered, compulsory licenses could diminish or eliminate sales and profits from those jurisdictions and negatively affect AbbVie's results of operations.

AbbVie normally responds to challenges by vigorously defending its patents, including by filing patent infringement lawsuits. Patent litigation, administrative proceedings and other challenges to AbbVie's patents are costly and unpredictable and may deprive AbbVie of market exclusivity for a patented product. To the extent AbbVie's intellectual property is successfully challenged, circumvented or weakened, or to the extent such intellectual property does not allow AbbVie to compete effectively, AbbVie's business will suffer. To the extent that countries do not enforce AbbVie's intellectual property rights or require compulsory licensing of AbbVie's intellectual property, AbbVie's future revenues and operating earnings will be reduced.

A third party's intellectual property may prevent AbbVie from selling its products or have a material adverse effect on AbbVie's future profitability and financial condition.

Third parties may claim that an AbbVie product infringes upon their intellectual property. Resolving an intellectual property infringement claim can be costly and time consuming and may require AbbVie to enter into license agreements. AbbVie cannot guarantee that it would be able to obtain license agreements on commercially reasonable terms. A successful

claim of patent or other intellectual property infringement could subject AbbVie to significant damages or an injunction preventing the manufacture, sale, or use of the affected AbbVie product or products. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on AbbVie's profitability and financial condition.

Any significant event that adversely affects Humira revenues could have a material and negative impact on AbbVie's results of operations and cash flows.

Humira accounted for approximately 43% of AbbVie's total net revenues in 2020. Any significant event that adversely affects Humira's revenues could have a material adverse impact on AbbVie's results of operations and cash flows. These events could include loss of patent protection for Humira (as described further in “—The expiration or loss of patent protection and licenses may adversely affect AbbVie’s future revenues and operating earnings” above), the commercialization of biosimilars of Humira, the discovery of previously unknown side effects or impaired efficacy, increased competition from the introduction of new, more effective or less expensive treatments and discontinuation or removal from the market of Humira for any reason.

AbbVie's research and development efforts may not succeed in developing and marketing commercially successful products and technologies, which may cause its revenues and profitability to decline.

To remain competitive, AbbVie must continue to launch new products and new indications and/or brand extensions for existing products, and such launches must generate revenue sufficient both to cover its substantial research and development costs and to replace revenues of profitable products that are lost to or displaced by competing products or therapies. Failure to do so would have a material adverse effect on AbbVie's revenue and profitability. Accordingly, AbbVie commits substantial effort, funds, and other resources to research and development and must make ongoing substantial expenditures without any assurance that its efforts will be commercially successful. A high rate of failure in the biopharmaceutical industry is inherent in the research and development of new products, and failure can occur at any point in the research and development process, including after significant funds have been invested. Products that appear promising in development may fail to reach the market for numerous reasons, including failure to demonstrate effectiveness, safety concerns, superior safety or efficacy of competing therapies, failure to achieve positive clinical or pre-clinical outcomes beyond the current standards of care, inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals or delays in the approval of new products and new indications, limited scope of approved uses, excessive costs to manufacture, the failure to obtain or maintain intellectual property rights, or infringement of the intellectual property rights of others.

Decisions about research studies made early in the development process of a pharmaceutical product candidate can affect the marketing strategy once such candidate receives approval. More detailed studies may demonstrate additional benefits that can help in the marketing, but they also consume time and resources and may delay submitting the pharmaceutical product candidate for approval. AbbVie cannot guarantee that a proper balance of speed and testing will be made with respect to each pharmaceutical product candidate or that decisions in this area would not adversely affect AbbVie's future results of operations.

Even if AbbVie successfully develops and markets new products or enhancements to its existing products, they may be quickly rendered obsolete by changing clinical preferences, changing industry standards, or competitors' innovations. AbbVie's innovations may not be accepted quickly in the marketplace because of existing clinical practices or uncertainty over third-party reimbursement. AbbVie cannot state with certainty when or whether any of its products under development will be launched, whether it will be able to develop, license, or otherwise acquire compounds or products, or whether any products will be commercially successful. Failure to launch successful new products or new indications for existing products may cause AbbVie's products to become obsolete, causing AbbVie's revenues and operating results to suffer.

A portion of AbbVie's near-term pharmaceutical pipeline relies on collaborations with third parties, which may adversely affect the development and sale of its products.

AbbVie depends on alliances and joint ventures with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for a portion of the products in its near-term pharmaceutical pipeline. Failures by these parties to meet their contractual, regulatory, or other obligations to AbbVie, or any disruption in the relationships between AbbVie and these third parties, could have an adverse effect on AbbVie's pharmaceutical pipeline and business. In addition, AbbVie's collaborative relationships for research and development extend for many years and may give rise to disputes regarding the relative rights, obligations and revenues of AbbVie and its collaboration partners, including the ownership of intellectual property and associated rights and obligations. This could result in the loss of intellectual property rights or protection, delay the development and sale of potential pharmaceutical products and lead to lengthy and expensive litigation, administrative proceedings or arbitration.

Biologics carry unique risks and uncertainties, which could have a negative impact on future results of operations.

The successful discovery, development, manufacturing and sale of biologics is a long, expensive and uncertain process. There are unique risks and uncertainties with biologics. For example, access to and supply of necessary biological materials, such as cell lines, may be limited and governmental regulations restrict access to and regulate the transport and use of such materials. In addition, the development, manufacturing and sale of biologics is subject to regulations that are often more complex and extensive than the regulations applicable to other pharmaceutical products. Manufacturing biologics, especially in large quantities, is often complex and may require the use of innovative technologies. Such manufacturing also requires facilities specifically designed and validated for this purpose and sophisticated quality assurance and quality control procedures. Biologics are also frequently costly to manufacture because production inputs are derived from living animal or plant material, and some biologics cannot be made synthetically. Failure to successfully discover, develop, manufacture and sell biologics—including Humira—could adversely impact AbbVie's business and results of operations.

AbbVie's biologic products are subject to competition from biosimilars.

The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act creates a framework for the approval of biosimilars in the United States and could allow competitors to reference data from biologic products already approved. In Europe, the European Commission has granted marketing authorizations for several biosimilars pursuant to a set of general and product class-specific guidelines for biosimilar approvals issued over the past few years. In addition, companies are developing biosimilars in other countries that could and do compete with AbbVie’s biologic products, including Humira. As competitors obtain marketing approval for biosimilars referencing AbbVie’s biologic products, AbbVie’s products may become subject to competition from such biosimilars, with the attendant competitive pressure and consequences. Expiration or successful challenge of AbbVie’s applicable patent rights could also trigger competition from other products, assuming any relevant exclusivity period has expired. As a result, AbbVie could face more litigation and administrative proceedings with respect to the validity and/or scope of patents relating to its biologic products.

New products and technological advances by AbbVie's competitors may negatively affect AbbVie's results of operations.

AbbVie competes with other research-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that discover, manufacture, market and sell proprietary pharmaceutical products and biologics. For example, Humira competes with anti-TNF products and other competitive products intended to treat a number of disease states and Mavyret/Maviret competes with other available hepatitis C treatment options. In addition, in the past few years, a number of other companies have started to develop, have successfully developed and/or are currently marketing products that are being positioned as competitors to Botox. All of these competitors may introduce new products or develop technological advances that compete with AbbVie’s products in therapeutic areas such as immunology, hematologic oncology, aesthetics, neuroscience, eye care and women's health. AbbVie cannot predict with certainty the timing or impact of the introduction by competitors of new products or technological advances. Such competing products may be safer, more effective, more effectively marketed or sold, or have lower prices or superior performance features than AbbVie’s products, and this could negatively impact AbbVie’s business and results of operations.

The manufacture of many of AbbVie's products is a highly exacting and complex process, and if AbbVie or one of its suppliers encounters problems manufacturing AbbVie's products, AbbVie's business could suffer.

The manufacture of many of AbbVie's products is a highly exacting and complex process, due in part to strict regulatory requirements. Problems may arise during manufacturing for a variety of reasons, including equipment malfunction, failure to follow specific protocols and procedures, problems with raw materials, delays related to the construction of new facilities or the expansion of existing facilities, including those intended to support future demand for AbbVie's products, changes in manufacturing production sites and limits to manufacturing capacity due to regulatory requirements, changes in the types of products produced, physical limitations that could inhibit continuous supply, man-made or natural disasters and environmental factors. If problems arise during the production of a batch of product, that batch of product may have to be discarded and AbbVie may experience product shortages or incur added expenses. This could, among other things, lead to increased costs, lost revenue, damage to customer relations, time and expense spent investigating the cause and, depending on the cause, similar losses with respect to other batches or products. If problems are not discovered before the product is released to the market, recall and product liability costs may also be incurred.

AbbVie uses a number of products in its pharmaceutical and biologic manufacturing processes that are sourced from single suppliers, and an interruption in the supply of those products could adversely affect AbbVie's business and results of operations.

AbbVie uses a number of products in its pharmaceutical and biologic manufacturing processes that are sourced from single suppliers. The failure of these single-source suppliers to fulfill their contractual obligations in a timely manner or as a result of regulatory noncompliance or physical disruption at a manufacturing site may impair AbbVie's ability to deliver its products to customers on a timely and competitive basis, which could adversely affect AbbVie's business and results of operations. Finding an alternative supplier could take a significant amount of time and involve significant expense due to the nature of the products and the need to obtain regulatory approvals. AbbVie cannot guarantee that it will be able to reach agreement with alternative providers or that regulatory authorities would approve AbbVie's use of such alternatives. AbbVie does, however, carry business interruption insurance, which provides a degree of protection in the case of a failure by a single-source supplier.

Certain aspects of AbbVie’s operations are highly dependent upon third party service providers.

AbbVie relies on suppliers, vendors and other third party service providers to research, develop, manufacture, commercialize, promote and sell its products. Reliance on third party manufacturers reduces AbbVie’s oversight and control of the manufacturing process. Some of these third party providers are subject to legal and regulatory requirements, privacy and security risks and market risks of their own. The failure of a critical third party service provider to meet its obligations could have a material adverse impact on AbbVie’s operations and results. If any third party service providers have violated or are alleged to have violated any laws or regulations during the performance of their obligations to AbbVie, it is possible that AbbVie could suffer financial and reputational harm or other negative outcomes, including possible legal consequences.

Significant safety or efficacy issues could arise for AbbVie's products, which could have a material adverse effect on AbbVie's revenues and financial condition.

Pharmaceutical products receive regulatory approval based on data obtained in controlled clinical trials of limited duration. Following regulatory approval, these products will be used over longer periods of time in many patients. Investigators may also conduct additional, and perhaps more extensive, studies. If new safety or efficacy issues are reported or if new scientific information becomes available (including results of post-marketing Phase 4 trials), or if governments change standards regarding safety, efficacy or labeling, AbbVie may be required to amend the conditions of use for a product. For example, AbbVie may voluntarily provide or be required to provide updated information on a product's label or narrow its approved indication, either of which could reduce the product's market acceptance. If safety or efficacy issues with an AbbVie product arise, sales of the product could be halted by AbbVie or by regulatory authorities and regulatory action could be taken by such regulatory authorities. Safety or efficacy issues affecting suppliers' or competitors' products also may reduce the market acceptance of AbbVie's products.

New data about AbbVie's products, or products similar to its products, could negatively impact demand for AbbVie's products due to real or perceived safety issues or uncertainty regarding efficacy and, in some cases, could result in product withdrawal. Furthermore, new data and information, including information about product misuse, may lead government agencies, professional societies, practice management groups or organizations involved with various diseases to publish guidelines or recommendations related to the use of AbbVie's products or the use of related therapies or place restrictions on sales. Such guidelines or recommendations may lead to lower sales of AbbVie's products.

AbbVie is subject to product liability claims and other lawsuits that may adversely affect its business and results of operations.

In the ordinary course of business, AbbVie is the subject of product liability claims and lawsuits alleging that AbbVie's products or the products of other companies that it promotes have resulted or could result in an unsafe condition for or injury to patients. For example, lawsuits are pending against Allergan, AbbVie’s newly acquired subsidiary, and certain of its current and former officers alleging they made misrepresentations and omissions regarding Allergan’s textured breast implants. Product liability claims and lawsuits and safety alerts or product recalls, regardless of their ultimate outcome, may have a material adverse effect on AbbVie's business, results of operations and reputation and on its ability to attract and retain customers. Consequences may also include additional costs, a decrease in market share for the product in question, lower income and exposure to other claims. Product liability losses are self-insured.

