Bristol Myers raises 2026 revenue forecast, lowers EPS due to charge

By Deena BeasleyOct 29 (Reuters) – Bristol Myers Squibb raised its full-year revenue forecast on Thursday, citing strong sales of its newer medicines, but lowered its 2026 earnings per share projection due to ​a hefty acquisition-related charge.The US drugmaker said it now expects 2026 ‌adjusted earnings of $6.35 to $6.55 per share on revenue of $49.75 billion to $50.25 billion. That compares with its previous estimates of $6.75 to $7.00 a share and $49 billion to $50 billion in revenue. The company took a charge of 60 cents in the quarter.Wall Street analysts, on average, ‌had ​forecast full-year EPS of $6.49 on revenue of $49.89 billion, ⁠according to LSEG data.Shares of ⁠the company were up 2.3% in premarket trading.Third-quarter revenue rose 7% to $13.1 billion, beating the $12.75 billion forecast by analysts. Quarterly adjusted earnings came in at $1.35 per share, which was also ahead of Wall Street expectations ​of $1.14.“We delivered strong commercial performance with the medicines that we have today, and we also made real progress on what’s coming next across our ⁠pipeline,” Adam Lenkowsky, the company’s chief commercialization ⁠officer, said in an interview.Bristol Myers said third-quarter sales of ​its newer drugs rose 12% from a year earlier, driven by higher sales ​of products like cancer cell therapy Breyanzi and anemia drug ‌Reblozyl.Sales of infused cancer immunotherapy Opdivo fell 6% from a year earlier to $2.37 billion, while sales of Qvantig, a newer subcutaneous version of the same drug, more than tripled to $334 million.The company said quarterly sales of its “legacy” medicines ⁠rose 1% cumulatively, including a 25% jump in sales of blood thinner Eliquis, which it shares with Pfizer.Lenkowsky said Bristol was working with the FDA with ⁠the aim of resuming ‌enrollment in clinical trials of its experimental cell therapy ⁠zolacabtagene autoleucel in autoimmune diseases in early 2027.In September, ​the company ‌implemented a voluntary pause on the studies to review ​safety data, ⁠after Novartis halted eight clinical trials of its experimental cell therapy following three patient deaths.Last week, Bristol disclosed the death of a patient enrolled in a trial of the cell therapy for treatment of relapsing or progressive forms of multiple sclerosis.(Reporting By Deena Beasley in Los Angeles, Sneha S K in BengaluruEditing ​by Bill Berkot)