Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) reported its second-quarter results on Thursday, surpassing expectations with an adjusted EPS of $5.28, significantly higher than the estimated $4.01.
The company's revenue also exceeded forecasts, coming in at $2.47 billion against a consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Despite a flat year-over-year (YoY) total revenue, the adjusted EPS saw a notable 31% increase YoY.
The pharmaceutical giant's strong performance is reflected in its raised full-year 2024 financial guidance, with adjusted EPS now expected to be between $15.75 and $16.25, above the consensus of $15.58. The previous forecast was $15 to $16 per share.
Biogen anticipates a low-single digit percentage decline in total revenue compared to the previous year, with core pharmaceutical revenue projected to remain roughly stable.
Biogen's stock responded modestly to the news, with a slight increase of 0.5%.
President and CEO Christopher A. Viehbacher commented on the results, attributing the strong quarter to effective execution against Biogen's business strategy and the momentum of new product launches.
"Biogen delivered strong financial performance in the second quarter thanks to solid execution against our business strategy, which is aimed at transforming the Company to deliver sustainable growth," he stated. "We saw continued positive momentum across new product launches and are pleased with the trends we see with key products going into the third quarter."
He also highlighted the company's mid- to late-stage development pipeline, bolstered by recent acquisitions such as Human Immunology Biosciences (HI-Bio).
The quarter's financials were positively impacted by the sale of one of Biogen's priority review vouchers, contributing $0.52/share. Excluding this benefit, the adjusted EPS would have represented an 18% YoY increase.
The company's financial position remains solid, with a net debt of approximately $4.4 billion as of June 30, 2024, and a subsequent $1.15 billion cash expenditure for the acquisition of HI-Bio.