AbbVie is also the subject of other claims, legal proceedings and investigations in the ordinary course of business, which relate to the intellectual property, commercial, securities and other matters. Adverse outcomes in such claims, legal proceedings and investigations may also adversely affect AbbVie’s business and results of operations. Additionally, Allergan has been named as a defendant in approximately 3,100 matters relating to the promotion and sale of prescription opioid pain

relievers and additional suits may be filed. See Note 15, "Legal Proceedings and Contingencies" to the Consolidated Financial Statements included under Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data." AbbVie cannot predict the outcome of these proceedings.

AbbVie is subject to cost-containment efforts and pricing pressures that could cause a reduction in future revenues and operating earnings, and changes in the terms of rebate and chargeback programs, which are common in the pharmaceuticals industry, could have a material adverse effect on AbbVie's operations.

Cost-containment efforts by governments and private organizations are described in greater detail in Item 1, "Business—Regulation—Commercialization, Distribution and Manufacturing." To the extent these cost containment efforts are not offset by greater demand, increased patient access to health care, or other factors, AbbVie's future revenues and operating earnings will be reduced. In the United States, the European Union and other countries, AbbVie's business has experienced downward pressure on product pricing, and this pressure could increase in the future.

AbbVie is subject to increasing public and legislative pressure with respect to pharmaceutical pricing. In the United States, practices of managed care groups, and institutional and governmental purchasers, and United States federal laws and regulations related to Medicare and Medicaid, including the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, contribute to pricing pressures. The potential for continuing changes to the health care system in the United States and the increased purchasing power of entities that negotiate on behalf of Medicare, Medicaid and private sector beneficiaries could result in additional pricing pressures.

In numerous major markets worldwide, the government plays a significant role in funding health care services and determining the pricing and reimbursement of pharmaceutical products. Consequently, in those markets, AbbVie is subject to government decision-making and budgetary actions with respect to its products. In particular, many European countries have ongoing government-mandated price reductions for many pharmaceutical products, and AbbVie anticipates continuing pricing pressures in Europe. Differences between countries in pricing regulations could lead to third-party cross-border trading in AbbVie's products that results in a reduction in future revenues and operating earnings.

Rebates related to government programs, such as fee-for-service Medicaid or Medicaid managed care programs, arise from laws and regulations. AbbVie cannot predict if additional government initiatives to contain health care costs or other factors could lead to new or modified regulatory requirements that include higher or incremental rebates or discounts. Other rebate and discount programs arise from contractual agreements with private payers. Various factors, including market factors and the ability of private payers to control patient access to products, may provide payers the leverage to negotiate higher or additional rebates or discounts that could have a material adverse effect on AbbVie's operations.

AbbVie is subject to numerous governmental regulations, and it can be costly to comply with these regulations and to develop compliant products and processes.

AbbVie's products are subject to rigorous regulation by numerous international, supranational, federal and state authorities, as described in Item 1, "Business—Regulation—Discovery and Clinical Development,” “Business—Regulation—Commercialization, Distribution and Manufacturing,” and “Business—Regulation—Medical Devices.” The process of obtaining regulatory approvals to market a pharmaceutical product can be costly and time consuming, and approvals might not be granted for future products, or additional indications or uses of existing products, on a timely basis, if at all. Delays in the receipt of, or failure to obtain approvals for, future products, or new indications and uses, could result in delayed realization of product revenues, reduction in revenues and substantial additional costs.

In addition, AbbVie cannot guarantee that it will remain compliant with applicable regulatory requirements once approval has been obtained for a product. These requirements include, among other things, regulations regarding manufacturing practices, product labeling and advertising and post-marketing reporting, including adverse event reports and field alerts due to manufacturing quality concerns. AbbVie must incur expense and spend time and effort to ensure compliance with these complex regulations.

Possible regulatory actions could result in substantial modifications to AbbVie's business practices and operations; refunds, recalls or seizures of AbbVie's products; a total or partial shutdown of production in one or more of AbbVie's or its suppliers' facilities while AbbVie or its supplier remedies the alleged violation; the inability to obtain future approvals; and withdrawals or suspensions of current products from the market. Any of these events could disrupt AbbVie's business and have a material adverse effect on its business and results of operations.

Laws and regulations affecting government benefit programs could impose new obligations on AbbVie, require it to change its business practices, and restrict its operations in the future.

The health care industry is subject to various federal, state and international laws and regulations pertaining to government benefit programs reimbursement, rebates, price reporting and regulation and health care fraud and abuse. In the United States, these laws include anti-kickback and false claims laws, the Medicaid Rebate Statute, the Veterans Health Care Act, the U.S. Physician Payments Sunshine Act, the TRICARE program, the government pricing rules applicable to the Medicaid, Medicare Part B, 340B Drug Pricing Program and individual state laws relating to pricing and sales and marketing practices. Violations of these laws may be punishable by criminal and/or civil sanctions, including, in some instances, substantial fines, imprisonment and exclusion from participation in federal and state health care programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans Administration health programs. These laws and regulations are broad in scope and they are subject to change and evolving interpretations, which could require AbbVie to incur substantial costs associated with compliance or to alter one or more of its sales or marketing practices. In addition, violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt AbbVie's business and result in a material adverse effect on its business and results of operations.

The international nature of AbbVie's business subjects it to additional business risks that may cause its revenue and profitability to decline.

AbbVie's business is subject to risks associated with doing business internationally, including in emerging markets. Net revenues outside of the United States made up approximately 24% of AbbVie's total net revenues in 2020. The risks associated with AbbVie's operations outside the United States include:

•fluctuations in currency exchange rates;

•changes in medical reimbursement policies and programs;

•multiple legal and regulatory requirements that are subject to change and that could restrict AbbVie's ability to manufacture, market and sell its products;

•differing local product preferences and product requirements;

•trade protection measures and import or export licensing requirements;

•international trade disruptions or disputes;

•difficulty in establishing, staffing and managing operations;

•differing labor regulations;

•potentially negative consequences from changes in or interpretations of tax laws;

•political and economic instability, including as a result of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union and the COVID-19 pandemic;

•sovereign debt issues;

•price and currency exchange controls, limitations on participation in local enterprises, expropriation, nationalization and other governmental action and regulation;

•inflation, recession and fluctuations in interest rates;

•restrictions on transfers of funds;

•potential deterioration in the economic position and credit quality of certain non-U.S. countries, including in Europe and Latin America; and

•potential penalties or other adverse consequences for violations of anti-corruption, anti-bribery and other similar laws and regulations, including the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the United Kingdom Bribery Act.

Events contemplated by these risks may, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on AbbVie's revenues and profitability.

If AbbVie does not effectively and profitably commercialize its products, AbbVie's revenues and financial condition could be adversely affected.

AbbVie must effectively and profitably commercialize its principal products by creating and meeting continued market demand; achieving market acceptance and generating product sales; ensuring that the active pharmaceutical ingredient(s) for a product and the finished product are manufactured in sufficient quantities and in compliance with requirements of the FDA and similar foreign regulatory agencies and with acceptable quality and pricing to meet commercial demand; and ensuring that the entire supply chain efficiently and consistently delivers AbbVie's products to its customers. The commercialization of AbbVie products may not be successful due to, among other things, unexpected challenges from competitors, new safety issues or concerns being reported that may impact or narrow approved indications, the relative price of AbbVie's product as compared to alternative treatment options and changes to a product's label that further restrict its marketing. If the commercialization of AbbVie's principal products is unsuccessful, AbbVie's ability to generate revenue from product sales will be adversely affected.

AbbVie may acquire other businesses, license rights to technologies or products, form alliances, or dispose of assets, which could cause it to incur significant expenses and could negatively affect profitability.

AbbVie may pursue acquisitions, technology licensing arrangements, joint ventures and strategic alliances, or dispose of some of its assets, as part of its business strategy. AbbVie may not complete these transactions in a timely manner, on a cost-effective basis, or at all, and may not realize the expected benefits. If AbbVie is successful in making an acquisition, the products and technologies that are acquired may not be successful or may require significantly greater resources and investments than originally anticipated. AbbVie may not be able to integrate acquisitions successfully into its existing business and could incur or assume significant debt and unknown or contingent liabilities. AbbVie could also experience negative effects on its reported results of operations from acquisition or disposition-related charges, amortization of expenses related to intangibles and charges for impairment of long-term assets. These effects could cause a deterioration of AbbVie's credit rating and result in increased borrowing costs and interest expense.

Additionally, changes in AbbVie's structure, operations, revenues, costs, or efficiency resulting from major transactions such as acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, alliances, joint ventures, restructurings or other strategic initiatives, may result in greater than expected costs, may take longer than expected to complete or encounter other difficulties, including the need for regulatory approval where appropriate.

AbbVie is dependent on wholesale distributors for distribution of its products in the United States and, accordingly, its results of operations could be adversely affected if they encounter financial difficulties.

In 2020, three wholesale distributors (McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corporation) accounted for substantially all of AbbVie's sales in the United States. If one of its significant wholesale distributors encounters financial or other difficulties, such distributor may decrease the amount of business that it does with AbbVie, and AbbVie may be unable to collect all the amounts that the distributor owes it on a timely basis or at all, which could negatively impact AbbVie's business and results of operations.

AbbVie has debt obligations that could adversely affect its business and its ability to meet its obligations.

The amount of debt that AbbVie has incurred and intends to incur could have important consequences to AbbVie and its investors. These consequences include, among other things, requiring a portion of AbbVie's cash flow from operations to make interest payments on this debt and reducing the cash flow available to fund capital expenditures and other corporate purposes and to grow AbbVie's business. In particular, AbbVie incurred significant debt in connection with its acquisition of Allergan. AbbVie’s substantially increased indebtedness and higher debt to equity ratio as a result of the acquisition may exacerbate these risks and have the effect of, among other things, reducing its flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions and/or lowering its credit ratings. To the extent AbbVie incurs additional indebtedness or interest rates increase, these risks could increase further. In addition, AbbVie's cash flow from operations may not be sufficient to repay all of the outstanding debt as it becomes due, and AbbVie may not be able to borrow money, sell assets, or otherwise raise funds on acceptable terms, or at all, to refinance its debt.

AbbVie may need additional financing in the future to meet its capital needs or to make opportunistic acquisitions, and such financing may not be available on favorable terms, if at all.

AbbVie may need to seek additional financing for its general corporate purposes. For example, it may need to increase its investment in research and development activities or need funds to make acquisitions. AbbVie may be unable to obtain any desired additional financing on terms favorable to it, if at all. If AbbVie loses its investment grade credit rating or adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, AbbVie may be unable to fund its expansion, successfully develop or enhance products, or respond to competitive pressures, any of which could negatively affect AbbVie's business. If AbbVie

raises additional funds by issuing debt or entering into credit facilities, it may be subject to limitations on its operations due to restrictive covenants. Failure to comply with these covenants could adversely affect AbbVie's business.

AbbVie depends on information technology and a failure of those systems could have a material adverse effect on AbbVie's business.

AbbVie relies on sophisticated software applications and complex information technology systems to operate its business. These systems are potentially vulnerable to malicious intrusion, random attack, loss of data privacy, disruption, degradation or breakdown. Data privacy or security breaches by employees or others have resulted, and may in the future result, in the failure of critical business operations or may cause sensitive data, including intellectual property, trade secrets or personal information belonging to AbbVie, its patients, customers or business partners, to be exposed to unauthorized persons or to the public. To date, AbbVie’s business or operations have not been materially impacted by such incidents. Although AbbVie has invested in the protection of its data and information technology and also monitors its systems on an ongoing basis, there can be no assurance that these efforts will prevent material breakdowns or breaches in AbbVie's information technology systems that could adversely affect AbbVie's business. Such adverse consequences could include loss of revenue, or the loss of critical or sensitive information from AbbVie’s or third-party providers’ databases or IT systems and could also result in legal, financial, reputational or business harm to AbbVie and potentially substantial remediation costs.

In connection with the acquisition of Allergan, AbbVie’s balances of intangible assets, including developed product rights and goodwill acquired, have increased significantly. Such balances are subject to impairment testing and may result in impairment charges, which will adversely affect AbbVie’s results of operations and financial condition.

A significant amount of AbbVie’s total assets is related to acquired intangibles and goodwill. As of December 31, 2020, the carrying value of AbbVie’s developed product rights and other intangible assets was $82.9 billion and the carrying value of AbbVie’s goodwill was $33.1 billion.

AbbVie’s developed product rights are stated at cost, less accumulated amortization. AbbVie determines original fair value and amortization periods for developed product rights based on its assessment of various factors impacting estimated useful lives and cash flows of the acquired products. Significant adverse changes to any of these factors require AbbVie to perform an impairment test on the affected asset and, if evidence of impairment exists, require AbbVie to take an impairment charge with respect to the asset. For assets that are not impaired, AbbVie may adjust the remaining useful lives. Such a charge could have a material adverse effect on AbbVie’s results of operations and financial condition.

