Bristol Myers Squibb earnings beat expectations, quarterly loss, launches $1.5 billion cost-cutting plan

Wednesday, December 27, 2023, at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Research and Development Center, Cambridge Crossing, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Adam Glanzman Bloomberg |

Bristol-Myers Squibb First-quarter earnings reported Thursday beat estimates for blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis as sales of several new drugs rose.

But the drugmaker posted a quarterly loss due to a one-time charge with a recently completed deal. It also launched a plan to cut costs by $1.5 billion by 2025 and said it would reinvest the money into drug development.

Bristol-Myers Squibb said it will prioritize investments in its major pharmaceutical brands and focus resources on research and development projects that can bring in the highest returns.

Bristol-Myers Squibb said the charges weighing on its first-quarter results largely reflected its $14 billion acquisition of neuroscience drugmaker Karuna Therapeutics’ collaboration deal with a subsidiary of a Chinese biotech startup, SystemImmune, to develop and market its experimental cancer treatment. to do

The deals come as Bristol-Myers faces pressure to launch new drugs and offset costs Loss of potential revenue from best-selling treatments. The company’s popular blood cancer treatment Revlimid (and eventually Eliquis and cancer immunotherapy Opdivo) faces competition: cheap imitators.

Here’s a comparison of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s first-quarter report with Wall Street expectations, according to a survey of analysts at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG):

• Loss per share: Adjusted $4.40, expected $4.44
• Revenue: $11.87 billion, vs. $11.46 billion expected

Bristol Myers, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, posted a first-quarter net loss of $11.9 billion, or $5.89 per share. That compares to net income of $2.3 billion, or $1.07 per share, in the same period last year.

Excluding certain items, the adjusted rate per share for the period was $4.40.

The loss reflects a one-time charge of $6.30 per share related to a recently completed transaction, Bristol-Myers Squibb said in a release.

Bristol-Myers Squibb reported first-quarter revenue of $11.87 billion, up 5% from the same period a year ago.

The company reiterated its full-year revenue forecast for low-single-digit growth. But Bristol-Myers Squibb cut its 2024 adjusted profit guidance from 40 cents to 70 cents a share to reflect the impact of recent transactions.

That compares with an earlier forecast of $7.10 to $7.40 per share, which excludes charges related to divestitures and other items related to the acquisition of Karuna Therapeutics and radiopharmaceutical company RayzeBio.

Bristol-Myers Squibb said the first-quarter revenue increase was primarily driven by higher sales of Eliquis and some of its newer drugs.

Eliquis sales for the quarter were $3.72 billion, a 9% increase from the same period last year. Analysts had expected Eliquis to post revenue of $3.59 billion, according to estimates compiled by FactSet.

Eliquis, shared with Bristol-Myers Squibb Pfizer, one of the first 10 drugs to face price negotiations with Medicare. Blood thinners are expected to lose market exclusivity by 2028.

Anemia drug Reblozil and advanced melanoma treatment Opdualag also saw revenue growth in the first quarter.

Reblozyl sales were $354 million, a 72% increase over the same period last year. Analysts had expected revenue of $330.8 million, according to FactSet.

Opdualag’s first quarter sales were $206 million, a 76% increase over the same period last year. Analysts had expected revenue of $206.5 million, according to FactSet estimates.

Other new drugs fell short of Wall Street expectations.

Abecma, a cell therapy that treats the rare blood cancer multiple myeloma, had sales of $82 million in the quarter. Analysts had expected revenue of $112.6 million, according to FactSet.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval earlier this month expanded the drug’s scope so multiple myeloma patients could use it as a first-line treatment.

Meanwhile, Revlimid sales were $1.67 billion, down 5% from the same period last year.

Still, it beat analysts’ revenue expectations for the drug of $1.22 billion, according to FactSet estimates.

Opdivo’s sales for the quarter were $2.07 billion, down 6% from the first quarter of 2023. Analysts had expected $2.3 billion in revenue for the drug in the quarter, FactSet estimated.