Revenue during the quarter grew 6.19 percent to $6,796 million from $6,400 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 17 basis points over the previous year period to 77.12 percent. Total expenses were 65.30 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 66.98 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 168 basis points in operating margin to 34.70 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $2,358 million, compared with $2,113 million in the previous year period.

"The fourth quarter was a continuation of the strong performance and business momentum AbbVie has delivered since we became an independent company in 2013. Our 2016 revenue and EPS growth rank us among the leaders in our industry," said Richard A. Gonzalez, chairman and chief executive officer, AbbVie. "We continue to make significant progress on our objectives across each aspect of our company strategy, with strong commercial execution, financial discipline and a focus on our advancing pipeline to drive long-term sustainable growth. Our guidance for 2017 reflects continued strong performance and confidence in our business fundamentals."

For financial year 2017, the company forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $4.55 to $4.65. The company forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $5.44 to $5.54 on adjusted basis.