Bristol Myers Squibb on Thursday reported quarterly adjusted earnings that topped expectations and posted revenue in keeping with estimates, at the same time as sales of the corporate’s popular blood cancer drug Revlimid plummeted on account of generic competition.
Bristol Myers, certainly one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms, raked in $10.96 billion in revenue for the third quarter, down 2% from the identical period last 12 months.
The drugmaker said that decline was on account of lower sales of Revlimid, which generated $1.43 billion for the quarter. Bristol Myers has been under pressure to launch or acquire latest drug products as Revlimid – and eventually, other top-selling treatments similar to blood thinner Eliquis and cancer immunotherapy Opdivo – competes with cheaper generic versions.
Revlimid sales, which fell 41% from the third quarter of 2022, also dropped on account of a rise in patients receiving the drug without charge through the corporate’s patient assistance foundation, Bristol Myers said.
Bristol Myers’ existing drugs and the potential for brand spanking new drug launches give the corporate confidence in its ability to navigate Revlimid’s patent expiration through 2025, outgoing CEO Giovanni Caforio said during an earnings call.
The corporate reported net income of $1.93 billion, or 93 cents per share. That compares with a net income of $1.61 billion, or 75 cents per share, for the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, adjusted earnings per share were $2 for the period.
Here’s what Bristol Myers Squibb reported for the third quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly often called Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $2 adjusted vs. $1.76 expected
- Revenue: $10.96 billion vs. $10.96 billion expected
Shares of Bristol Myers closed greater than 6% lower Thursday and hit a latest 52-week low. The stock is down greater than 26% for the 12 months, putting the corporate’s market value at roughly $110 billion.
Bristol Myers narrowed its full-year adjusted earnings outlook to $7.50 to $7.65 per share, from a previous forecast of $7.35 to $7.65 a share. Bristol Myers also reiterated its full-year revenue guidance of a low single-digit percentage decline.
Notably, the corporate hiked its full-year revenue projection for Revlimid to $6 billion from $5.5 billion in July, at the same time as the drug sees falling sales. Bristol Myers also said it expects its latest drug portfolio to rake in about $3.5 billion this 12 months.
Nevertheless, the corporate pushed back its timeframe for its latest drugs to hit $10 billion in sales to 2026, incoming CEO Christopher Boerner said in the course of the earnings call. The drugmaker had previously forecast $10 billion to $13 billion of sales for the portfolio in 2025.
Bristol Myers said each older and latest drug products helped offset the lower sales of Revlimid for the third quarter.
Eliquis raked in $2.71 billion in sales for the quarter and Opdivo generated $2.28 billion, up 2% and 11% from the year-ago period, respectively. Nevertheless, each drugs fell wanting analyst estimates compiled by FactSet.
Eliquis, which Bristol Myers shares with Pfizer, is among the many first 10 drugs chosen to face price negotiations with the federal Medicare program.
Meanwhile, a portfolio of several newer products booked $928 million in sales for the quarter, up 68% from the year-ago period. Bristol Myers said that growth was primarily driven by higher demand, including for prescription anemia medication Reblozyl, which generated $248 million in sales for the quarter.
Skin cancer drug Opdualag also raked in $166 million in sales for the third quarter, which is up 98% from the identical quarter a 12 months ago. Those two drugs missed analyst sales estimates compiled by FactSet.
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