Compare Stocks › ABBV vs VZ

AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) vs Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

As of 2026-11-01, ABBV is overvalued at $295, with a DCF intrinsic value of $172 and a margin of safety of -71%. VZ is overvalued at $45, with an intrinsic value of $33 and a margin of safety of -36%. Of the two, VZ has the wider margin of safety.

ABBV

AbbVie Inc.

$294.89

Verizon Communications Inc.

$44.73

Rewards

ABBV

★AbbVie Inc. has maintained ROIC above 10% for 4 consecutive years, suggesting solid business economics.
★Gross margin of 73.7% 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.

★Free cash flow has grown at a 23.7% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
★FCF yield of 8.6% is historically attractive — the business generates significant cash relative to its price.
★PEG ratio of 0.95 suggests the stock is undervalued relative to its growth rate — paying less than 1x for each unit of earnings growth.

Risks

ABBV

⚠Buybacks have been poorly timed — 3 out of 4 years involved repurchases at relatively expensive valuations.
⚠Insiders have sold $8.2M worth of stock in the past 3 months — significant insider liquidation.
⚠Free cash flow has declined at a 9.8% CAGR over the past 4 years — a concerning trend.

⚠High leverage (1.78x net debt/equity) combined with thin interest coverage (-1.0x) poses financial risk.
⚠Altman Z-Score of 1.24 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
⚠11 insider sales with no purchases in the past 3 months — insiders are reducing their exposure.

Key Valuation Metrics

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ABBV

Valuation

N/A

Free Cash Flow

$15.99B

N/A

FCF Yield

8.63%

50.67

Trailing P/E

11.41

18.24

Forward P/E

8.43

Quality & Moat

29.08%

ROIC

9.14%

N/A

ROE

15.79%

73.72%

Gross Margin

59.78%

0.60

PEG Ratio

0.95

Balance Sheet Safety

N/A

Net Debt / Equity

1.78

N/A

Interest Coverage

N/A

2.03

Net Debt / EBITDA

3.66

2.35%

Dividend Yield

6.33%

ABBV: 4Ties: 1VZ: 3

ABBVVZ

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.

$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

$0.50

created per $1 retained over 3 years

Mediocre Allocator

Σ Retained

$12.54B

Δ Market Cap

+$6.29B

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

71.5% Overvalued

Price is 71.5% above estimated fair value

Current Price: $294.89

Strongly undervalued

Fairly valued

Strongly overvalued

Fair Value: $172.00

Strongly undervalued

Undervalued

Fairly valued

Overvalued

Strongly overvalued

36.1% Overvalued

Price is 36.1% above estimated fair value

Current Price: $44.73

Strongly undervalued

Undervalued

Fairly valued

Overvalued

Strongly overvalued

Fair Value: $32.86

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.

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $45?

+8.3%

Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth

Standard FCF implies +9.9%

The market implies +8.3% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +9.9%, 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.

55/100

Narrow Moat

70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with margin stability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.

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.

-2.69

Unlikely Manipulator

Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Ownership Breakdown

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ABBV

Insiders 0.1%Institutions 77.4%Retail & Other 22.5%

No. of Institutional Holders5,303

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.

Insiders 0.1%Institutions 71.4%Retail & Other 28.5%

No. of Institutional Holders3,970

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

Buys (3M)

Buys (12M)

No open market insider purchases found.

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

Buys (3M)

Buys (12M)

No open market insider purchases found.

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

Sells (3M)

Sells (12M)

Total value (12M): $18.92M

DONOGHOE NICHOLAS

Officer

$8.18M

@ $250.00 · 2026-08-14

PURDUE DAVID RYAN

Officer

$1.22M

@ $233.56 · 2026-03-04

SIATIS PERRY C.

General Counsel

$4.38M

@ $234.39 · 2026-03-02

SIATIS PERRY C.

