A quintet of Big Pharma players will report earnings on Thursday, giving investors a picture of how the sector fared to start 2023.
Eli Lilly and Company, Merck & Co, AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN), Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb are all expected to release their financials. The general consensus is that the numbers won’t look as rosy as last year, but Zacks believes a few of them could have surprises up their sleeves.
First, Eli Lilly is expected to report revenue of $6.86 billion and earnings of $1.73 per share, down from revenue of $7.81 billion and earnings of $2.10 per share a year earlier.
Notably, the insulin maker’s consensus EPS has been revised 0.55% higher over the last 30 days, according to Zacks. The company also sports a Zacks earnings expected surprise prediction of 5.94%.
The company has beaten the Street's consensus EPS estimates three times in the last four quarters.
Merck has done it one better, topping EPS estimates each of the last four quarters, including an average beat of 7.31% in the previous two. Zacks has its expected surprise prediction set at 8.61%.
The Street projects revenue of $13.79 billion and EPS of $1.32, down from $15.9 billion and $1.70, respectively, in the first quarter of 2022.
The company’s top line is expected to be hurt by losing US market exclusivity for drugs including Remicade, Noxafil and Zetia. However, increased revenue from Lynparza, a cancer drug that Marck markets in partnership with AstraZeneca, could help make up the difference.
AstraZeneca is projected to report first-quarter revenue of $10.75 billion and EPS of $1.07, compared to $11.39 billion and $0.12 a year earlier. The company has also beaten EPS estimates in each of the last four quarters.
Then there’s Sanofi, which analysts expect to report revenue of $11.26 billion and EPS of $1.97, up from $10.05 billion and $0.82 last year.
The French firm has an expected surprise prediction from Zacks of $4.7%, thanks to expected sales growth within its specialty care business driven by its “blockbuster drug” Dupixent.
The biggest thing Dupixent has going for it is a bevy of approved indications, including atopic dermatitis, asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyposis, among others.
Finally, Bristol-Myers Squibb is expected to bring in revenue of $11.5 billion and EPS of $1.97, compared to $11.64 billion and $0.60 in the first quarter of 2022. On EPS, the company has beat expectations in each of the last four quarters.
Zacks, however, offered an expected surprise prediction of negative 0.31%.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel