This pharma leader has a history of outperforming during rising interest rates.
This pharma leader has a history of outperforming during rising interest rates.
Kevin Warsh's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has its next meeting on Oct. 28 to decide on a course of action for interest rates. It looks as if they aren't coming down anytime soon.
According to the CME Group's proprietary FedWatch tool, which tracks the chances of future changes in the effective federal funds rate, the Fed probably won't hike rates on Oct. 28. But as of Oct. 17, the FedWatch tool predicted an 89% chance of a rate hike for the Fed's December meeting.
We might not be at the start of a prolonged Fed rate hike cycle. Warsh and the FOMC might only raise rates by another 0.25% or 0.5% by the end of the year. But in recent months, longer-term bond yields have been rising. If you're concerned about the effects of higher rates on your stock portfolio, now might be a good time to look at stocks that tend to hold up better in a rising rate environment.
One of the best dividend stocks to consider is AbbVie (ABBV +2.31%). This leading pharma stock has a long-term track record of raising its dividend and delivering strong growth for investors. Let's look at why AbbVie could be a good stock to buy now to protect your portfolio from rising interest rates.
ABBV: a Dividend King with 18.8% annualized returns over 10 years
AbbVie develops and sells well-known pharmaceuticals like Skyrizi, Rinvoq, Humira, and Botox. Over the past 10 years, ABBV stock has delivered annualized returns of about 18.8%, strongly outperforming the S&P 500 index. This pharma stock has done even better in the past few years, with average annual returns of 23.7% over the past five years and 28.9% over the past year.
The drugmaker also pays strong, steady dividends. The stock is a Dividend King, with more than 50 years of history of increasing its payout to investors. AbbVie became an independent company in 2013 after a spinoff from Abbott Laboratories, but AbbVie retained (and has continued) the former parent company's long-term dividend streak. In 2026, AbbVie paid total dividends of $6.92 ($1.73 per quarter). Its forward annual dividend yield is 2.42%.
$289.20+$6.52 (+2.31%)
NYSE · As of 12:01 PM ET 10/20/26
Averytin News Financial update.