Proactive Investors - Drugmakers Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Co and AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) on Friday both reported better than expected financial results for the December quarter, sending shares of both stocks higher.
For 4Q, Bristol Meyers Squibb reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.70 on revenue of $11.48 billion, surpassing Wall Street estimates of $1.52 and $11.08 billion respectively.
In the United States, revenue increased by 1% to $8 billion with higher sales of new products blood thinner Eliquis and lung cancer drug Opdivo partially offset by lower sales of its multiple myeloma drug Revlimid.
International revenues were relatively flat at $3.5 billion, also attributed to lower sales of Revlimid.
Full-year EPS of $7.51 and revenue of $45 billion also came in ahead of expectations of $7.40 and $44.6 billion.
Bristol Meyers Squibb also forecast its 2024 revenue to increase by a single-digit percentage over 2023’s $45 billion and EPS in the range of $7.10 to $7.40, ahead of estimates of $7.06.
“We saw good performance in the fourth quarter from our in-line and new products and took several actions to strengthen the company and build a foundation for sustainable growth," CEO Dr. Christopher Boerner said in a statement, referring to the company’s purchase of Mirati Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRTX), planned acquisitions of Karuna Therapeutics and RayzeBio (NASDAQ:RYZB), and collaboration with SystImmune.
AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV), meanwhile, reported 4Q EPS of $2.79 on revenue of $14.3 billion, ahead of estimates of $2.76 and $14.05, respectively.
For the full year, EPS of $11.11 and revenue of $54.32 billion narrowly beat estimates of $11.10 and $54.08 billion.
Sales of its arthritis drug Humira decreased by 40.8% in 4Q to $3.3 billion, down 35% in the US, as the introduction of biosimilar drugs over the last year has hit the drug’s sales.
“2023 was another outstanding year, marked by strong operational execution and significant overperformance from our non-Humira growth platform,” AbbVie CEO Richard A. Gonzalez said in a statement.
"2024 is an exciting year for AbbVie, as we are well positioned to fully absorb Humira erosion and achieve modest operational revenue growth, followed by a return to robust growth in 2025 and a high single-digit compound annual growth rate through the end of the decade."
The company raised its combined 2027 sales outlook for psoriasis drug Skyrizi and arthritis drug Rinvoq to more than $27 billion and said it expects peak sales for its migraine drugs Ubrelvy and Qulipta to be more than $3 billion combined.
Shares of both companies traded up following their earnings reports, with Bristol Meyers Squibb adding 0.8% at $49 and AbbVie 1.2% higher at $169.55 late-morning on Friday.