Can GERN sustain its EPS momentum into 2025?
4/6/2025 02:17pm
**Geron's ability to sustain its EPS momentum into 2025 is uncertain**. Several factors indicate potential challenges that could impact Geron's EPS in the coming year:
1. **Recent Performance**: Geron's fourth-quarter 2024 earnings report revealed an EPS of -$0.04, missing the forecast of -$0.03. This indicates a recent dip in profitability, which could signal underlying issues that may persist into 2025.
2. **Revenue Shortfall**: The company reported a significant revenue shortfall, with actual revenue of $47.54 million compared to the expected $61.93 million. This shortfall could affect the company's financial health and, consequently, its EPS.
3. **Seasonality and Competition**: Geron attributed the diminished growth of its flagship drug, Rytelo, to seasonality, competition, lack of awareness, and the burden of the monitoring requirement. These factors are likely to continue influencing Rytelo's performance in 2025, potentially impacting revenue and, by extension, EPS.
4. **Analyst Expectations**: Analysts have lowered their EPS estimates for Geron, with a forecast of $0.02 for Q1 2025. This suggests that even analysts are cautious about Geron's immediate future profitability.
5. **Market Conditions**: The biopharmaceutical market is highly competitive, and Geron faces challenges from existing competitors and the potential for new entrants. Managing these competitive pressures will be crucial for Geron's financial performance in 2025.
In conclusion, while Geron has a strong focus on innovation and commercialization, as seen with its approved telomerase inhibitor, Ryteol, the company's current financial indicators and market conditions suggest that sustaining EPS momentum into 2025 will be challenging. The company's strategic responses to addressing seasonality, competition, and awareness issues will be critical in determining its future financial health.