Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), the pharmaceutical giant, beat Wall Street’s estimates on first-quarter profits, matched on revenues and guided higher on its full-year 2018 earnings forecast.
Bristol-Myers Squibb reported earnings of $0.94 per share on revenue of US$5.2bn. The consensus estimate from analysts came to US$0.85 per share on revenue of US$5.2bn.
Bristol also fared well in the quarter on the drug development front and its results from a clinical trial of Opdivo, its immunotherapy drug as well as another of its cancer-fighting medicines Yervoy cheered investors. When taken in combination, the pair of drugs cut the risk of cancer progression or death in clinical trials by 42% when compared to chemotherapy.
The combination of Opdivo plus Yervoy has been approved in the U.S. for patients with intermediate and poor risk advanced renal cell carcinoma.
READ: Bristol-Myers falls after Citi analyst says Pfizer not interested in buying the drugmaker
“We … obtained FDA approval for Opdivo plus Yervoy in renal cell carcinoma, a disease with high unmet need which represents an important opportunity for the company,” said Giovanni Caforio, chairman and chief executive officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb. “I am confident that strong commercial execution, upcoming Phase 3 readouts across our oncology pipeline and continued strategic use of business development position us well for future growth.”
Bristol’s revenue for the quarter jumped 5% to US$5.19bn, up from US$4.93bn in the same period last year.
Bristol also managed to increase its earnings guidance for 2018 to US$3.35 to US$3.45 per share, up from its previous forecast of US$3.15 to US$3.30 per share and higher than Wall Street’s estimate of US$3.22 per share.
In pre-market trade, Bristol-Myers Squibb shares edged up slightly to US$52.20.