AbbVie’s other significant intangible assets include in-process research and development (IPR&D) intangible projects, acquired in recent business combinations, which are indefinite-lived intangible assets.

Goodwill and AbbVie’s IPR&D intangible assets are tested for impairment annually, or when events occur or circumstances change that could potentially reduce the fair value of the reporting unit or intangible asset. Impairment testing compares the fair value of the reporting unit or intangible asset to its carrying amount. A goodwill or IPR&D impairment, if any, would be recorded in operating income and could have a material adverse effect on AbbVie’s results of operations and financial condition.

Failure to attract and retain highly qualified personnel could affect AbbVie’s ability to successfully develop and commercialize products.

AbbVie’s success is largely dependent on its continued ability to attract and retain highly qualified scientific, technical and management personnel, as well as personnel with expertise in clinical research and development (R&D), governmental regulation and commercialization. Competition for qualified personnel in the biopharmaceutical field is intense. AbbVie cannot be sure that it will be able to attract and retain quality personnel or that the costs of doing so will not materially increase.

Other factors can have a material adverse effect on AbbVie's profitability and financial condition.

Many other factors can affect AbbVie's results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, including:

•changes in or interpretations of laws and regulations, including changes in accounting standards, taxation requirements, product marketing application standards, data privacy laws, particularly in the European Union and the United States, and environmental laws;

•differences between the fair value measurement of assets and liabilities and their actual value, particularly for pension and post-employment benefits, stock-based compensation, intangibles and goodwill; and for contingent liabilities such as litigation and contingent consideration, the absence of a recorded amount, or an amount recorded at the minimum, compared to the actual amount;

•changes in the rate of inflation (including the cost of raw materials, commodities and supplies), interest rates, market value of AbbVie's equity investments and the performance of investments held by it or its employee benefit trusts;

•changes in the creditworthiness of counterparties that transact business with or provide services to AbbVie or its employee benefit trusts;

•environmental liabilities in connection with AbbVie’s manufacturing processes and distribution logistics, including the handling of hazardous materials;

•changes in the ability of third parties that provide information technology, accounting, human resources, payroll and other outsourced services to AbbVie to meet their contractual obligations to AbbVie; and

•changes in business, economic and political conditions, including: war, political instability, terrorist attacks, the threat of future terrorist activity and related military action; natural disasters; the cost and availability of insurance due to any of the foregoing events; labor disputes, strikes, slow-downs, or other forms of labor or union activity; and pressure from third-party interest groups.

Risks Related to AbbVie's Common Stock

AbbVie cannot guarantee the timing, amount, or payment of dividends on its common stock.

Although AbbVie expects to pay regular cash dividends, the timing, declaration, amount and payment of future dividends to stockholders will fall within the discretion of AbbVie's board of directors. The board's decisions regarding the payment of dividends will depend on many factors, such as AbbVie's financial condition, earnings, capital requirements, debt service obligations, industry practice, legal requirements, regulatory constraints and other factors that the board deems relevant. For more information, see Item 5, "Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities." AbbVie's ability to pay dividends will depend on its ongoing ability to generate cash from operations and access capital markets. AbbVie cannot guarantee that it will continue to pay a dividend in the future.

An AbbVie stockholder's percentage of ownership in AbbVie may be diluted in the future.

In the future, a stockholder's percentage ownership in AbbVie may be diluted because of equity issuances for capital market transactions, equity awards that AbbVie will be granting to AbbVie's directors, officers and employees, acquisitions or other purposes. AbbVie's employees have options to purchase shares of its common stock as a result of conversion of their Abbott stock options (in whole or in part) to AbbVie stock options. AbbVie anticipates its compensation committee will grant additional stock options or other stock-based awards to its employees. Such awards will have a dilutive effect on AbbVie's earnings per share, which could adversely affect the market price of AbbVie's common stock. From time to time, AbbVie will issue additional options or other stock-based awards to its employees under AbbVie's employee benefits plans.

In addition, AbbVie's amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes AbbVie to issue, without the approval of AbbVie's stockholders, one or more classes or series of preferred stock having such designation, powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights, including preferences over AbbVie's common stock respecting dividends and distributions, as AbbVie's board of directors generally may determine. The terms of one or more classes or series of preferred stock could dilute the voting power or reduce the value of AbbVie's common stock. For example, AbbVie could grant the holders of preferred stock the right to elect some number of AbbVie's directors in all events or on the happening of specified events or the right to veto specified transactions. Similarly, the repurchase or redemption rights or liquidation preferences AbbVie could assign to holders of preferred stock could affect the residual value of the common stock.

Certain provisions in AbbVie's amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws, and of Delaware law, may prevent or delay an acquisition of AbbVie, which could decrease the trading price of AbbVie's common stock.

AbbVie's amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws contain, and Delaware law contains, provisions that are intended to deter coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids by encouraging prospective acquirors to negotiate with AbbVie's board of directors rather than to attempt a hostile takeover. These provisions include, among others:

•the inability of AbbVie's stockholders to call a special meeting;

•the division of AbbVie's board of directors into three classes of directors, with each class serving a staggered three-year term;

•a provision that stockholders may only remove directors for cause;

•the ability of AbbVie's directors, and not stockholders, to fill vacancies on AbbVie's board of directors; and

•the requirement that the affirmative vote of stockholders holding at least 80% of AbbVie's voting stock is required to amend certain provisions in AbbVie's amended and restated certificate of incorporation and AbbVie's amended and restated by-laws relating to the number, term and election of AbbVie's directors, the filling of board vacancies, the calling of special meetings of stockholders and director and officer indemnification provisions.

In addition, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that, subject to limited exceptions, persons that acquire, or are affiliated with a person that acquires, more than 15% of the outstanding voting stock of a Delaware corporation shall not engage in any business combination with that corporation, including by merger, consolidation or acquisitions of additional shares, for a three-year period following the date on which that person or its affiliates becomes the holder of more than 15% of the corporation's outstanding voting stock.

AbbVie believes these provisions protect its stockholders from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics by requiring potential acquirors to negotiate with AbbVie's board of directors and by providing AbbVie's board of directors with more time to assess any acquisition proposal. These provisions are not intended to make the company immune from takeovers. However, these provisions apply even if the offer may be considered beneficial by some stockholders and could delay or prevent an acquisition that AbbVie's board of directors determines is not in the best interests of AbbVie and AbbVie's stockholders. These provisions may also prevent or discourage attempts to remove and replace incumbent directors.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain forward looking statements regarding business strategies, market potential, future financial performance and other matters. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project" and similar expressions, among others, generally identify "forward looking statements," which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The matters discussed in these forward looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied in the forward looking statements. In particular, information included under Item 1, "Business," Item 1A, "Risk Factors," and Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" contain forward looking statements. Where, in any forward looking statement, an expectation or belief as to future results or events is expressed, such expectation or belief is based on the current plans and expectations of AbbVie management and expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that the expectation or belief will result or be achieved or accomplished. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated include the matters described under Item 1A, "Risk Factors" and Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." AbbVie does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, unless AbbVie is required by applicable securities law to do so.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

AbbVie's corporate offices are located at 1 North Waukegan Road, North Chicago, Illinois 60064-6400. AbbVie's manufacturing facilities are in the following locations:

United States Outside the United States

Abbott Park, Illinois* Campoverde di Aprilia, Italy

Barceloneta, Puerto Rico Clonshaugh, Ireland

Branchburg, New Jersey* Cork, Ireland

Campbell, California Galway, Ireland*

Cincinnati, Ohio Grace-Hollogne, Belgium*

Dublin, California* Guarulhos, Brazil

Houston, Texas La Aurora, Costa Rica

Irvine, California Ludwigshafen, Germany

North Chicago, Illinois Pringy, France

Waco, Texas Singapore*

Worcester, Massachusetts* Sligo, Ireland

Wyandotte, Michigan* Westport, Ireland

_______________________________________________________________________________

* Leased property.

In addition to the above, AbbVie has other manufacturing facilities worldwide. AbbVie believes its facilities are suitable and provide adequate production capacity. There are no material encumbrances on AbbVie's owned properties.

In the United States, including Puerto Rico, AbbVie has two central distribution centers. AbbVie also has research and development facilities in the United States located at: Abbott Park, Illinois; Branchburg, New Jersey; Irvine, California; Madison, New Jersey; North Chicago, Illinois; Pleasanton, California; Redwood City, California; Santa Cruz, California; South San Francisco, California; Sunnyvale, California; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Worcester, Massachusetts. Outside the United States, AbbVie's principal research and development facilities are located in Ludwigshafen, Germany and Liverpool, United Kingdom.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Information pertaining to legal proceedings is provided in Note 15, "Legal Proceedings and Contingencies" to the Consolidated Financial Statements included under Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," and is incorporated by reference herein.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following table lists AbbVie's executive officers:

Name Age Position

Richard A. Gonzalez 67 Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

Michael E. Severino, M.D. 55 Vice Chairman and President

Laura J. Schumacher 57 Vice Chairman, External Affairs and Chief Legal Officer

Henry O. Gosebruch 48 Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer

Robert A. Michael 50 Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Timothy J. Richmond 54 Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer

Azita Saleki-Gerhardt, Ph.D. 57 Executive Vice President, Operations

Jeffrey R. Stewart 52 Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations

Elaine K. Sorg 54 Senior Vice President, U.S. Commercial Operations

Brian L. Durkin 60 Vice President, Controller

_______________________________________________________________________________

Mr. Gonzalez is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AbbVie. He served as Abbott’s Executive Vice President of the Pharmaceutical Products Group from July 2010 to December 2012, and was responsible for Abbott’s worldwide pharmaceutical business, including commercial operations, research and development, and manufacturing. He also served as President, Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott’s medical technology investment arm, from 2009 to 2011. Mr. Gonzalez joined Abbott in 1977 and held various management positions. He was first appointed as an AbbVie corporate officer in December 2012.

Dr. Severino is AbbVie’s Vice Chairman and President, responsible for research and development, human resources, operations, and the corporate strategy office. He served as Executive Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer from 2014 to 2018. Dr. Severino served at Amgen Inc. as Senior Vice President, Global Development and Corporate Chief Medical Officer from 2012 to 2014, as Vice President, Global Development from 2010 to 2012 and as Vice President, Therapeutic Area Head, General Medicine and Inflammation Global Clinical Development from 2007 to 2012. He joined AbbVie in 2014 and was first appointed as an AbbVie corporate officer in June 2014. Dr. Severino also serves on the board of Avantor, Inc.

Ms. Schumacher is AbbVie’s Vice Chairman, External Affairs and Chief Legal Officer, responsible for global legal, health economics outcomes research, corporate responsibility, brand and communications and government affairs. Prior to her current appointment in 2018, she served as AbbVie’s Executive Vice President, External Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Prior to AbbVie’s separation from Abbott, Ms. Schumacher served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel from 2007 to 2012. Both at Abbott and AbbVie, Ms. Schumacher also led Business Development and Ventures and Early Stage Collaborations. Ms. Schumacher joined Abbott in 1990 and was first appointed as an AbbVie corporate officer in December 2012. She serves on the board of General Dynamics Corporation and CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.

Mr. Gosebruch is AbbVie's Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer. He worked for more than 20 years in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, serving as Managing Director since 2007 and as Co-Head of M&A North America during 2015. Mr. Gosebruch joined AbbVie in 2015 and was first appointed as an AbbVie corporate officer in December 2015. He serves on the board of Aptinyx Inc.

Mr. Michael is AbbVie’s Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Michael previously served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer from October 2018 to July 2019, and as Vice President, Controller from March 2017 to October 2018. He served as AbbVie’s Vice President, Treasurer from 2015 to 2016, as Vice President, Controller, Commercial Operations from 2013 to 2015 and Vice President, Financial Planning and Analysis from 2012 to 2013. At Abbott, Mr. Michael served as Division Controller, Nutrition Supply Chain from 2010 to 2012. Mr. Michael joined Abbott in 1993 and was first appointed as an AbbVie corporate officer in December 2015.

Mr. Richmond is AbbVie’s Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer. He served as Senior Vice President, Human Resources from 2013 to 2018. Mr. Richmond served as Abbott’s Divisional Vice President of Compensation & Benefits from 2008 to 2012, as Group Vice President of Talent and Rewards from 2007 to 2008, and as Divisional Vice President of

Talent Acquisition from 2006 to 2007. Mr. Richmond joined Abbott in 2006 and was first appointed as an AbbVie corporate officer in December 2012.

