Bristol Myers Squibb Beats Earnings Estimates, Raises Guidance, Helped by Eliquis and Recent Drugs

Bristol Myers Squibb on Thursday reported Third-quarter profits and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations because of blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis and a portfolio of Drugs It expects long-term growth.

The pharmaceutical giant also raised its full-year sales forecast and expects sales to extend by around 5%. Bristol Myers previously said it forecast revenue growth within the “high end” of low single digits.

The company also raised its adjusted 2024 earnings forecast to 75 cents to 95 cents per share, up from a previous forecast of 60 cents to 90 cents per share.

The results come as Bristol Myers seeks to chop costs by $1.5 billion by the top of 2025 and put that cash into key drug brands and research and development programs. The company said in April that this could include shedding greater than 2,000 employees, shutting down some drug programs and consolidating its locations, amongst other things.

The company's shares rose greater than 4% on Thursday.

Here's what Bristol Myers reported for the third quarter in comparison with Wall Street's expectations, based on an LSEG analyst survey:

• Earnings per share: $1.80 adjusted vs. $1.49 expected
• Revenue: $11.89 billion versus expected $11.28 billion

Bristol Myers had third-quarter net income of $1.21 billion, or 60 cents per share. By comparison, net income within the year-earlier period was $1.93 billion, or 93 cents per share.

Excluding certain items, the corporate reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.80 for the quarter.

The pharmaceutical giant's sales rose 8% to $11.89 billion in comparison with the identical period last 12 months.

The increase is on account of Eliquis and the corporate's so-called growth portfolio, which incorporates a cancer drug called Opdivo. However, sales were partially offset by leukemia drug Sprycel, which faces generic competition on account of its lack of exclusivity.

The company is preparing to offset lost sales of top-selling drugs which are expected to lose market exclusivity, including Eliquis, Opdivo and Revlimid, a blood cancer drug.

Sales of Eliquis could also take a success in 2026 when a brand new price for the drug goes into effect for certain Medicare patients after negotiations with the federal government. The first round of those price negotiations, a key provision of President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, was accomplished over the summer.

Notably, through the quarter, the Food and Drug Administration approved Bristol Myers Squibb's highly anticipated schizophrenia drug Cobenfy. It is the primary novel treatment for the debilitating, chronic mental disorder in greater than seven a long time.

Eliquis reported revenue of $3 billion within the quarter, up 11% from the identical period last 12 months. That was above the $2.84 billion analysts had expected, in accordance with StreetAccount estimates.

The blood thinner Bristol Myers shares Pfizeris anticipated to lose its market exclusivity by 2028.

Revlimid posted revenue of $1.41 billion, down 1% from the identical period last 12 months. That beat analysts' revenue expectations of $1.11 billion for the treatment, in accordance with StreetAccount.

Revenue from the corporate's growth portfolio was $5.8 billion within the third quarter, up 18% from the identical period last 12 months.

This was driven partially by higher demand for anemia drug Reblozyl, which brought in $447 million within the third quarter, up 80% from the identical period last 12 months. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the treatment to usher in $435 million in sales.

Advanced melanoma treatment Opdualag, lymphoma treatment Breyanzi and Camzyos, a drug for certain heart diseases, also helped boost growth portfolio sales within the third quarter, the corporate said.

According to StreetAccount, Breyanzi and Camzyos posted revenue above analysts' expectations, while Opdualag fell wanting estimates.

Opdivo posted third-quarter revenue of $2.36 billion, up 4% from the identical period last 12 months. This was below analysts' estimate of $2.41 billion for the quarter, in accordance with StreetAccount.

Meanwhile, Abecma, a cell therapy for a rare blood cancer called multiple myeloma, posted revenue of $124 million within the quarter. Analysts had expected sales of $110 million.