Bristol Myers Squibb Stock Rises After Solid Earnings. But These Problems Remain.

Bristol Myers Squibb said generics continued to have an impact on its legacy portfolio, which includes drugs such as its blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis. (George Frey/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• Bristol Myers Squibb reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.63 per share and revenue of $12.2 billion, exceeding analyst estimates.
• The company raised its full-year revenue guidance to $47.5 billion to $48 billion, driven by a 17% increase in its growth portfolio revenue.
• Legacy portfolio revenue declined 13% to $5.4 billion due to generic competition, despite increased demand for Eliquis.

Bristol Myers Squibb hiked its full-year guidance on the back of a strong third quarter underlined by demand for drugs within its growth portfolio.

Adjusted earnings of $1.63 a share a share came in above the $1.51 consensus among analysts polled by FactSet. Total revenue grew 3% to $12.2 billion, topping Wall Street’s calls for $11.8 billion.

The pharmaceutical giant raised its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $47.5 billion to $48 billion from a previous forecast of $46.5 billion to $47.5 billion. Bristol Myers now sees adjusted earnings between $6.40 and $6.60 a share, versus a previous range of $6.35 to $6.65 a share.

Revenue for the company’s growth portfolio climbed 17% to $6.9 billion, corrected for foreign exchange effects. Bristol Myers attributed the increase to demand for treatments within its immuno-oncology portfolio and medications such as Reblozyl, Camzyos, and Breyanzi.

There were some blemishes on an otherwise solid print. Legacy portfolio revenue fell 13% to $5.4 billion. While demand increased for Eliquis, the company’s blockbuster blood thinner, this was “more than offset” by the continued impact of generics, or copies of the company’s brand-name drugs sold by competitors.

Shares rose after the earnings report, 1.8% higher in the premarket session. Pharma peers Johnson & Johnson and Merck were flat and down 3%, respectively. Merck also reported third-quarter earnings on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Bristol Myers announced it had agreed to pay $1.5 billion to acquire Orbital Therapeutics, an early-stage biotechnology company that specializes in RNA-based medicines.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com