How did REGN's Q4 earnings surprise investors?

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (REGN) reported robust Q4 2024 earnings, with positive and negative aspects impacting investor sentiment: 1. **Revenue Growth and Beat on Estimates**: Regeneron's 10% year-over-year revenue increase to $3.8 billion in Q4 2024 exceeded market estimates of $3.75 billion. This growth was driven by strong sales of key products like Dupixent and Libtayo, reflecting the company's market leadership and product portfolio effectiveness. 2. **Dividend Initiation and Share Repurchase Authorization**: Regeneron announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.88 per share and expanded share repurchase capacity to approximately $4.5 billion. These moves are likely to enhance shareholder returns and reflect confidence in future cash flows, positively influencing investor perceptions. 3. **Pipeline Progress and Strategic Focus**: The company highlighted its robust pipeline with around 40 product candidates. Strategic initiatives such as the expansion of the investigational candidates and positive Phase 3 results for EYLEA HD and Libtayo indicate a promising future, boosting investor optimism. 4. **Challenges and Competitive Pressures**: Despite the positive results, Regeneron faced challenges, including competitive pressure in the anti-VEGF category and biosimilar competition affecting EYLEA sales. Additionally, there were concerns about the safety profile of some pipeline products. These factors could have created uncertainty among investors. In conclusion, Regeneron's Q4 earnings report was generally positive, with revenue growth exceeding expectations and strategic initiatives enhancing shareholder value. However, the challenges and competitive pressures faced by the company introduced some level of uncertainty, which investors would need to weigh against the positive aspects.