Bristol Myers Squibb beats on revenue, launches $1.5 billion cost cuts as it posts quarterly loss

Bristol
Myers
Squibb
on
Thursday
reported
first-quarter
revenue
that
topped
expectations
as
its
blockbuster
blood
thinner

Eliquis
and
several
new
drugs
posted
sales
growth.

But
the
pharmaceutical
company
swung
to
a
quarterly
loss
due
to
one-time
charges
related
to
its
recently
closed
deals.
It
also
launched
a
program
to
cut
$1.5
billion
in
costs
by
2025,
and
said
it
would
reinvest
the
money
in
drug
development.

Bristol
Myers
said
it
will
prioritize
investment
in
its
key
drug
brands
and
focus
its
resources
on
research
and
development
programs
that
could
deliver
the
highest
returns,
among
other
efforts.

For
the
first
quarter,
Bristol
Myers
said
the
charges
that
weighed
it
down
primarily
reflect
its

$14
billion
acquisition
of
neuroscience
drugmaker
Karuna
Therapeutics
and

collaboration
agreement
with
SystImmune,
a
subsidiary
of
a
Chinese
biotech
startup,
to
co-develop
and
market
its
experimental
cancer
treatment. 

Those
deals
come
as
Bristol
Myers
faces
pressure
to
launch
new
drugs
and
offset
the

potential
loss
of
revenue
from
top-selling
treatments.
The
company’s
popular
blood
cancer
treatment
Revlimid
–
and
eventually,
Eliquis
and
cancer
immunotherapy
Opdivo
–
faces
competition
from

cheaper
copycats. 

Here’s
what
Bristol
Myers
Squibb
reported
for
the
first
quarter
compared
with
what
Wall
Street
was
expecting,
based
on
a
survey
of
analysts
by
LSEG: 

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

Bristol
Myers,
one
of
the
world’s

largest
pharmaceutical
companies,
swung
to
a
net
loss
of
$11.9
billion,
or
$5.89
per
share,
during
the
first
quarter.
That
compares
to
net
income
of
$2.3
billion,
or
$1.07
per
share,
for
the
same
period
a
year
ago. 

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

The
loss
reflects
a
one-time
$6.30
per
share
charge
related
to
the
recently
closed
deals,
Bristol
Myers
said
in
a
release.

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

The
company
reiterated
its
full-year
revenue
forecast
of
a
low
single-digit
increase.
But
Bristol
Myers
lowered
its
2024
adjusted
earnings
guidance
to
40
cents
to
70
cents
per
share
to
reflect
the
impact
of
recent
deals. 

That
compares
with
a
previous
forecast
of
$7.10
to
$7.40
per
share,
which
did
not
include
charges
related
to
its
buyouts
of
Karuna
Therapeutics
and
radiopharmaceutical
company
RayzeBio,
along
with
divestitures
and
other
items. 

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

Eliquis
booked
$3.72
billion
in
sales
for
the
quarter,
up
9%
from
the
year-ago
period.
Analysts
had
expected
Eliquis
to
draw
$3.59
billion
in
revenue,
according
to
estimates
compiled
by
FactSet.

Eliquis,
which
Bristol
Myers
shares
with


Pfizer,
is
among
the
first
10
drugs
facing
ongoing
price
negotiations
with
the
federal
Medicare
program.
The
blood
thinner
is
expected
to
lose
market
exclusivity
by
2028.

Anemia
drug
Reblozyl
and
advanced
melanoma
treatment
Opdualag
also
posted
revenue
growth
during
the
first
quarter. 

Reblozyl
booked
$354
million
in
sales,
up
72%
from
the
year-earlier
period.
Analysts
had
expected
revenue
of
$330.8
million,
according
to
FactSet.

Opdualag
generated
$206
million
in
sales
for
the
first
quarter,
which
is
up
76%
from
the
same
period
a
year
ago.
Analysts
had
expected
revenue
of
$206.5
million,
FactSet
estimates
said. 

The
performance
of
other
new
drugs
fell
short
of
Wall
Street’s
expectations. 

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

The
U.S.
Food
and
Drug
Administration
earlier
this
month

expanded
its
approval
of
that
drug,
allowing
multiple
myeloma
patients
to
use
it
as
an
earlier
line
of
treatment.

Meanwhile,
Revlimid
raked
in
$1.67
billion
in
sales,
down
5%
from
the
same
period
a
year
ago. 

Still,
that
surpassed
analysts’
revenue
expectations
of
$1.22
billion
or
the
drug,
according
to
FactSet
estimates.  

Opdivo
generated
$2.07
billion
in
sales
for
the
quarter,
down
6%
from
the
first
quarter
of
2023.
Analysts
had
expected
the
drug
to
book
$2.3
billion
in
revenue
for
the
period,
FactSet
estimates
said.