On December 27, 2023, Bristol-Myers Squibb Research and Development Center in Cambridge Crossing, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Bristol-Myers Squibb It reported second-quarter profit and revenue on Friday that beat estimates and raised full-year guidance as drugmakers move to cut costs.
The pharmaceutical giant raised its full-year revenue forecast to the “high end” of the low-single-digit range. By comparison, its April sales guidance was for low-single-digit growth.
The company also raised its 2024 adjusted profit guidance to 60 cents to 90 cents per share, up from its previous forecast of 40 cents to 70 cents per share.
Bristol Myers shares rose nearly 5% in pre-market trading on Friday after the results were announced.
The results come as Bristol-Myers Squibb plans to cut $1.5 billion in costs in 2025 and reinvest the funds in major drug brands and research and development projects. In April, the company said it would involve laying off more than 2,000 employees, canceling some drug programs and consolidating its website.
Here’s how Bristol-Myers Squibb’s second-quarter report compared with Wall Street expectations, according to a survey of analysts by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG):
- Earnings per share: Adjusted $2.07, estimated loss $1.63
- income: $12.2 billion vs. $11.55 billion expected
The pharmaceutical giant’s revenue rose 9% from the same period last year to $12.2 billion.
Bristol-Myers Squibb reported second-quarter net profit of $1.68 billion, or 83 cents per share. This compares with net income of $2.07 billion, or 99 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding certain items, adjusted earnings per share for the quarter were $2.07.
Much of the second-quarter sales growth came from the company’s blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis and a portfolio of drugs expected to help it achieve long-term growth. Those treatments include cancer drug Opdivo, which posted higher-than-expected sales this quarter.
Revenue from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s blood cancer drug Revlimid also beat analysts’ expectations despite facing competition from cheaper generics.
The drugmaker is under pressure to launch new drugs and offset lost revenue from market exclusivity for Revlimid and other top-selling drugs, including Eliquis and Opdivo.
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. Those price talks, a key provision of President Joe Biden’s inflation-cutting bill, are set to end in early August.
New drug combination, growth after Eliquis
Eliquis sales for the quarter were $3.42 billion, an increase of 7% over the same period last year. That was in line with analysts’ expectations for the drug, according to estimates compiled by FactSet.
Bristol-Myers Squibb is expected to lose market exclusivity by 2028 on the blood thinner it shares with Pfizer.
Sales of lenalidomide (Revlimid) were $1.35 billion, down 8% from the same period last year due to generic competition. Still, it beat analysts’ revenue expectations for the therapy of $1.09 billion, according to FactSet.
Revenue from the company’s so-called “growth portfolio” was primarily driven by increased demand for Opdivo, which had sales of $2.39 billion in the quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the treatment to bring in $2.29 billion in revenue.
Anemia drug Reblozyl, advanced melanoma treatment Opdualag and drug Camzyos, which treats a certain type of heart disease, also helped drive growth portfolio revenue in the second quarter. Sales of all three drugs were higher than analysts expected, according to FactSet estimates.
Meanwhile, Abecma, a cell therapy that treats the rare blood cancer multiple myeloma, had sales of $95 million in the quarter. Analysts had expected revenue of $95.8 million.
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