Dr. Saleki-Gerhardt is AbbVie’s Executive Vice President, Operations. She served as Senior Vice President, Operations from 2013 to 2018. Dr. Saleki-Gerhardt served as Abbott’s Vice President, Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing and Supply from 2011 to 2012, and as Divisional Vice President, Quality Assurance, Global Pharmaceutical Operations from 2008 to 2011. Dr. Saleki-Gerhardt joined Abbott in 1993 and was first appointed as an AbbVie corporate officer in December 2012. She serves on the board of Entegris Inc.

Mr. Stewart is AbbVie’s Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations. He previously served as Senior Vice President, U.S. Commercial Operations from 2018 to 2020 and as AbbVie’s President, Commercial Operations from 2013 to 2018. Prior to AbbVie’s separation from Abbott, he served as Vice President, Abbott Proprietary Pharmaceutical Division, United States. Mr. Stewart joined Abbott in 1992 and was first appointed as an AbbVie corporate officer in December 2018.

Dr. Hudson is AbbVie's Senior Vice President, Research & Development and Chief Scientific Officer. He previously served as Vice President, Head of Oncology Discovery and Early Development from 2016 to 2019. Prior to joining AbbVie, Dr. Hudson served at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research as President and Scientific Director. He also previously served as Founder and Director of the McGill University and Genome Quebec Innovation Centre and Assistant Director of the Whitehead/MIT Center for Genome Research. Dr. Hudson was first appointed as an AbbVie corporate officer in July 2019.

Ms. Sorg is AbbVie’s Senior Vice President, U.S. Commercial Operations. She previously served as AbbVie’s President, U.S. Immunology and Patient Services from 2019 to 2020 and as Vice President, Immunology and Oncology from 2016 to 2018. She served as Vice President, Immunology prior to AbbVie’s separation from Abbott and until 2016 at AbbVie. Ms. Sorg joined Abbott in 2012 and was first appointed as an AbbVie corporate officer in November 2020. Prior to joining Abbott, Ms. Sorg served in management roles at Eli Lilly and Company for 23 years.

Ms. Strom is AbbVie’s Senior Vice President, AbbVie, and President, Global Allergan Aesthetics, responsible for the worldwide operations of the aesthetics franchise. She was appointed to the position upon AbbVie’s acquisition of Allergan in 2020 and was first appointed as an AbbVie corporate officer in May 2020. At Allergan, Ms. Strom previously served as Senior Vice President, U.S. Medical Aesthetics from 2018 to 2020. She joined Allergan in 2011.

Mr. Durkin is AbbVie’s Vice President, Controller. Mr. Durkin previously served as Vice President, Internal Audit from 2016 to 2018. Prior to joining AbbVie, he served as Vice President of Finance and Division Controller for Abbott’s Vision Care business from 2009 to 2016 and Controller Pharmaceutical Research and Development from 2005 to 2009. Mr. Durkin joined Abbott in 1986 and was first appointed as an AbbVie corporate officer in October 2018.

The executive officers of AbbVie are elected annually by the board of directors. All other officers are elected by the board or appointed by the Chairman of the Board. All officers are either elected at the first meeting of the board of directors held after the annual stockholder meeting or appointed by the Chairman of the Board after that board meeting. Each officer holds office until a successor has been duly elected or appointed and qualified or until the officer's death, resignation, or removal. There are no family relationships between any of the executive officers listed above.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Principal Market

The principal market for AbbVie's common stock is the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol: ABBV). AbbVie's common stock is also listed on the Chicago Stock Exchange and traded on various regional and electronic exchanges.

Stockholders

There were 47,754 stockholders of record of AbbVie common stock as of January 31, 2021.

Performance Graph

The following graph compares the cumulative total returns of AbbVie, the S&P 500 Index and the NYSE Arca Pharmaceuticals Index for the period from December 31, 2015 through December 31, 2020. This graph assumes $100 was invested in AbbVie common stock and each index on December 31, 2015 and also assumes the reinvestment of dividends. The stock price performance on the following graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

This performance graph is furnished and shall not be deemed "filed" with the SEC or subject to Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any of AbbVie's filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Dividends

On October 30, 2020, AbbVie's board of directors declared an increase in the quarterly cash dividend from $1.18 per share to $1.30 per share, payable on February 16, 2021 to stockholders of record as of January 15, 2021. The timing, declaration, amount of and payment of any dividends by AbbVie in the future is within the discretion of its board of directors and will depend upon many factors, including AbbVie's financial condition, earnings, capital requirements of its operating subsidiaries, covenants associated with certain of AbbVie's debt service obligations, legal requirements, regulatory constraints, industry practice, ability to access capital markets and other factors deemed relevant by its board of directors. Moreover, if AbbVie determines to pay any dividend in the future, there can be no assurance that it will continue to pay such dividends or the amount of such dividends.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

1. In addition to AbbVie shares repurchased on the open market under a publicly announced program, if any, these shares also included the shares purchased on the open market for the benefit of participants in the AbbVie Employee Stock Purchase Plan – 4,783 in October; 945 in November; and 866 in December.

These shares do not include the shares surrendered to AbbVie to satisfy minimum tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting or exercise of stock-based awards.

ITEM 6. [RESERVED]

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following is a discussion and analysis of the financial condition of AbbVie Inc. (AbbVie or the company). This commentary should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes appearing in Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data." This section of this Form 10-K generally discusses 2020 and 2019 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2020 and 2019. Discussions of 2018 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2019 and 2018 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

Company Overview

AbbVie is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott Laboratories (Abbott). AbbVie uses its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to develop and market advanced therapies that address some of the world's most complex and serious diseases.

On May 8, 2020, AbbVie completed the acquisition of Allergan plc (Allergan). The acquisition of Allergan creates a diversified biopharmaceutical company positioned for success with a comprehensive product portfolio that has leadership positions in key therapeutic areas of immunology, hematologic oncology, aesthetics, neuroscience, eye care and women's health. AbbVie's existing product portfolio and pipeline is enhanced with numerous Allergan assets and Allergan's product portfolio benefits from AbbVie's commercial strength, expertise and international infrastructure. See Note 5 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on the acquisition. Subsequent to the acquisition date, AbbVie's consolidated financial statements include the assets, liabilities, operating results and cash flows of Allergan.

AbbVie's products are generally sold worldwide directly to wholesalers, distributors, government agencies, health care facilities, specialty pharmacies and independent retailers from AbbVie-owned distribution centers and public warehouses. Certain products (including aesthetic products and devices) are also sold directly to physicians and other licensed healthcare providers. In the United States, AbbVie distributes pharmaceutical products principally through independent wholesale distributors, with some sales directly to retailers, pharmacies and patients. Outside the United States, AbbVie sells products primarily to customers or through distributors, depending on the market served. Certain products are co-marketed or co-promoted with other companies. AbbVie has approximately 47,000 employees. AbbVie operates as a single global business segment.

2020 Financial Results

AbbVie's strategy has focused on delivering strong financial results, maximizing the benefits of the Allergan acquisition, advancing and investing in its pipeline and returning value to shareholders while ensuring a strong, sustainable growth business over the long term. The company's financial performance in 2020 included delivering worldwide net revenues of $45.8 billion, operating earnings of $11.4 billion, diluted earnings per share of $2.72 and cash flows from operations of $17.6 billion. Worldwide net revenues increased by 38% on a reported basis and on a constant currency basis, which included $10.3 billion of contributed revenues from the Allergan acquisition, growth in the immunology portfolio from Skyrizi, Rinvoq and the continued strength of Humira in the U.S. as well as revenue growth from Imbruvica and Venclexta.

Diluted earnings per share in 2020 was $2.72 and included the following after-tax costs: (i) $5.7 billion for the change in fair value of contingent consideration liabilities; (ii) $4.8 billion related to the amortization of intangible assets; (iii) $3.0 billion of Allergan acquisition and integration expenses; (iv) $1.2 billion for acquired in-process research and development (IPR&D); and $241 million for milestones and other research and development (R&D) expenses. These costs were partially offset by $1.7 billion of certain tax benefits. Additionally, financial results reflected continued funding to support all stages of AbbVie’s pipeline assets and continued investment in AbbVie’s on-market brands.

In October 2020, AbbVie's board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.30 per share of common stock payable in February 2021. This reflects an increase of approximately 10.2% over the previous quarterly dividend of $1.18 per share of common stock.

Following the closing of the Allergan acquisition, AbbVie implemented an integration plan designed to reduce costs, integrate and optimize the combined organization. The integration plan is expected to realize more than $2 billion of expected annual cost synergies over a three-year period, with approximately 50% realized in R&D, 40% in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) and 10% in cost of products sold.

To achieve these integration objectives, AbbVie expects to incur approximately $2 billion of charges through 2022. These costs will consist of severance and employee benefit costs (cash severance, non-cash severance, including accelerated equity award compensation expense, retention and other termination benefits) and other integration expenses.

Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic, which continues to spread throughout the United States and around the world. In response to the growing public health crisis, AbbVie has partnered with global authorities to support the experimental use of multiple AbbVie assets to determine their efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19. In June 2020, AbbVie announced that it entered into a collaboration with Harbour BioMed, Utrecht University and Erasmus Medical Center to develop a novel antibody therapeutic to prevent and treat COVID-19. Additionally, AbbVie donated $35 million to increase healthcare capacity, supply critical equipment and deliver food and essential supplies during the crisis. AbbVie continues to closely manage manufacturing and supply chain resources around the world to help ensure that patients continue to receive an uninterrupted supply of their medicines. Clinical trial sites are being monitored locally to protect the safety of study participants, staff and employees. While the impact of COVID-19 on AbbVie's operations to date has not been material, AbbVie has experienced lower new patient starts across the therapeutic portfolio. AbbVie expects this matter could continue to negatively impact its results of operations throughout the duration of the outbreak. The extent to which COVID-19 may impact AbbVie's financial condition and results of operations remains uncertain.

2021 Strategic Objectives

AbbVie's mission is to discover and develop innovative medicines and products that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow while achieving top-tier financial performance through outstanding execution. AbbVie intends to continue to advance its mission in a number of ways, including: (i) maximizing the benefits of the Allergan acquisition to create a more diversified revenue base with multiple long-term growth drivers; (ii) growing revenues by leveraging AbbVie's commercial strength and international infrastructure across Allergan's therapeutic areas and ensuring strong commercial execution of new product launches; (iii) continuing to invest in and expand its pipeline in support of opportunities in immunology, oncology, aesthetics, neuroscience, eye care and women's health as well as continued investment in key on-market products; (iv) expanding operating margins; and (v) returning cash to shareholders via a strong and growing dividend while also reducing debt. In addition, AbbVie anticipates several regulatory submissions and key data readouts from key clinical trials in the next 12 months.

AbbVie expects to achieve its strategic objectives through:

•Immunology revenue growth driven by increasing market share and expanding patient access of Skyrizi and Rinvoq, as well as Humira U.S. sales growth.

•Hematologic oncology revenue growth from both Imbruvica and Venclexta.

•Expansion of the company’s revenue base from additional Allergan products contributing to key aesthetics and neuroscience portfolios.

•Effective management of Humira international biosimilar erosion.

•Optimization of combined AbbVie and Allergan research and development, commercial, and manufacturing operations while maintaining key growth portfolios.

•The favorable impact of pipeline products and indications recently approved or currently under regulatory review where approval is expected in 2021. These products are described in greater detail in the section labeled "Research and Development" included as part of this Item 7.

AbbVie remains committed to driving continued expansion of operating margins and expects to achieve this objective through continued leverage from revenue growth, realization of expense synergies from the Allergan acquisition, productivity initiatives in supply chain and ongoing efficiency programs to optimize manufacturing, commercial infrastructure, administrative costs and general corporate expenses.

The combination of AbbVie and Allergan creates a diverse entity with leadership positions across immunology, hematologic oncology, aesthetics, neuroscience, women's health, eye care and virology. AbbVie's existing product portfolio and pipeline is enhanced with numerous Allergan assets and Allergan's product portfolio benefits from AbbVie's commercial strength, expertise and international infrastructure.

Research and Development

Research and innovation are the cornerstones of AbbVie's business as a global biopharmaceutical company. AbbVie's long-term success depends to a great extent on its ability to continue to discover and develop innovative products and acquire or collaborate on compounds currently in development by other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies.

AbbVie's pipeline currently includes more than 90 compounds, devices or indications in development individually or under collaboration or license agreements and is focused on such important specialties as immunology, oncology, aesthetics, neuroscience, eye care and women's health along with targeted investments in cystic fibrosis. Of these programs, more than 50 are in mid- and late-stage development.

The following sections summarize transitions of significant programs from mid-stage development to late-stage development as well as developments in significant late-stage and registration programs. AbbVie expects multiple mid-stage programs to transition into late-stage programs in the next 12 months.

