Biogen’s earnings tumble 55% in the third quarter of 2020
An earlier version of this report inaccurately said the company missed EPS estimates. It has been corrected.
Shares of Biogen
BIIB,
were down 0.1% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the company posted a steep decline in third-quarter earnings. The drug maker had earnings of $701.5 million, or $4.46 per share, in the third quarter, a 55% decline compared with the $1.546 billion, or $8.39 per share, reported in the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were $8.84, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $8.03. Biogen reported revenue of $3.37 billion for the quarter, a 6% decline from the $3.60 billion it reported in the third quarter of last year. The FactSet consensus was $3.33 billion. The company cited a quarterly drop in sales of some of its multiple sclerosis drugs, including the company’s flagship product, Tecfidera, which had revenue of $968 million in the third quarter, compared with $1.12 billion in the same quarter in 2019. Sales of the spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza also tumbled, by 10% to $495 million. However, revenue in its smaller biosimilars business was up for the quarter, led by a 7% increase in sales to $124 million of rheumatoid arthritis drug Benepali. Investors are preparing for an upcoming Food and Drug Administration advisory committee meeting for its experimental and somewhat controversial Alzheimer’s disease drug aducanumab. The meeting is expected to be held Nov. 6. Biogen cut its guidance for revenue and adjusted EPS for the year, saying it now expects $13.2 billion to $13.4 billion in revenue for the year, compared with its previous guidance of $13.8 billion to $14.2 billion for 2020. It now expects adjusted EPS of $32.50 to $33.50 for the year, compared with previous guidance of $34.00 to $36.00. Biogen’s stock is down 10.0% for the year, while the S&P 500
SPX,
is up 6.5%.