General Counsel

$5.15M

@ $230.00 · 2026-02-25

SALEKI-GERHARDT AZITA

Chief Operating Officer

$8.41M

@ $198.42 · 2025-08-12

DONOGHOE NICHOLAS

Officer

$2.64M

@ $198.51 · 2025-08-05

STEWART JEFFREY RYAN

Officer

$12.36M

@ $210.08 · 2025-03-31

REENTS SCOTT T.

Chief Financial Officer

$3.75M

@ $212.34 · 2025-03-14

GONZALEZ RICHARD A

Director

$20.26M

@ $205.45 · 2025-03-03

RICHMOND TIMOTHY J

Officer

$4.47M

@ $210.45 · 2025-03-03

SIATIS PERRY C.

General Counsel

$5.82M

@ $208.69 · 2025-03-03

RICHMOND TIMOTHY J

Officer

$6.07M

@ $202.90 · 2025-02-26

BUCKBEE KEVIN K

Officer

$3.85M

@ $203.41 · 2025-02-26

SIATIS PERRY C.

General Counsel

$1.14M

@ $197.90 · 2025-02-20

BUCKBEE KEVIN K

Officer

$310,032

@ $172.24 · 2024-12-16

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

Sells (3M)

Sells (12M)

Total value (12M): $4.93M

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$47,300

@ $43.00 · 2026-10-27

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$48,928

@ $44.48 · 2026-10-20

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$47,223

@ $42.93 · 2026-10-13

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$50,325

@ $45.75 · 2026-10-06

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$51,040

@ $46.40 · 2026-09-29

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$52,415

@ $47.65 · 2026-09-22

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$56,309

@ $51.19 · 2026-09-15

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$54,978

@ $49.98 · 2026-09-08

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$55,550

@ $50.50 · 2026-09-01

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$55,066

@ $50.06 · 2026-08-25

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$53,548

@ $48.68 · 2026-08-18

HAMMOCK SAMANTHA

Officer

$3.50M

@ $47.83 · 2026-05-29

STILLWELL MARY-LEE

Officer

$428,450

@ $50.00 · 2026-03-02

RUSSO JOSEPH J.

Officer

$429,906

@ $44.88 · 2026-02-02

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$438,101

@ $43.81 · 2025-05-08

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$396,900

@ $44.10 · 2025-05-07

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$329,062

@ $43.87 · 2025-04-30

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$430,240

@ $43.02 · 2025-04-24

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$212,425

@ $42.48 · 2025-04-23

VENKATESH VANDANA

Officer

$437,939

@ $43.79 · 2025-02-25

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$261,623

@ $39.70 · 2025-02-04

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$319,080

@ $39.88 · 2025-02-03

MALADY KYLE

Chief Executive Officer

$453,155

@ $40.88 · 2025-01-29

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$809,800

@ $40.49 · 2025-01-28

MALADY KYLE

Officer

$810,800

@ $40.54 · 2025-01-27

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

😏Greed(72/100)

"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.

😐Neutral(53/100)

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

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 (72)

⚪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 (53)

View ABBV Full Analysis View VZ Full Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions: ABBV vs VZ

Is AbbVie Inc. or Verizon Communications Inc. more undervalued in 2026?▼

Based on our discounted cash flow model, VZ trades at a -36.1% margin of safety (intrinsic value $33 vs. price $45), compared to ABBV's -71.5% margin of safety (intrinsic $172 vs. $295).

Which stock has a wider economic moat, AbbVie Inc. or Verizon Communications Inc.?▼

ABBV scores 82/100 (Wide moat), while VZ scores 55/100 (Narrow moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.

Is Verizon Communications Inc. in financial distress?▼

VZ's Altman Z-Score of 1.2 places it in the Distress 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 Verizon Communications Inc.?▼

ABBV earns 29.1% ROIC versus VZ's 9.1%. 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 Verizon Communications Inc.'s?▼

VZ's dividend earns a safety score of 84/100 (Very Safe), compared to ABBV's 39/100 (Unsafe). VZ has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.