Significant Programs and Developments

Immunology

Skyrizi

•In January 2021, AbbVie announced top-line results from its Phase 3 KEEPsAKE-1 and KEEPsAKE-2 clinical trials of Skyrizi in adults with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) met the primary and ranked secondary endpoints.

•In January 2021, AbbVie announced top-line results from its Phase 3 ADVANCE and MOTIVATE induction studies of Skyrizi in patients with Crohn’s Disease met the primary and key secondary endpoints.

Rinvoq

•In February 2020, AbbVie announced top-line results from its second Phase 3 clinical trial of Rinvoq in adult patients with active PsA. Results from the SELECT-PsA 1 study, which evaluated Rinvoq versus placebo in patients who did not adequately respond to treatment with one or more non-biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), showed that both doses of Rinvoq met the primary and key secondary endpoints. The safety profile was consistent with that of previous studies across indications, with no new safety risks detected.

•In May 2020, AbbVie submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and, in June 2020, submitted a marketing authorization application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for Rinvoq for the treatment of adult patients with active PsA.

•In June 2020, AbbVie announced top-line results from its Phase 3 Measure Up 1 study and, in July 2020, announced top-line results from its Phase 3 Measure Up 2 and AD Up studies of Rinvoq for the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) met all primary and secondary endpoints versus placebo.

•In August 2020, AbbVie submitted an sNDA to the FDA and, earlier this year, submitted an MAA to the EMA for Rinvoq for the treatment of adult patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

•In October 2020, AbbVie submitted an sNDA to the FDA and an MAA to the EMA for Rinvoq for the treatment of adult and adolescent patients with moderate to severe AD.

•In December 2020, AbbVie announced its Phase 3 U-ACHIEVE induction study of Rinvoq for the treatment of adult patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis met the primary and all ranked secondary endpoints.

•In January 2021, AbbVie announced that the European Commission (EC) approved Rinvoq for the treatment of adults with active PsA and active AS.

Oncology

Imbruvica

•In April 2020, AbbVie received FDA approval for the use of Imbruvica in combination with rituximab for the treatment of previously untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).

•In August 2020, the EC granted marketing authorization for Imbruvica in combination with rituximab for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated CLL.

Venclexta

•In February 2020, AbbVie announced that the Phase 3 VIALE-C trial of Venclexta in combination with low-dose cytarabine in newly-diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) did not meet its primary endpoint.

•In March 2020, AbbVie announced that top-line results from its Phase 3 VIALE-A trial of Venclexta in combination with azacitidine in patients with AML met its primary endpoints.

•In March 2020, AbbVie received EC approval of Venclyxto in combination with obinutuzumab for patients with previously untreated CLL.

•In June 2020, AbbVie submitted an MAA to the EMA for Venclyxto for the treatment of patients with AML.

•In October 2020, AbbVie received FDA full approval of Venclexta for the treatment of patients with AML. The approval is supported by data from a series of trials including the Phase 3 VIALE-A and VIALE-C studies.

Aesthetics

Juvederm Collection

•In June 2020, AbbVie received FDA approval of Juvederm Voluma XC for the augmentation of the chin region to improve the chin profile in adults over the age of 21.

Neuroscience

Botox Therapeutic

•In June 2020, the FDA accepted the company's supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to expand the Botox prescribing information for the treatment of detrusor (bladder muscle) overactivity associated with an underlying neurologic condition in certain pediatric patients. In February 2021, AbbVie received FDA approval of Botox for the treatment of detrusor overactivity associated with a neurological condition in certain pediatric patients 5 years of age and older.

•In July 2020, AbbVie received FDA approval of Botox for the treatment of lower limb spasticity caused by cerebral palsy in pediatric patients over the age of 2.

Atogepant

•In July 2020, AbbVie announced that the Phase 3 ADVANCE trial evaluating atogepant, an orally administered calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist, for migraine prevention met its primary endpoint for all doses (10mg, 30mg, and 60mg) compared to placebo, all secondary endpoints with 30mg and 60mg doses, and four out of six secondary endpoints with the 10mg dose.

•In January 2021, AbbVie submitted a New Drug Application to the FDA for atogepant for the prevention of episodic migraine.

Elezanumab

•In September 2020, AbbVie announced that the FDA granted Orphan Drug and Fast Track designations for elezanumab, an investigational treatment for patients following spinal cord injury.

Virology/Liver Disease

Mavyret

•In March 2020, AbbVie announced that the EC granted marketing authorization for Maviret to shorten once-daily treatment duration from 12 to 8 weeks in treatment-naïve, compensated cirrhotic, chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients with genotype 3 infection.

Eye Care

AGN-190584

•In October 2020, AbbVie announced that top-line results from its Phase 3 GEMINI 1 and 2 studies of AGN-190584, an investigational ophthalmic solution, for the treatment of presbyopia met their primary endpoint and majority of the secondary endpoints.

Abicipar pegol

•In June 2020, AbbVie announced that the FDA issued a Complete Response Letter (CRL) to the Biologics License Application (BLA) for abicipar pegol, a novel, investigational DARPin therapy for patients with neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). The CRL indicated that the rate of intraocular inflammation observed following administration of abicipar pegol results in an unfavorable benefit-risk ratio in the treatment of nAMD. In July 2020, AbbVie withdrew the regulatory application with the EMA for abicipar pegol for the treatment of nAMD.

Women's Health

Oriahnn

•In May 2020, the FDA approved Oriahnn (elagolix, estradiol, and norethindrone acetate capsules; elagolix capsules) for the management of heavy menstrual bleeding due to uterine fibroids in pre-menopausal women.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Net Revenues

The comparisons presented at constant currency rates reflect comparative local currency net revenues at the prior year's foreign exchange rates. This measure provides information on the change in net revenues assuming that foreign currency exchange rates had not changed between the prior and current periods. AbbVie believes that the non-GAAP measure of change in net revenues at constant currency rates, when used in conjunction with the GAAP measure of change in net revenues at actual currency rates, may provide a more complete understanding of the company's operations and can facilitate analysis of the company's results of operations, particularly in evaluating performance from one period to another.

Percent change

At actual currency rates At constant currency rates

The following table details AbbVie's worldwide net revenues:

Percent change

At actual currency rates At constant currency rates

Immunology

Hematologic Oncology

Aesthetics

Botox Cosmetic (a) United States $ 687 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

International 425 — — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Total $ 1,112 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Juvederm Collection (a) United States $ 318 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

International 400 — — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Total $ 718 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Other Aesthetics (a) United States $ 666 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

International 94 — — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Total $ 760 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Neuroscience

Botox Therapeutic (a) United States $ 1,155 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

International 232 — — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Total $ 1,387 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Vraylar (a) United States $ 951 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Ubrelvy (a) United States $ 125 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Other Neuroscience (a) United States $ 528 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

International 11 — — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Total $ 539 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Percent change

At actual currency rates At constant currency rates

Eye Care

Lumigan/Ganfort (a) United States $ 165 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

International 213 — — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Total $ 378 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Alphagan/Combigan (a) United States $ 223 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

International 103 — — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Total $ 326 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Restasis (a) United States $ 755 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

International 32 — — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Total $ 787 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Other Eye Care (a) United States $ 305 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

International 388 — — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Total $ 693 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Women's Health

Lo Loestrin (a) United States $ 346 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

International 10 — — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Total $ 356 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

International 4 2 — 96.1 % n/m 97.7 % n/m

Other Women's Health (a) United States $ 181 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

International 11 — — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Total $ 192 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Other Key Products

Linzess/Constella (a) United States $ 649 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

International 18 — — n/m n/m n/m n/m

Total $ 667 $ — $ — n/m n/m n/m n/m

n/m – Not meaningful

(a)Net revenues include Allergan product revenues from the date of the acquisition, May 8, 2020, through December 31, 2020.

The following discussion and analysis of AbbVie's net revenues by product is presented on a constant currency basis.

Global Humira sales increased 4% in 2020 primarily driven by market growth across therapeutic categories, offset by direct biosimilar competition in certain international markets. In the United States, Humira sales increased 8% in 2020 driven by market growth across all indications and favorable pricing, partially offset by lower new patient starts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Internationally, Humira revenues decreased 12% in 2020 primarily driven by direct biosimilar competition in certain international markets. Biosimilar competition for Humira is not expected in the United States until 2023. AbbVie continues to pursue strategies intended to maintain market leadership among its installed patient base and add to the sustainability of Humira.

Net revenues for Skyrizi increased more than 100% in 2020 primarily driven by market growth and market share gains over the prior year following the April 2019 regulatory approvals for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

Net revenues for Rinvoq increased more than 100% in 2020 primarily driven by the August 2019 FDA approval and December 2019 EC approval for the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.

Net revenues for Imbruvica represent product revenues in the United States and collaboration revenues outside of the United States related to AbbVie's 50% share of Imbruvica profit. AbbVie's global Imbruvica revenues increased 14% in 2020 as a result of continued penetration of Imbruvica for patients with CLL, partially offset by lower new patient starts due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Net revenues for Venclexta increased 69% in 2020 primarily due to continued expansion of Venclexta for the treatment of patients with first-line CLL, relapsed/refractory CLL and first-line AML.

Net revenues for Botox Cosmetic used in facial aesthetics were $1.1 billion in 2020 for the period subsequent to the completion of the Allergan acquisition.

Net revenues for Juvederm Collection (including Juvederm Ultra XC, Juvederm Voluma XC and other Juvederm products) used in facial aesthetics were $718 million in 2020 for the period subsequent to the completion of the Allergan acquisition.

Net revenues for Botox Therapeutic used primarily in neuroscience and urology therapeutic areas were $1.4 billion in 2020 for the period subsequent to the completion of the Allergan acquisition.

Net revenues for Vraylar for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder and bipolar depression were $951 million in 2020 for the period subsequent to the completion of the Allergan acquisition.

Global Mavyret sales decreased 37% in 2020 primarily driven by lower global new patient starts due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as competitive dynamics in the U.S.

Net revenues for Creon increased 7% in 2020 primarily driven by continued market growth, partially offset by lower new patient starts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Creon maintains market leadership in the pancreatic enzyme market with approximately 80% total market share.

Net revenues for Lupron decreased 14% in 2020 primarily due to a near-term supply issue which has impacted product availability of certain formulations.

Gross Margin

Percent change

as a percent of net revenues 66 % 78 % 76 %

Gross margin as a percentage of net revenues in 2020 decreased from 2019 primarily due to the unfavorable impacts of higher amortization of intangible assets and inventory fair value step-up adjustments associated with the Allergan acquisition as well as collaboration profit sharing arrangements for Imbruvica and Venclexta.

Selling, General and Administrative

Percent change

as a percent of net revenues 25 % 21 % 23 %

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses as a percentage of net revenues in 2020 increased from 2019 primarily due to the unfavorable impacts of incremental SG&A expenses of Allergan, including transaction and integration costs resulting from the acquisition.

Research and Development and Acquired In-Process Research and Development

Percent change

as a percent of net revenues 14 % 19 % 32 %

Acquired in-process research and development $ 1,198 $ 385 $ 424 >100% (9) %

Research and Development(R&D) expenses as a percentage of net revenues decreased in 2020 primarily due to the $1.0 billion intangible asset impairment charge in 2019, which represented the remaining value of the IPR&D acquired as part

of the 2016 Stemcentrx acquisition following the decision to terminate the Rova-T R&D program. See Note 7 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding the impairment charge. R&D expenses as a percentage of net revenues in 2020 were also favorably impacted by increased scale of the combined company for the period subsequent to the completion of the Allergan acquisition.

Acquired IPR&D expenses reflect upfront payments related to various collaborations. Acquired IPR&D expense in 2020 included a charge of $750 million as a result of entering a collaboration agreement with Genmab A/S (Genmab) to research, develop and commercialize investigational bispecific antibody therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. Acquired IPR&D expense in 2020 also included a charge of $200 million as a result of a collaboration agreement with I-Mab Biopharma (I-Mab) for the development and commercialization of lemzoparlimab for the treatment of multiple cancers. See Note 5 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding the Genmab and I-Mab agreements. There were no individually significant transactions or cash flows during 2019.

Other Operating Expenses and Income

Other operating income in 2019 included $550 million of income from a legal settlement related to an intellectual property dispute with a third party and $330 million of income related to an amended and restated license agreement between AbbVie and Reata. See Note 5 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on the Reata agreement.

Other Non-Operating Expenses

Net foreign exchange loss $ 71 $ 42 $ 24

Interest expense in 2020 increased compared to 2019 primarily due to a higher average debt balance associated with the financing of the Allergan acquisition as well as the incremental Allergan debt acquired, partially offset by the favorable impact of lower interest rates on the company’s debt obligations.

