Bristol Myers Squibb's Stock Wavers as Strong Q4 Revenues Clash with Disappointing 2025 Projections

Recent developments at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) have prompted a mix of financial optimism and caution. The company's fourth-quarter revenues hit $12.3 billion, surpassing market expectations, thanks to the strong sales of medications like Eliquis and Revlimid. New heart disease treatment Camzyos and autoimmune therapy Sotyktu also performed above forecasts.

However, Bristol Myers Squibb's projections for 2025 sales and profits fell short of Wall Street's expectations, suggesting a potential delay in growth recovery. The company anticipates revenues around $45.5 billion this year, slightly under the analyst consensus of $46.2 billion. Adjusted earnings per share are expected to range from $6.55 to $6.85, again missing predictions.

In response to these challenges, the company is intensifying cost-cutting efforts, aiming to reduce expenditures by $2 billion by 2027. This includes a $1.5 billion cut by the end of this year, with workforce reductions of over 2,000 employees and halting the development of about 12 drugs. The majority of savings are slated for reinvestment in drug development.

Despite these prognoses, CEO Christopher Boerner expresses confidence in the company's trajectory toward becoming one of the fastest-growing firms in the sector by decade's end. He notes that the impact of generic competition on drugs with expiring patents has been underestimated by analysts.

Bristol Myers Squibb is banking on the success of Cobenfy, a newly approved schizophrenia treatment, and is optimistic about new cardiovascular and psoriasis medications' market reception. Yet, the company faces future pricing pressures on major products like Eliquis and cancer therapy Opdivo, threatening billions in revenue. Additionally, Revlimid, accounting for over 10% of sales, is expected to see its revenue halved by 2025 due to generic competition.

Cobenfy stands out as a potentially lucrative product, being the first schizophrenia drug approved in decades. CCO Adam Lenkowsky remarks positively on its market launch, noting significant coverage under U.S. healthcare programs, reaching most schizophrenia patients.

Since late 2023, Bristol Myers Squibb, headquartered in Princeton, NJ, has invested over $20 billion in acquisitions to strengthen its portfolio. This included the $14 billion purchase of Karuna Therapeutics for Cobenfy, a $4.8 billion acquisition of cancer drugmaker Mirati Therapeutics, and a $4.1 billion investment in radio-therapy developer RayzeBio.