Esperion 2025 Q1 Earnings Misses Targets with Net Income Down 166.3%

Esperion (NASDAQ: ESPR) reported its fiscal 2025 Q1 earnings on May 08th, 2025. Esperion's Q1 2025 results missed Wall Street expectations, with a loss of $40.5 million against expectations for a loss of $0.18 per share. Despite the revenue beat, Esperion did not adjust its guidance, maintaining expectations for full-year 2025 operating expenses to be between $215 million and $235 million.

Revenue
Esperion's revenue experienced a significant decline, primarily due to a one-time milestone received in Q1 2024. Excluding this, total revenue grew by 63% year-over-year, reaching $65.0 million. U.S. net product revenue increased by 41% to $34.9 million, showcasing robust domestic growth. International royalty revenue from Daiichi Sankyo Europe grew by 8% sequentially, further contributing to the overall revenue performance.

Earnings/Net Income
Esperion reported a net loss of $40.45 million for Q1 2025, a sharp decline from the net income of $61.02 million in Q1 2024. The loss per share was $0.21, compared to a profit of $0.36 per share in the previous year, reflecting a challenging quarter for the company. The EPS results indicate a challenging quarter with negative investor sentiment.

Price Action
Esperion's stock price edged up 2.37% during the latest trading day but fell 9.27% over the past week and 25.60% month-to-date.

Post Earnings Price Action Review
Esperion's strategy of buying shares post-revenue equal q/q and holding for 30 days has consistently yielded a 98.08% return over the past five years, outperforming the S&P 500's 93.32% return. This strategy has proven effective in capturing stock price appreciation following earnings beats. Despite a strong revenue growth report for Q1 2025, investor sentiment was negatively impacted by the reported loss per share, causing a decline of 0.95% in premarket trading after the earnings release. Over five years, the company has delivered impressive returns, indicating significant gains for investors who held shares post-earnings beats. However, the strategy's success is tempered by the stock's volatility, as evidenced by the mixed market reactions following earnings announcements. While recent premarket reactions were negative, the stock may experience rebounds, suggesting potential advantages in maintaining shares through temporary fluctuations. Investors should remain cautious of short-term volatility despite the long-term profitability of this strategy.

CEO Commentary
“Throughout the first quarter, we continued to make important progress advancing our three pillars for growth: revenue growth, portfolio expansion, and pipeline advancement,” stated Sheldon Koenig, President and CEO of Esperion. He emphasized the achievement of surpassing one million prescriptions for bempedoic acid products in the U.S. and acknowledged the flat overall lipid market while implementing initiatives to drive growth, particularly through new marketing efforts targeting statin intolerance. Koenig noted the expansion of their reimbursement team to enhance physician confidence in prescription coverage and highlighted the promising pipeline expansion, particularly with ESP-1336 for Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, a market exceeding $1 billion.

Guidance
Esperion expects full-year 2025 operating expenses to be in the range of $215 million to $235 million, which includes approximately $15 million in non-cash expenses related to stock compensation. The company also anticipates continued growth in U.S. product revenue, aiming to leverage recent clinical guideline inclusions and marketing strategies to increase prescription volumes in the coming quarters.

Additional News
In recent weeks, Esperion has made strides in its global expansion efforts. The company announced that its partner in Japan, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., is on track for expected approval and National Health Insurance pricing in the second half of 2025. Additionally, Esperion's European partner Daiichi Sankyo Europe (DSE) continues to show strong revenue growth and market penetration for NILEMDO® and NUSTENDI®, providing increased royalty revenue. DSE received approval for expanded cardiovascular risk reduction in Switzerland, and Neopharm Israel filed a New Drug Application for marketing approval in Israel. These developments underscore Esperion's strategic efforts to enhance global market presence and capitalize on new opportunities.