Interest income in 2020 decreased compared to 2019 primarily due to a lower average cash and cash equivalents balance as a result of the cash paid for the Allergan acquisition and the unfavorable impact of lower interest rates.

Other expense, net included charges related to the change in fair value of the contingent consideration liabilities of $5.8 billion in 2020 and $3.1 billion in 2019. The fair value of contingent consideration liabilities is impacted by the passage of time and multiple other inputs, including the probability of success of achieving regulatory/commercial milestones, discount rates, the estimated amount of future sales of the acquired products and other market-based factors. In 2020, the change in fair value primarily included the increase in the Skyrizi contingent consideration liability due to higher estimated future sales driven by stronger market share uptake and favorable clinical trial results as well as lower interest rates. In 2019, the Skyrizi contingent consideration liability increased due to higher probabilities of success, higher estimated future sales, declining interest rates and passage of time. The higher probabilities of success primarily resulted from the April 2019 regulatory approvals of Skyrizi for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. These changes were partially offset by a $91 million decrease in the Stemcentrx contingent consideration liability due to the termination of the Rova-T R&D program.

Income Tax Expense

The effective income tax rate was negative 36% in 2020, 6% in 2019 and negative 9% in 2018. The effective tax rate in each period differed from the statutory tax rate principally due to the impact of foreign operations which reflects the impact of lower income tax rates in locations outside the United States, tax incentives in Puerto Rico and other foreign tax jurisdictions, business development activities, changes in enacted tax rates and laws and related restructuring, the cost of repatriation decisions, tax audit settlements and Boehringer Ingelheim accretion on contingent consideration. The decrease in the effective tax rate for 2020 over the prior year was principally due to the recognition of a net tax benefit of $1.7 billion related to changes in tax laws and related restructuring, including certain intra-group transfers of intellectual property and deferred tax remeasurement.

FINANCIAL POSITION, LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Cash flows from:

Operating cash flows in 2020 increased from 2019 and included the results of Allergan subsequent to the May 8 acquisition date. Operating cash flows in 2020 were favorably impacted by higher net revenues of the combined company and the timing of working capital cash flows, partially offset by acquisition-related cash expenses. Operating cash flows also reflected AbbVie’s contributions to its defined benefit plans of $367 million in 2020 and $727 million in 2019.

Investing cash flows in 2020 primarily included $39.7 billion cash consideration paid to acquire Allergan offset by cash acquired of $1.5 billion. Investing cash flows also included net sales and maturities of investments totaling $1.5 billion, payments made for other acquisitions and investments of $1.4 billion and capital expenditures of $798 million. Investing cash flows in 2019 included net sales and maturities of investment securities totaling $2.1 billion resulting from the sale of substantially all of the company's investments in debt securities, payments made for other acquisitions and investments of $1.1 billion and capital expenditures of $552 million.

Financing cash flows in 2020 included the issuance of term loans totaling $3.0 billion under the existing $6.0 billion term loan credit agreement which were used to finance the acquisition of Allergan. Subsequent to these borrowings, AbbVie terminated the unused commitments of the lenders under the term loan. Additionally, financing cash flows included the May 2020 repayment of $3.8 billion aggregate principal amount of the company's 2.50% senior notes at maturity, the September 2020 repayment of $650 million aggregate principal amount of 3.375% Allergan exchange notes at maturity, and the November 2020 repayments of €700 million aggregate principal amount of floating rate Allergan exchange notes at maturity and $450 million aggregate principal amount of 4.875% Allergan exchange notes due February 2021.

Financing cash flows in 2019 included the issuance of $30.0 billion aggregate principal amount of floating rate and fixed rate unsecured senior notes which were used to finance the acquisition of Allergan. Additionally, financing cash flows in 2019 included the issuance of €1.4 billion aggregate principal amount of unsecured senior Euro notes which the company used to redeem €1.4 billion aggregate principal amount of 0.38% senior Euro notes that were due to mature in November 2019, as well as the repayment of a $3.0 billion 364-day term loan credit agreement that was scheduled to mature in June 2019.

Cash dividend payments totaled $7.7 billion in 2020 and $6.4 billion in 2019. The increase in cash dividend payments was primarily driven by higher outstanding shares following the 286 million shares of AbbVie common stock issued to Allergan shareholders in May 2020 as well as an increase in the dividend rate. On October 30, 2020, AbbVie announced that its board of directors declared an increase in the quarterly cash dividend from $1.18 per share to $1.30 per share beginning with the dividend payable on February 16, 2021 to stockholders of record as of January 15, 2021. This reflects an increase of approximately 10.2% over the previous quarterly rate. The timing, declaration, amount of and payment of any dividends by AbbVie in the future is within the discretion of its board of directors and will depend upon many factors, including AbbVie's financial condition, earnings, capital requirements of its operating subsidiaries, covenants associated with certain of AbbVie's debt service obligations, legal requirements, regulatory constraints, industry practice, ability to access capital markets and other factors deemed relevant by its board of directors.

The company's stock repurchase authorization permits purchases of AbbVie shares from time to time in open-market or private transactions at management’s discretion. The program has no time limit and can be discontinued at any time. Under this authorization, AbbVie repurchased 8 million shares for $757 million in 2020 and 4 million shares for $300 million in 2019. AbbVie cash-settled $201 million of its December 2018 open market purchases in January 2019. AbbVie's remaining stock repurchase authorization was $3.2 billion as of December 31, 2020.

In 2020 and 2019, the company issued and redeemed commercial paper. There were no commercial paper borrowings outstanding as of December 31, 2020 or December 31, 2019. AbbVie may issue additional commercial paper or retire commercial paper to meet liquidity requirements as needed.

Credit Risk

AbbVie monitors economic conditions, the creditworthiness of customers and government regulations and funding, both domestically and abroad. AbbVie regularly communicates with its customers regarding the status of receivable balances, including their payment plans and obtains positive confirmation of the validity of the receivables. AbbVie establishes an

allowance for credit losses equal to the estimate of future losses over the contractual life of outstanding accounts receivable. AbbVie may also utilize factoring arrangements to mitigate credit risk, although the receivables included in such arrangements have historically not been a significant amount of total outstanding receivables.

Credit Facility, Access to Capital and Credit Ratings

Credit Facility

AbbVie currently has a $4.0 billion five-year revolving credit facility that matures in August 2024. This amended facility enables the company to borrow funds on an unsecured basis at variable interest rates and contains various covenants. At December 31, 2020, the company was in compliance with all covenants, and commitment fees under the credit facility were insignificant. No amounts were outstanding under the company's credit facility as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Access to Capital

The company intends to fund short-term and long-term financial obligations as they mature through cash on hand, future cash flows from operations or has the ability to issue additional debt. The company's ability to generate cash flows from operations, issue debt or enter into financing arrangements on acceptable terms could be adversely affected if there is a material decline in the demand for the company's products or in the solvency of its customers or suppliers, deterioration in the company's key financial ratios or credit ratings, or other material unfavorable changes in business conditions. At the current time, the company believes it has sufficient financial flexibility to issue debt, enter into other financing arrangements and attract long-term capital on acceptable terms to support the company's growth objectives.

Credit Ratings

Following the acquisition of Allergan, S&P Global Ratings revised its ratings outlook to stable from negative and lowered the issuer credit rating by one notch to BBB+ from A- and the short-term rating to A-2 from A-1. There were no changes in Moody's Investor Service of its Baa2 senior unsecured long-term rating and Prime-2 short-term rating with a stable outlook.

Unfavorable changes to the ratings may have an adverse impact on future financing arrangements; however, they would not affect the company’s ability to draw on its credit facility and would not result in an acceleration of scheduled maturities of any of the company’s outstanding debt.

Contractual Obligations

The following table summarizes AbbVie's estimated contractual obligations as of December 31, 2020:

Short-term borrowings $ 34 $ 34 $ — $ — $ —

(a)Includes estimated future interest payments on long-term debt. Interest payments on debt are calculated for future periods using forecasted interest rates in effect at the end of 2020. Projected interest payments include the related effects of interest rate swap agreements. Certain of these projected interest payments may differ in the future based on changes in floating interest rates or other factors or events. The projected interest payments only pertain to obligations and agreements outstanding at December 31, 2020. See Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding the company's debt instruments and Note 11 for additional information on the interest rate swap agreements outstanding at December 31, 2020.

(b)Includes the company's significant unconditional purchase obligations. These commitments do not exceed the company's projected requirements and are made in the normal course of business.

(c)Excludes liabilities associated with the company's unrecognized tax benefits as it is not possible to reliably estimate the timing of the future cash outflows related to these liabilities. See Note 14 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on these unrecognized tax benefits.

(d)Includes $13.0 billion of contingent consideration liabilities which are recorded at fair value on the consolidated balance sheet. Potential contingent consideration payments that exceed the fair value recorded on the consolidated balance sheet are not included in the table of contractual obligations. See Note 11 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding these liabilities.

(e)Includes a one-time transition tax liability on a mandatory deemed repatriation of previously untaxed earnings of foreign subsidiaries resulting from U.S. tax reform enacted in 2017. The one-time transition tax is generally payable in eight annual installments.

AbbVie enters into R&D collaboration arrangements with third parties that may require future milestone payments to third parties contingent upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory, or commercial milestones. Individually, these arrangements are insignificant in any one annual reporting period. However, if milestones for multiple products covered by these arrangements would happen to be reached in the same reporting period, the aggregate charge to expense could be material to the results of operations in that period. From a business perspective, the payments are viewed as positive because they signify that the product is successfully moving through development and is now generating or is more likely to generate future cash flows from product sales. It is not possible to predict with reasonable certainty whether these milestones will be achieved or the timing for achievement. As a result, these potential payments are not included in the table of contractual obligations. See Note 5 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on these collaboration arrangements.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States requires the use of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses. A summary of the company's significant accounting policies is included in Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Certain of these policies are considered critical as these most significantly impact the company's financial condition and results of operations and require the most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. Actual results may vary from these estimates.

Revenue Recognition

AbbVie recognizes revenue when control of promised goods or services is transferred to the company’s customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration AbbVie expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. Sales, value add and other taxes collected concurrent with revenue-producing activities are excluded from revenue. AbbVie generates revenue primarily from product sales. For the majority of sales, the company transfers control, invoices the customer and recognizes revenue upon shipment to the customer.

Rebates

AbbVie provides rebates to pharmacy benefit managers, state government Medicaid programs, insurance companies that administer Medicare drug plans, wholesalers, group purchasing organizations and other government agencies and private entities.

Rebate and chargeback accruals are accounted for as variable consideration and are recorded as a reduction to revenue in the period the related product is sold. Provisions for rebates and chargebacks totaled $27.0 billion in 2020, $18.8 billion in 2019 and $16.4 billion in 2018. Rebate amounts are typically based upon the volume of purchases using contractual or statutory prices, which may vary by product and by payer. For each type of rebate, the factors used in the calculations of the accrual for that rebate include the identification of the products subject to the rebate, the applicable price terms and the estimated lag time between sale and payment of the rebate, which can be significant.

In order to establish its rebate and chargeback accruals, the company uses both internal and external data to estimate the level of inventory in the distribution channel and the rebate claims processing lag time for each type of rebate. To estimate the rebate percentage or net price, the company tracks sales by product and by customer or payer. The company evaluates inventory data reported by wholesalers, available prescription volume information, product pricing, historical experience and other factors in order to determine the adequacy of its reserves. AbbVie regularly monitors its reserves and records adjustments when rebate trends, rebate programs and contract terms, legislative changes, or other significant events indicate that a change in the reserve is appropriate. Historically, adjustments to rebate accruals have not been material to net earnings.

The following table is an analysis of the three largest rebate accruals and chargeback allowances, which comprise approximately 89% of the total consolidated rebate and chargebacks recorded as reductions to revenues in 2020. Remaining rebate provisions charged against gross revenues are not significant in the determination of operating earnings.

(a)Represents rebate accruals and chargeback allowances assumed in the Allergan acquisition.

Cash Discounts and Product Returns

Cash discounts and product returns, which totaled $2.4 billion in 2020, $1.6 billion in 2019 and $1.6 billion in 2018, are accounted for as variable consideration and are recorded as a reduction to revenue in the same period the related product is sold. The reserve for cash discounts is readily determinable because the company's experience of payment history is fairly consistent. Product returns can be reliably estimated based on the company's historical return experience.

