Arbutus Biopharma 2025 Q1 Earnings Misses Targets as Net Loss Widens 37.2%

Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS) reported its fiscal 2025 Q1 earnings on May 14th, 2025. Arbutus Biopharma's earnings for the first quarter of 2025 fell short of expectations, as the company's net loss widened to $24.5 million from $17.9 million in the same period last year. The company maintained its guidance for ongoing investments in clinical trials, focusing on imdusiran and AB-101, while aiming to manage operating expenses effectively amid challenging market conditions.

Revenue
The total revenue for Arbutus Biopharma in the first quarter of 2025 increased by 15.1% to $1.76 million compared to $1.53 million in the first quarter of 2024. The company's collaborations and licenses segment generated $1.32 million, while non-cash royalty revenue contributed $448,000, leading to the overall revenue of $1.76 million.

Earnings/Net Income
Arbutus Biopharma experienced a deeper loss of $0.13 per share in 2025 Q1 compared to a loss of $0.10 per share in 2024 Q1, marking a 30.0% wider loss. The net loss increased by 37.2% to $24.53 million from $17.88 million in the previous year. The widening loss indicates ongoing financial challenges.

Price Action
The stock price of Arbutus Biopharma edged up 0.32% during the latest trading day, dropped 3.95% during the most recent full trading week, and has edged up 0.64% month-to-date.

Post Earnings Price Action Review
The strategy of buying ABUS shares when there is a revenue miss and holding for 30 days showed a 20.92% return, significantly underperforming the benchmark return of 92.45%. The strategy's low Sharpe ratio of 0.04 indicates poor risk-adjusted returns, while the maximum drawdown of -78.93% and volatility of 107.69% reflect high risk and losses. These factors make the strategy unfeasible for practical application, highlighting the challenges in achieving favorable returns amidst volatility.

CEO Commentary
“To date, eight patients have reached functional cure following imdusiran combination therapy. Of particular note, two of those functional cure patients did not receive any interferon during the trial,” said Lindsay Androski, President and CEO of Arbutus. “This type of functional cure data, in patients who successfully discontinued all cHBV treatments including NUCs, is an exciting milestone for Arbutus, clinicians, and patients. In addition, our oral PD-L1 inhibitor, AB-101, achieved 100% receptor occupancy in 11 of 13 evaluable healthy volunteers in our Phase 1a/1b clinical trial at the 40 mg dose. The trial continues in cHBV patients, and across all cohorts there have been no AB-101-related SAEs and no evidence of liver dysfunction to date.”

Guidance
Arbutus Biopharma expects to continue advancing its clinical development programs, particularly focusing on imdusiran and AB-101. The company reported a net loss of $24.5 million for Q1 2025, with total revenue of $1.76 million, which slightly increased from the prior year. The company anticipates ongoing investments in clinical trials while managing operating expenses effectively, aiming to enhance its financial position amid the current market dynamics.

Additional News
In recent corporate developments, Arbutus Biopharma appointed Andrew J. Sung as General Counsel. Mr. Sung brings over 20 years of legal experience in life sciences, including significant M&A and licensing transactions. Arbutus is also actively pursuing litigation against Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech over lipid nanoparticle patents, with the Moderna trial scheduled for September 2025. The company is strategically focusing on advancing clinical programs for imdusiran and AB-101, restructuring operations to streamline efforts. Arbutus continues to prioritize its resources towards promising clinical programs while maintaining a strong cash position to support long-term strategic objectives.