Botox sales slip as consumer sentiment wrinkles
Smooth, youthful skin — in this economy?
As more economists raise their recession forecast and consumer sentiment wanes, wrinkles and thin lips might be the least of our worries.
AbbVie, the largest Botox manufacturer in the US, reported on Friday that sales of Botox and Juvederm, a facial filler, hit below analyst estimates for the first three months of the year. Sales for Botox hit their lowest point since the first quarter of 2021, and Juvederm sales hit their lowest point since the second quarter of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was raging.
It was otherwise a cheery quarter for AbbVie, whose biggest revenue driver is immunology drugs. But unlike immunology, most people will survive comfortably without Botox, making it more vulnerable to shifts in consumer sentiment than the rest of its portfolio. Botox and Juvederm sales crashed during the pandemic and during the global financial crisis of 2008.
“Based on the trends we are seeing, including a decline in recent consumer sentiment, we are moderating our assumptions for category growth globally and adjusting our full-year sales guidance for aesthetics accordingly,” AbbVie Chief Commercial Officer Jeffrey Ryan Stewart told analysts on Friday.
Tariffs may also raise the price of Botox and Juvederm, both of which are manufactured in Ireland. AbbVie CEO Scott Reents told analysts on Friday that the company expects a roughly $30 million impact on sales from tariffs.