Pension and Other Post-Employment Benefits

AbbVie engages outside actuaries to assist in the determination of the obligations and costs under the pension and other post-employment benefit plans that are direct obligations of AbbVie. The valuation of the funded status and the net periodic benefit cost for these plans are calculated using actuarial assumptions. The significant assumptions, which are reviewed annually, include the discount rate, the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets and the health care cost trend rates, and are disclosed in Note 12 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The discount rate is selected based on current market rates on high-quality, fixed-income investments at December 31 each year. AbbVie employs a yield-curve approach for countries where a robust bond market exists. The yield curve is developed using high-quality bonds. The yield-curve approach reflects the plans' specific cash flows (i.e. duration) in calculating the benefit obligations by applying the corresponding individual spot rates along the yield curve. AbbVie reflects the plans' specific cash flows and applies them to the corresponding individual spot rates along the yield curve in calculating the service cost and interest cost portions of expense. For other countries, AbbVie reviews various indices such as corporate bond and government bond benchmarks to estimate the discount rate.

AbbVie's assumed discount rates have a significant effect on the amounts reported for defined benefit pension and other post-employment plans as of December 31, 2020. A 50 basis point change in the assumed discount rate would have had the following effects on AbbVie's calculation of net periodic benefit costs in 2021 and projected benefit obligations as of December 31, 2020:

50 basis point

(in millions) (brackets denote a reduction) Increase Decrease

Defined benefit plans

Service and interest cost $ (89) $ 101

Projected benefit obligation (1,000) 1,140

Other post-employment plans

Service and interest cost $ (6) $ 7

Projected benefit obligation (56) 63

The expected long-term rate of return is based on the asset allocation, historical performance and the current view of expected future returns. AbbVie considers these inputs with a long-term focus to avoid short-term market influences. The current long-term rate of return on plan assets for each plan is supported by the historical performance of the trust's actual and target asset allocation. AbbVie's assumed expected long-term rate of return has a significant effect on the amounts reported for defined benefit pension plans as of December 31, 2020 and will be used in the calculation of net periodic benefit cost in 2021. A one percentage point change in assumed expected long-term rate of return on plan assets would increase or decrease the net period benefit cost of these plans in 2021 by $94 million.

The health care cost trend rate is selected by reviewing historical trends and current views on projected future health care cost increases. The current health care cost trend rate is supported by the historical trend experience of each plan. Assumed health care cost trend rates have a significant effect on the amounts reported for health care plans as of December 31, 2020 and will be used in the calculation of net periodic benefit cost in 2021.

Income Taxes

AbbVie accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method. Provisions for federal, state and foreign income taxes are calculated on reported pretax earnings based on current tax laws. Deferred taxes are provided using enacted tax rates on the future tax consequences of temporary differences, which are the differences between the financial statement carrying amount of assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and the tax benefits of carryforwards. A valuation allowance is established or maintained when, based on currently available information, it is more likely than not that all or a portion of a deferred tax asset will not be realized.

Litigation

The company is subject to contingencies, such as various claims, legal proceedings and investigations regarding product liability, intellectual property, commercial, securities and other matters that arise in the normal course of business. See Note 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information. Loss contingency provisions are recorded for probable losses at management's best estimate of a loss, or when a best estimate cannot be made, a minimum loss contingency amount within a probable range is recorded. Accordingly, AbbVie is often initially unable to develop a best estimate of loss and therefore, the minimum amount, which could be zero, is recorded. As information becomes known, either the minimum loss amount is increased, resulting in additional loss provisions, or a best estimate can be made, also resulting in additional loss provisions. Occasionally, a best estimate amount is changed to a lower amount when events result in an expectation of a more favorable outcome than previously expected.

Valuation of Goodwill and Intangible Assets

AbbVie has acquired and may continue to acquire significant intangible assets in connection with business combinations that AbbVie records at fair value. Transactions involving the purchase or sale of intangible assets occur with some frequency between companies in the pharmaceuticals industry and valuations are usually based on a discounted cash flow analysis incorporating the stage of completion. The discounted cash flow model requires assumptions about the timing and amount of future net cash flows, risk, cost of capital, terminal values and market participants. Each of these factors can significantly affect the value of the intangible asset. IPR&D acquired in a business combination is capitalized as an indefinite-lived intangible asset until regulatory approval is obtained, at which time it is accounted for as a definite-lived asset and amortized over its estimated useful life, or discontinuation, at which point the intangible asset will be written off. IPR&D acquired in transactions that are not business combinations is expensed immediately, unless deemed to have an alternative future use. Payments made to third parties subsequent to regulatory approval are capitalized and amortized over the remaining useful life.

AbbVie reviews the recoverability of definite-lived intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are reviewed for impairment annually or when an event occurs that could result in an impairment. See Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information.

Annually, the company tests its goodwill for impairment by first assessing qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value is less than its carrying amount. Some of the factors considered in the assessment include general macro-economic conditions, conditions specific to the industry and market, cost factors, the overall financial performance and whether there have been sustained declines in the company's share price. If the company concludes it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, a quantitative impairment test is performed. AbbVie tests indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment by first assessing qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value is less than its carrying amount. If the company concludes it is more likely than not that the fair value is less than its carrying amount, a quantitative impairment test is performed.

For its quantitative impairment tests, the company uses an estimated future cash flow approach that requires significant judgment with respect to future volume, revenue and expense growth rates, changes in working capital use, the selection of an appropriate discount rate, asset groupings and other assumptions and estimates. The estimates and assumptions used are consistent with the company's business plans and a market participant's views. The use of alternative estimates and assumptions could increase or decrease the estimated fair value of the assets and could potentially impact the company's results of operations. Actual results may differ from the company's estimates.

ContingentConsideration

The fair value measurements of contingent consideration liabilities are determined as of the acquisition date based on significant unobservable inputs, including the discount rate, estimated probabilities and timing of achieving specified development, regulatory and commercial milestones and the estimated amount of future sales of the acquired products. Contingent consideration liabilities are revalued to fair value at each subsequent reporting date until the related contingency is resolved. The potential contingent consideration payments are estimated by applying a probability-weighted expected payment model for contingent milestone payments and a Monte Carlo simulation model for contingent royalty payments, which are then discounted to present value. Changes to the fair value of the contingent consideration liabilities can result from changes to one or a number of inputs, including discount rates, the probabilities of achieving the milestones, the time required to achieve the milestones and estimated future sales. Significant judgment is employed in determining the appropriateness of certain of these inputs. Changes to the inputs described above could have a material impact on the company's financial position and results of operations in any given period. The fair value of the company's contingent consideration liabilities as of December 31, 2020 was calculated using the following significant unobservable inputs:

Range Weighted Average(a)

Probability of payment for unachieved milestones 56% - 92% 64%

Probability of payment for royalties by indication(b) 56% - 100% 91%

(a)Unobservable inputs were weighted by the relative fair value of the contingent consideration liabilities.

(b)Excludes early stage indications with 0% estimated probability of payment and includes approved indications with 100% probability of payment. Excluding approved indications, the estimated probability of payment ranged from 56% to 89% at December 31, 2020.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on recent accounting pronouncements.

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

The company is exposed to risk that its earnings, cash flows and equity could be adversely impacted by changes in foreign exchange rates and interest rates. Certain derivative instruments are used when available on a cost-effective basis to hedge the company's underlying economic exposures. See Note 11 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding the company's financial instruments and hedging strategies.

Foreign Currency Risk

AbbVie's primary net foreign currency exposures are the Euro, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar and British pound. The following table reflects the total foreign currency forward exchange contracts outstanding at December 31, 2020 and 2019:

Receive primarily U.S. dollars in exchange for the following currencies:

The company estimates that a 10% appreciation in the underlying currencies being hedged from their levels against the U.S. dollar, with all other variables held constant, would decrease the fair value of foreign exchange forward contracts by $1.14 billion at December 31, 2020. If realized, this appreciation would negatively affect earnings over the remaining life of the contracts. However, gains and losses on the hedging instruments offset losses and gains on the hedged transactions and reduce the earnings and stockholders' equity volatility relating to foreign exchange. A 10% appreciation is believed to be a reasonably possible near-term change in foreign currencies.

As of December 31, 2020, the company has €6.6 billion aggregate principal amount of unsecured senior Euro notes outstanding, which are exposed to foreign currency risk. The company designated these foreign currency denominated notes as hedges of its net investments in certain foreign subsidiaries and affiliates. As a result, any foreign currency translation gains or losses related to the Euro notes will be included in accumulated other comprehensive loss. See Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding to the senior Euro notes and Note 11 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding to the net investment hedging program.

Interest Rate Risk

The company estimates that an increase in interest rates of 100 basis points would adversely impact the fair value of AbbVie's interest rate swap contracts by approximately $111 million at December 31, 2020. If realized, the fair value reduction would affect earnings over the remaining life of the contracts. The company estimates that an increase of 100 basis points in long-term interest rates would decrease the fair value of long-term debt by $5.7 billion at December 31, 2020. A 100 basis point change is believed to be a reasonably possible near-term change in interest rates.

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Page

Consolidated Financial Statements

Consolidated Statements of Earnings 49

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income 50

Consolidated Balance Sheets 51

Consolidated Statements of Equity 52

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 53

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 54

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 96

AbbVie Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Earnings

years ended December 31 (in millions, except per share data) 2020 2019 2018

Acquired in-process research and development 1,198 385 424

Other operating (income) expense — (890) 500

Net foreign exchange loss 71 42 24

Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interest 6 — —

Net earnings attributable to AbbVie Inc. $ 4,616 $ 7,882 $ 5,687

Per share data

Basic earnings per share attributable to AbbVie Inc. $ 2.73 $ 5.30 $ 3.67

Diluted earnings per share attributable to AbbVie Inc. $ 2.72 $ 5.28 $ 3.66

Weighted-average diluted shares outstanding 1,673 1,484 1,546

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

AbbVie Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income

Other comprehensive income (loss) $ 479 $ (1,116) $ 247

Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest 6 — —

Comprehensive income attributable to AbbVie Inc. $ 5,095 $ 6,766 $ 5,934

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

AbbVie Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Balance Sheets

as of December 31 (in millions, except share data) 2020 2019

Assets

Current assets

Short-term investments 30 —

Liabilities and Equity

Current liabilities

Short-term borrowings $ 34 $ —

Current portion of long-term debt and finance lease obligations 8,468 3,753

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 20,159 11,832

Long-term debt and finance lease obligations 77,554 62,975

Commitments and contingencies

Stockholders’ equity (deficit)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss (3,117) (3,596)

Total stockholders' equity (deficit) 13,076 (8,172)

Noncontrolling interest 21 —

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

AbbVie Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Equity

Adoption of new accounting standards(a) — — — — (1,733) — — (1,733)

Net earnings attributable to AbbVie Inc. — — — — 5,687 — — 5,687

Other comprehensive income, net of tax — — — — — 247 — 247

Dividends declared — — — — (6,045) — — (6,045)

Stock-based compensation plans and other 8 — 30 486 — — — 516

Net earnings attributable to AbbVie Inc. — — — — 7,882 — — 7,882

Other comprehensive loss, net of tax — — — — — (1,116) — (1,116)

Dividends declared — — — — (6,533) — — (6,533)

Purchases of treasury stock (5) — (428) — — — — (428)

Stock-based compensation plans and other 5 — 32 437 — — — 469

Net earnings attributable to AbbVie Inc. — — — — 4,616 — — 4,616

Other comprehensive income, net of tax — — — — — 479 — 479

Dividends declared — — — — (8,278) — (8,278)

Purchases of treasury stock (10) — (978) — — — — (978)

Stock-based compensation plans and other 10 — 52 948 — — — 1,000

Change in noncontrolling interest — — — — — — 21 21

(a)Adoption of new accounting standards primarily includes the cumulative-effect adjustment of Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

AbbVie Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

Cash flows from operating activities

Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash from operating activities:

Change in fair value of contingent consideration liabilities 5,753 3,091 49

Upfront costs and milestones related to collaborations 1,376 490 1,061

Gain on divestitures — (330) —

Intangible asset impairment — 1,030 5,070

Impacts related to U.S. tax reform — — 424

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions:

Prepaid expenses and other assets 134 (225) (200)

Accounts payable and other liabilities 1,514 97 734

Income tax assets and liabilities, net (573) (1,018) 674

Cash flows from investing activities

Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired (38,260) — —

Other acquisitions and investments (1,350) (1,135) (736)

Acquisitions of property and equipment (798) (552) (638)

Purchases of investment securities (61) (583) (1,792)

Sales and maturities of investment securities 1,525 2,699 2,160

Cash flows from financing activities

Net change in commercial paper borrowings — (699) 299

Proceeds from issuance of other short-term borrowings — — 3,002

Repayments of other short-term borrowings — (3,000) —

Proceeds from the exercise of stock options 209 8 73

Payments of contingent consideration liabilities (321) (163) (78)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and equivalents (5) 7 (39)

Other supplemental information

Interest paid, net of portion capitalized $ 2,619 $ 1,794 $ 1,215

Supplemental schedule of non-cash investing and financing activities

Issuance of common shares associated with acquisitions of businesses 23,979 — —

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

AbbVie Inc. and Subsidiaries

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Note 1 Background

Background

The principal business of AbbVie Inc. (AbbVie or the company) is the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of a broad line of pharmaceutical products. AbbVie's products are generally sold worldwide directly to wholesalers, distributors, government agencies, health care facilities, specialty pharmacies and independent retailers from AbbVie-owned distribution centers and public warehouses. Certain products (including aesthetic products and devices) are also sold directly to physicians and other licensed healthcare providers. In the United States, AbbVie distributes pharmaceutical products principally through independent wholesale distributors, with some sales directly to retailers, pharmacies and patients. Outside the United States, AbbVie sells products primarily to customers or through distributors, depending on the market served.

