On Wednesday, December 27, 2023, Bristol-Myers Squibb Research and Development Center in Cambridge Crossing, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Bristol-Myers Squibb Third-quarter profit and revenue reported Thursday beat Wall Street expectations, helped by its Blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis and a portfolio drug It expects long-term growth.
The pharmaceutical giant also raised its full-year revenue guidance for this year, expecting sales to grow by more than 5%. Bristol-Myers Squibb previously said it expected sales to grow in the “upper end” of the low-single-digit range.
The company also raised its 2024 adjusted profit guidance to 75 cents to 95 cents per share, up from its previous forecast of 60 cents to 90 cents per share.
As Bristol Myers moves to Cut costs by $1.5 billion Invest this capital into major drug brands and R&D projects by 2025. The company said in April that this would involve laying off more than 2,000 employees, canceling some drug programs and consolidating its website.
Here’s how Bristol-Myers Squibb’s third-quarter report compared with Wall Street expectations, according to a survey of analysts by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG):
- Earnings per share: Adjusted $1.80, expected $1.49
- income: US$11.89 billion, expected US$11.28 billion
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s third-quarter net profit was $1.21 billion, or 60 cents per share. This compares with net income of $1.93 billion, or 93 cents per share, in the same period last year.
Excluding certain items, adjusted earnings per share for the quarter were $1.80.
The pharmaceutical giant’s revenue rose 8% from the same period last year to $11.89 billion.
The growth comes from Eliquis and what the company calls its “growth portfolio” of drugs, which includes a cancer drug called Opdivo. Revenue was partially offset by leukemia treatment Sprycel, which faces generic competition as it loses exclusivity.
The company is preparing to offset revenue losses from the loss of market exclusivity for its best-selling treatments, including Eliquis, Opdivo and Revlimid, a blood cancer treatment.
Sales of Eliquis also could take a hit in 2026, when new prices for the drug take effect for some Medicare patients following negotiations with the federal government. The first round of price negotiations is an important stipulation of the president Joe BidenThe Inflation Reduction Act ended in the summer.
Notably, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Bristol-Myers Squibb’s highly anticipated Schizophrenia Drug Cobenfy during this season. It is the first new treatment for the debilitating chronic mental disorder in more than seventy years.
Eliquis, a new drug after growth
Eliquis sales this quarter were $3 billion, an increase of 11% over the same period last year. That was higher than analysts’ expectations of $2.84 billion, according to estimates compiled by StreetAccount.
Blood thinner shared by Bristol-Myers Squibb Pfizeris expected to lose market exclusivity by 2028.
Revlimid sales were $1.41 billion, down 1% from the same period last year. That beat analysts’ revenue expectations for the therapy of $1.11 billion, according to StreetAccount.
Revenue from the company’s growth portfolio was $5.8 billion in the third quarter, an 18% increase from the same period last year.
This was driven in part by increased demand for the anemia drug Reblozyl, which had sales of $447 million in the third quarter, an 80% increase from the same period last year. Analysts polled by FactSet expect the treatment to bring in $435 million in revenue.
The company said advanced melanoma treatment Opdualag, lymphoma treatment Breyanzi and certain heart disease drug Camzyos also helped drive third-quarter growth portfolio revenue.
Sales of Breyanzi and Camzyos beat analysts’ expectations, while Opdualag’s sales fell short, according to StreetAccount.
Opdivo’s third-quarter revenue was US$2.36 billion, a 4% increase from the same period last year. StreetAccount said the figure was lower than the $2.41 billion analysts expected for the quarter.
Meanwhile, Abecma, a cell therapy for the rare blood cancer multiple myeloma, had sales of $124 million in the quarter. Analysts had expected revenue of $110 million.