AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) were born of the same parent but separated at birth. In 2013, Abbott Laboratories split into two companies, one primarily a medical device maker (which retained the parent's name) and the other a pharmaceutical company. That's where the similarities end, however.
The siblings have since had very divergent paths -- at least in terms of their share prices. Whereas Abbott Labs has been steadily hitting new highs, AbbVie peaked in 2018 and has since fallen close to 30%.
For much of its history, AbbVie was the better horse to back than Abbott Labs. In the first five years after the spin-off, Abbvie rose over 200% while Abbott increased 78%.AbbVie's fortunes took a turn for the worse in 2018, and since then, relative stock performance has reversed with Abbott rising close to 50%.