AbbVie was incorporated in Delaware on April 10, 2012. On January 1, 2013, AbbVie became an independent, publicly-traded company as a result of the distribution by Abbott Laboratories (Abbott) of 100% of the outstanding common stock of AbbVie to Abbott's shareholders.

On May 8, 2020, AbbVie completed its previously announced acquisition of Allergan plc (Allergan). Refer to Note 5 for additional information regarding this acquisition.

Note 2 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Use of Estimates

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and necessarily include amounts based on estimates and assumptions by management. Actual results could differ from those amounts. Significant estimates include amounts for rebates, pension and other post-employment benefits, income taxes, litigation, valuation of goodwill and intangible assets, contingent consideration liabilities, financial instruments and inventory and accounts receivable exposures.

Basis of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of AbbVie and all of its subsidiaries in which a controlling interest is maintained. Controlling interest is determined by majority ownership interest and the absence of substantive third-party participating rights or, in the case of variable interest entities, where AbbVie is determined to be the primary beneficiary. Investments in companies over which AbbVie has a significant influence but not a controlling interest are accounted for using the equity method with AbbVie's share of earnings or losses reported in other expense, net in the consolidated statements of earnings. Intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated.

Certain reclassifications have been made to conform the prior period consolidated financial statements to the current period presentation.

Revenue Recognition

AbbVie recognizes revenue when control of promised goods or services is transferred to the company’s customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration AbbVie expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. Sales, value add and other taxes collected concurrent with revenue-producing activities are excluded from revenue. AbbVie generates revenue primarily from product sales. For the majority of sales, the company transfers control, invoices the customer and recognizes revenue upon shipment to the customer. The company recognizes shipping and handling costs as an expense in cost of products sold when the company transfers control to the customer. Payment terms vary depending on the type and location of the customer, are based on customary commercial terms and are generally less than one year. AbbVie does not adjust revenue for the effects of a significant financing component for contracts where AbbVie expects the period between the transfer of the good or service and collection to be one year or less.

Discounts, rebates, sales incentives to customers, returns and certain other adjustments are accounted for as variable consideration. Provisions for variable consideration are based on current pricing, executed contracts, government pricing legislation and historical data and are provided for in the period the related revenues are recorded. Rebate amounts are typically based upon the volume of purchases using contractual or statutory prices, which may vary by product and by payer.

For each type of rebate, factors used in the calculation of the accrual include the identification of the products subject to the rebate, the applicable price terms and the estimated lag time between sale and payment of the rebate, which can be significant. Sales incentives to customers are insignificant.

In addition to revenue from contracts with customers, the company also recognizes certain collaboration revenues. See Note 6 for additional information related to the collaborations with Janssen Biotech, Inc. and Genentech, Inc. Additionally, see Note 16 for disaggregation of revenue by product and geography.

Research and Development Expenses

Internal research and development (R&D) costs are expensed as incurred. Clinical trial costs incurred by third parties are expensed as the contracted work is performed. Where contingent milestone payments are due to third parties under research and development collaborations, prior to regulatory approval, the payment obligations are expensed when the milestone results are achieved. Payments made to third parties subsequent to regulatory approval are capitalized as intangible assets and amortized to cost of products sold over the remaining useful life of the related product.

Collaborations and Other Arrangements

The company enters into collaborative agreements with third parties to develop and commercialize drug candidates. Collaborative activities may include joint research and development and commercialization of new products. AbbVie generally receives certain licensing rights under these arrangements. These collaborations often require upfront payments and may include additional milestone, research and development cost sharing, royalty or profit share payments, contingent upon the occurrence of certain future events linked to the success of the asset in development and commercialization. Upfront payments associated with collaborative arrangements during the development stage are expensed to acquired in-process research and development (IPR&D) expenses in the consolidated statements of earnings. Subsequent payments made to the partner for the achievement of milestones during the development stage are expensed to R&D expense in the consolidated statements of earnings when the milestone is achieved. Milestone payments made to the partner subsequent to regulatory approval are capitalized as intangible assets and amortized to cost of products sold over the estimated useful life of the related asset. Royalties are expensed to cost of products sold in the consolidated statements of earnings when incurred.

Advertising

Costs associated with advertising are expensed as incurred and are included in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense in the consolidated statements of earnings. Advertising expenses were $1.8 billion in 2020, $1.1 billion in 2019 and $1.1 billion in 2018.

Pension and Other Post-Employment Benefits

AbbVie records annual expenses relating to its defined benefit pension and other post-employment benefit plans based on calculations which utilize various actuarial assumptions, including discount rates, rates of return on assets, compensation increases, turnover rates and health care cost trend rates. AbbVie reviews its actuarial assumptions on an annual basis and makes modifications to the assumptions based on current rates and trends. Actuarial gains and losses are deferred in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (AOCI), net of tax and are amortized over the remaining service attribution periods of the employees under the corridor method. Differences between the expected long-term return on plan assets and the actual annual return are amortized to net periodic benefit cost over a five-year period.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Provisions for federal, state and foreign income taxes are calculated on reported pretax earnings based on current tax laws. Deferred taxes are provided using enacted tax rates on the future tax consequences of temporary differences, which are the differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and the tax benefits of carryforwards. A valuation allowance is established or maintained when, based on currently available information, it is more likely than not that all or a portion of a deferred tax asset will not be realized.

Cash and Equivalents

Cash and equivalents include money market funds and time deposits with original maturities of three months or less.

Investments

Investments consist primarily of equity securities, held-to-maturity debt securities, marketable debt securities and time deposits. Investments in equity securities that have readily determinable fair values are recorded at fair value. Investments in

equity securities that do not have readily determinable fair values are recorded at cost and are remeasured to fair value based on certain observable price changes or impairment events as they occur. Held-to-maturity debt securities are recorded at cost. Gains or losses on investments are included in other expense, net in the consolidated statements of earnings. Investments in marketable debt securities are classified as available-for-sale and are recorded at fair value with any unrealized holding gains or losses, net of tax, included in AOCI on the consolidated balance sheets until realized, at which time the gains or losses are recognized in earnings.

AbbVie periodically assesses its marketable debt securities for impairment and credit losses. When a decline in fair value of marketable debt security is due to credit related factors, an allowance for credit losses is recorded with a corresponding charge to other expense in the consolidated statements of earnings. When AbbVie determines that a non-credit related impairment has occurred, the amortized cost basis of the investment, net of allowance for credit losses, is written down with a charge to other expense, net in the consolidated statements of earnings and an available-for-sale investment's unrealized loss is reclassified from AOCI to other expense, net in the consolidated statements of earnings. Realized gains and losses on sales of investments are computed using the first-in, first-out method adjusted for any impairments and credit losses that were recorded in net earnings.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are stated at amortized cost less allowance for credit losses. The allowance for credit losses reflects the best estimate of future losses over the contractual life of outstanding accounts receivable and is determined on the basis of historical experience, specific allowances for known troubled accounts, other currently available information including customer financial condition, and both current and forecasted economic conditions.

Inventories

Inventories are valued at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out basis) or market. Cost includes material and conversion costs. Inventories consisted of the following:

Property and Equipment

Less accumulated depreciation (5,611) (5,226)

Property and equipment, net $ 5,248 $ 2,962

Depreciation for property and equipment is recorded on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. The estimated useful life for buildings ranges from 10 to 50 years. Buildings include leasehold improvements which are amortized over the life of the related facility lease (including any renewal periods, if appropriate) or the asset, whichever is shorter. The estimated useful life for equipment ranges from 2 to 25 years. Equipment includes certain computer software and software development costs incurred in connection with developing or obtaining software for internal use and is amortized over 3 to 10 years. Depreciation expense was $666 million in 2020, $464 million in 2019 and $471 million in 2018.

Leases

Short-term leases with a term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet. For leases commencing or modified in 2019 or later, AbbVie does not separate lease components from non-lease components.

The company records lease liabilities based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. AbbVie generally uses an incremental borrowing rate to discount its lease liabilities, as the rate implicit in the lease is typically not

readily determinable. Certain lease agreements include renewal options that are under the company's control. AbbVie includes optional renewal periods in the lease term only when it is reasonably certain that AbbVie will exercise its option.

Variable lease payments include payments to lessors for taxes, maintenance, insurance and other operating costs as well as payments that are adjusted based on an index or rate. The company's lease agreements do not contain any significant residual value guarantees or restrictive covenants.

Litigation and Contingencies

Loss contingency provisions are recorded when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated based on existing information. When a best estimate cannot be made, the minimum loss contingency amount in a probable range is recorded. Legal fees are expensed as incurred. AbbVie accrues for product liability claims on an undiscounted basis. The liabilities are evaluated quarterly and adjusted if necessary as additional information becomes available. Receivables for insurance recoveries for product liability claims, if any, are recorded as assets on an undiscounted basis when it is probable that a recovery will be realized.

Business Combinations

AbbVie utilizes the acquisition method of accounting for business combinations. This method requires, among other things, that results of operations of acquired companies are included in AbbVie's results of operations beginning on the respective acquisition dates and that assets acquired and liabilities assumed are recognized at fair value as of the acquisition date. Any excess of the fair value of consideration transferred over the fair values of the net assets acquired is recognized as goodwill. Contingent consideration liabilities are recognized at the estimated fair value on the acquisition date. Subsequent changes to the fair value of contingent consideration liabilities are recognized in other expense, net in the consolidated statements of earnings. The fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in certain cases may be subject to revision based on the final determination of fair value during a period of time not to exceed 12 months from the acquisition date. Legal costs, due diligence costs, business valuation costs and all other business acquisition costs are expensed when incurred.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Intangible assets acquired in a business combination are recorded at fair value using a discounted cash flow model. The discounted cash flow model requires assumptions about the timing and amount of future net cash flows, risk, the cost of capital and terminal values of market participants. Definite-lived intangibles are amortized over their estimated useful lives using the estimated pattern of economic benefit. AbbVie reviews the recoverability of definite-lived intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. AbbVie first compares the projected undiscounted cash flows to be generated by the asset to its carrying value. If the undiscounted cash flows of an intangible asset are less than the carrying value, the intangible asset is written down to its fair value. Where cash flows cannot be identified for an individual asset, the review is applied at the lowest level for which cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities.

Goodwill and indefinite-lived assets are not amortized, but are subject to an impairment review annually and more frequently when indicators of impairment exist. An impairment of goodwill could occur if the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeded the fair value of that reporting unit. An impairment of indefinite-lived intangible assets would occur if the fair value of the intangible asset is less than the carrying value.

The company tests its goodwill for impairment by first assessing qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value is less than its carrying amount. If the company concludes it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, a quantitative impairment test is performed. AbbVie tests indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment by first assessing qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value is less than its carrying amount. If the company concludes it is more likely than not that the fair value is less than its carrying amount, a quantitative impairment test is performed. For its quantitative impairment tests, the company uses an estimated future cash flow approach that requires significant judgment with respect to future volume, revenue and expense growth rates, changes in working capital use, the selection of an appropriate discount rate, asset groupings and other assumptions and estimates. The estimates and assumptions used are consistent with the company's business plans and a market participant's views. The use of alternative estimates and assumptions could increase or decrease the estimated fair value of the assets and potentially result in different impacts to the company's results of operations. Actual results may differ from the company's estimates.

Acquired In-Process Research and Development

In an asset acquisition, the initial costs of rights to IPR&D projects acquired are expensed as IPR&D in the consolidated statements of earnings unless the project has an alternative future use. These costs include initial payments incurred prior to

regulatory approval in connection with research and development collaboration agreements that provide rights to develop, manufacture, market and/or sell pharmaceutical products. In a business combination, the fair value of IPR&D projects acquired are capitalized and accounted for as indefinite-lived intangible assets until the underlying project receives regulatory approval, at which point the intangible asset will be accounted for as a definite-lived intangible asset, or discontinuation, at which point the intangible asset will be written off. R&D costs incurred after the acquisition are expensed as incurred.