Bristol Myers Squibb's research and development center at Cambridge Crossing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on December 27, 2023.
Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg |
Bristol-Myers Squibb reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and revenue on Friday and raised its full-year forecast as the pharmaceutical company takes steps to cut costs.
The pharmaceutical giant raised its full-year sales forecast to an increase in the “upper end” of the low single-digit range. This compares with a low-single-digit sales increase forecast in April.
The company also raised its adjusted earnings forecast for 2024 to 60 cents to 90 cents per share, up from a previous forecast of 40 cents to 70 cents per share.
Following the release of the results, Bristol Myers shares rose nearly 5% in premarket trading on Friday.
The results come as Bristol Myers plans to cut $1.5 billion in costs by 2025 and reinvest that money in key drug brands and research and development programs. In April, the company said that this would involve laying off more than 2,000 employees, eliminating some drug programs and consolidating its sites, among other measures.
Here's what Bristol Myers reported for the second quarter compared to Wall Street expectations, based on an LSEG analyst survey:
- Earnings per share: $2.07 adjusted versus an expected loss of $1.63
- Revenue: $12.2 billion compared to expected $11.55 billion
The pharmaceutical giant's sales rose 9% to $12.2 billion compared to the same period last year.
Bristol Myers reported net income of $1.68 billion, or 83 cents per share, in the second quarter. In the year-ago period, net income was $2.07 billion, or 99 cents per share.
Excluding certain items, adjusted earnings per share for the quarter were $2.07.
The increase in sales in the second quarter was mainly due to the successful blood thinner Eliquis and a portfolio of drugs that the company expects to generate long-term growth. These drugs include the cancer drug Opdivo, whose sales were higher than expected in the quarter.
Revenue from Bristol Myers' blood cancer drug Revlimid also exceeded analysts' estimates for the period, despite competition from cheaper generics.
The pharmaceutical company is under pressure to bring new drugs to market and offset the loss of sales of Revlimid and other top-selling drugs that will ultimately lose market exclusivity, including Eliquis and Opdivo.
Eliquis sales could also suffer a setback in 2026, when a new price for the drug for certain Medicare patients takes effect after negotiations with the federal government. Those price negotiations, a key provision of President Joe Biden's inflation-fighting bill, will end in early August.
New drug portfolio, Eliquis records growth
Eliquis posted revenue of $3.42 billion in the quarter, up 7 percent from the same period last year, in line with analysts' expectations for the drug, according to estimates from FactSet.
The blood thinner that Bristol Myers shares with Pfizer is expected to lose its market exclusivity by 2028.
Revlimid posted sales of $1.35 billion, down 8 percent from the same period last year due to generic competition. Still, that figure exceeded analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion for the drug, according to FactSet.
Sales from the company's so-called “growth portfolio” were driven primarily by higher demand for Opdivo, which generated sales of $2.39 billion in the quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected that drug to generate sales of $2.29 billion.
Anemia drug Reblozyl, advanced melanoma drug Opdualag and Camzyos, a drug for a certain heart condition, also contributed to the growth portfolio's second-quarter sales. All three drugs posted sales that beat analysts' expectations, according to estimates from FactSet.
Meanwhile, Abecma, a cell therapy for the rare blood cancer multiple myeloma, posted sales of $95 million in the quarter. Analysts had expected sales of $95.8 million.
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