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Compare Stocks › ABBV vs UPS

AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) vs United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

As of 2026-08-03, ABBV is overvalued at $251, with a DCF intrinsic value of $178 and a margin of safety of -41%. UPS is undervalued at $104, with an intrinsic value of $131131304196 and a margin of safety of 100%. Of the two, UPS has the wider margin of safety.

ABBV
AbbVie Inc.
$250.94
VS
UPS
United Parcel Service, Inc.
$104.22

Rewards

ABBV
  • ★AbbVie Inc. has maintained ROIC above 10% for 4 consecutive years, suggesting solid business economics.
  • ★Gross margin of 72.8% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
  • ★AbbVie Inc. scores 82/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with reinvestment efficiency as the strongest competitive dimension.
UPS
  • ★United Parcel Service, Inc. has maintained ROIC above 10% for 4 consecutive years, suggesting solid business economics.
  • ★United Parcel Service, Inc. scores 72/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with revenue predictability as the strongest competitive dimension.
  • ★Return on equity has consistently exceeded 20% over 4 years, indicating efficient use of shareholder capital.

Risks

ABBV
  • ⚠Buybacks have been poorly timed — 3 out of 4 years involved repurchases at relatively expensive valuations.
  • ⚠Free cash flow has declined at a 9.8% CAGR over the past 4 years — a concerning trend.
UPS
  • ⚠Gross margin of 21.2% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠High leverage (1.59x net debt/equity) combined with thin interest coverage (-1.0x) poses financial risk.
  • ⚠Free cash flow has declined at a 20.1% CAGR over the past 4 years — a concerning trend.

Key Valuation Metrics

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ABBV
UPS
Valuation
N/A
Free Cash Flow
$4.98B
N/A
FCF Yield
N/A
70.89
Trailing P/E
19.37
15.41
Forward P/E
12.91
Quality & Moat
27.60%
ROIC
7.08%
N/A
ROE
29.60%
72.79%
Gross Margin
21.22%
0.41
PEG Ratio
1.63
Balance Sheet Safety
N/A
Net Debt / Equity
1.59
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
2.06
Net Debt / EBITDA
2.16
2.76%
Dividend Yield
6.29%
ABBV: 3Ties: 2UPS: 3
ABBVUPS

Historical Fundamentals

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ABBV

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

UPS

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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ABBV
N/A
Net losses over 3 years — test not applicable
Company had negative cumulative retained earnings
Σ Retained
$-19.85B
Δ Market Cap
+$118.02B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
UPS
$-0.00
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$1.89B
Δ Market Cap
$-74.65
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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ABBV
40.7% Overvalued
Price is 40.7% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $250.94
Fair Value: $178.31
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
UPS
100.0% Margin of Safety
Price is 100.0% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $104.22
Fair Value: $131131304195.96
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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ABBV

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

UPS

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $104?

-14.7%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies -12.7%

The market implies -14.7% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding -12.7%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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ABBV
82/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat with strength across all dimensions. Reinvestment Efficiency is the standout factor.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
UPS
72/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat with strength across all dimensions. Revenue Predictability is the standout factor.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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ABBV
-2.86
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
UPS
-2.57
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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ABBV
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 76.9%Retail & Other 23.0%
No. of Institutional Holders5,146
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
UPS
Insiders 0.0%Institutions 70.8%Retail & Other 29.2%
No. of Institutional Holders2,671
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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ABBV
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
UPS
0
Buys (3M)
1
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $44,084
SHI CHRISTIANA SMITH
Director
$44,084
@ $88.17 · 2025-08-22
TOME CAROL B.
Chief Executive Officer
$1.00M
@ $85.67 · 2025-08-01
JOHNSON WILLIAM R
Director
$432,477
@ $86.50 · 2025-07-31
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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ABBV
0
Sells (3M)
0
Sells (12M)
No open market insider sales found.
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
UPS
0
Sells (3M)
1
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $2.66M
BROTHERS NORMAN MICHAEL JR.
Officer
$2.66M
@ $106.15 · 2026-01-28
BROTHERS NORMAN MICHAEL JR.
Officer
$1.02M
@ $138.57 · 2024-11-25
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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ABBV
FearGreed
😏Greed(61/100)

"Market is optimistic — be cautious and ensure you have a margin of safety"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
UPS
FearGreed
😐Neutral(45/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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ABBV
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Greed (61)
UPS
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (45)
View ABBV Full AnalysisView UPS Full Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions: ABBV vs UPS

Is AbbVie Inc. or United Parcel Service, Inc. more undervalued in 2026?▼

Based on our discounted cash flow model, UPS trades at a 100.0% margin of safety (intrinsic value $131131304196 vs. price $104), compared to ABBV's -40.7% margin of safety (intrinsic $178 vs. $251).

Which stock has a wider economic moat, AbbVie Inc. or United Parcel Service, Inc.?▼

ABBV scores 82/100 (Wide moat), while UPS scores 72/100 (Wide moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.

Is United Parcel Service, Inc. in financial distress?▼

UPS's Altman Z-Score of 2.0 places it in the Grey zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. ABBV scores 2.4 (Grey zone). The Altman Z-Score is a five-factor model that predicts insolvency within two years; scores below 1.81 indicate significant distress.

Which stock has higher return on invested capital, AbbVie Inc. or United Parcel Service, Inc.?▼

ABBV earns 27.6% ROIC versus UPS's 7.1%. A higher ROIC means the company generates more profit per dollar of capital employed, a hallmark of durable competitive advantage in Buffett-style analysis.

Which dividend is safer, AbbVie Inc.'s or United Parcel Service, Inc.'s?▼

ABBV's dividend earns a safety score of 39/100 (Unsafe), compared to UPS's 25/100 (Unsafe). ABBV has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.