Call participants
- Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer — Christopher Boerner
- Chief Financial Officer — David Elkins
- Chief Commercialization Officer — Adam Lenkowsky
- Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Drug Development — Cristian Massacesi
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Takeaways
- Total Company Sales — $12.2 billion, with robust demand fueling performance across the portfolio.
- Growth Portfolio Sales — Increased 17%, supported by products in earlier life-cycle stages, particularly the IO portfolio, Reblozyl, Camzyos, and Breyanzi.
- Opdivo — Global sales reached approximately $2.5 billion, up 6%, driven by MSI-high colorectal cancer launch and non-small cell lung cancer growth in the U.S, and broader indications internationally.
- Qvantig — Reported $67 million in quarterly sales, supported by expanded reimbursement (permanent J-code) and uptake across approved tumor types.
- Reblozyl — Global sales were $615 million, up 38% in the U.S. and 31% ex-U.S, with annualized brand sales surpassing $2 billion.
- Breyanzi — Quarterly global sales hit $359 million, with U.S. sales up 45% and ex-U.S. sales more than doubling; the product is annualizing over $1 billion.
- Camzyos — Achieved global sales of $296 million (up 88%), with U.S. sales up 76%, and ex-U.S. sales growth more than doubling; also annualizing over $1 billion.
- Eliquis — Global sales totaled $3.7 billion, rising 23% (up 29% in the U.S. and 11% internationally), with management citing a positive Medicare Part D redesign impact.
- Sotyktu — Worldwide sales rose 20%; U.S. sales were flat due to offsetting rebate increases linked to greater commercial access.
- Cobenfy — Quarterly sales reached $43 million ($105 million year-to-date), with prescription growth highlighted as steady, physician feedback positive, and virtually 100% Medicare/Medicaid access established in the U.S.
- Gross Margin — Reported at approximately 73%, attributed primarily to product mix.
- Operating Expenses — Fell by about $100 million, to $4.2 billion, as a result of ongoing productivity initiatives.
- Effective Tax Rate — Recorded at 22.3%, reflecting the mix of earnings for the period.
- Diluted Earnings Per Share — Stood at $1.63, which includes roughly $530 million ($0.20 per share) in charges from acquired in-process R&D and licensing, mainly tied to the PhiloChem license and SystImmune milestone.
- Operating Cash Flow — Generated $6.3 billion in the quarter; cash, equivalents, and marketable securities reached nearly $17 billion as of September 30.
- Debt Paydown — $6.7 billion repaid toward a planned $10 billion reduction by the first half of 2026.
- Full-Year Revenue Guidance — Raised by $750 million at the midpoint to $47.5 billion–$48 billion, based on growth portfolio strength.
- Legacy Portfolio Decline — Projected at approximately 15%-17% for the year, with Revlimid sales expected to remain at approximately $3 billion and continuing generic pressure on Pomalyst, Sprycel, and Abraxane.
- Guidance for Non-GAAP EPS — Narrowed to $6.40–$6.60, with the midpoint unchanged, reflecting offsetting effects of improved business performance and increased R&D/license charges.
- Business Development — Orbital Therapeutics acquisition announced to expand cell therapy, adding OTX-201 and RNA technology, with the PhiloChem licensing deal also completed for Onco-ACP3 in radiopharmaceuticals.
- Research Pipeline Progress — Highlighted EXCALIBER Phase III success for Iberdomide (MRD negativity in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma), initial pivotal study launches in triple-negative breast cancer, and accelerated data timelines in milvexian (Factor XIa anticoagulant) and admilparant (IPF).
- Regulatory Milestones — Achieved breakthrough therapy designation for iza-bren (bispecific ADC) in advanced EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer and Fast Track designation for anti-tau antibody in Alzheimer’s disease; pivotal readouts for key programs will accelerate in 2026 and beyond.
- Pipeline Catalysts — Anticipate data by year-end for ADEPT-2 and in 2026 for seven new molecular entities and seven life-cycle management opportunities.
- Strategic Initiatives — Cost discipline ongoing, digital/AI integration in operations being expanded, and commitment to shareholder capital returns maintained (dividend and deleveraging).
Summary
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY +0.41%) reported double-digit sales growth in its core growth portfolio, underpinned by strong demand in oncology, hematology, and cardiovascular franchises. Management raised full-year revenue expectations by $750 million and reaffirmed cost control through expense reductions, maintaining financial flexibility. As of the end of the third quarter, $6.7 billion of the $10 billion debt paydown committed to by the first half of 2026 has been repaid. The call detailed progress on key clinical and regulatory programs, with pivotal data readouts anticipated across multiple late-stage pipeline assets and strategic acquisitions expanding capabilities in cell therapy and radiopharmaceuticals.
- Management stated that “virtually 100% access” for Cobenfy has been secured across both Medicare and Medicaid markets in the U.S.
- Chief Medical Officer Massacesi highlighted the strategic focus on scientific prioritization, digital innovation, and talent acquisition as central to pipeline execution efforts.
- The company confirmed milestones for pivotal programs, stating, “over the next 12 to 24 months alone, we expect data for 7 new molecular entities and 7 meaningful life cycle management opportunities.”
- Chief Commercialization Officer Lenkowsky confirmed continued strategic investment through direct-to-patient programs, citing Eliquis pricing “over 40% less than the list price” and Sotyktu discounts of “greater than 80% discount effective January 1.”
- Regulatory discussions for accelerated approval pathways will consider the recent MRD endpoint success in iberdomide’s EXCALIBER trial, with Massacesi noting, “we will discuss not only with FDA, with multiple regulatory agencies to see if this readout can grant or not an accelerated conditional approval.”
- Elkins disclosed, “we have clear line of sight to the $2 billion that we’re targeting by 2027,” confirming progress on the strategic productivity initiative.
Industry glossary
- MRD Negativity: Minimal residual disease negativity; a clinical trial endpoint indicating no detectable cancer cells after treatment, used in hematological malignancies.
- ADC (Antibody-Drug Conjugate): Therapeutic agents consisting of an antibody linked to a cytotoxic drug, targeting specific cell markers in cancer treatment.
- CAR-T: Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy; a form of cell therapy where patients’ T-cells are modified to attack cancer cells.
- CD19 NEX-T: Next-generation CD19-targeted CAR-T therapy, under development for both oncology and autoimmune diseases.
- MSS mCRC: Microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer; a subtype unresponsive to certain immunotherapies.
- GEP-NETs: Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors; rare tumors affecting hormone-producing cells in the digestive system.
- MSI-high: Microsatellite instability-high; a biomarker for tumor responsiveness to certain immunotherapies.
- OTX-201: An in vivo CAR-T asset acquired via Orbital Therapeutics for autoimmune disease treatment.
- Onco-ACP3: Licensed radiopharmaceutical agent targeting prostate cancer, in partnership with PhiloChem.
- EXCALIBER: Phase III clinical trial of iberdomide in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.
- IO Portfolio: Immuno-oncology product portfolio; a group of drugs leveraging the immune system to fight cancer.
Full Conference Call Transcript
Chris Boerner, our Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer; and David Elkins, our Chief Financial Officer. Also participating in today’s call is Adam Lenkowsky, our Chief Commercialization Officer; and we welcome Cristian Massacesi, our recently appointed Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Drug Development. Earlier this morning, we posted our quarterly slide presentation to bms.com that you can use to follow along with Chris and David’s remarks. Before we get started, I’ll remind everybody that during this call, we will make statements about the company’s future plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements.
Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by those forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including those discussed in the company’s SEC filings. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any future date, and we specifically disclaim any obligation to update forward-looking statements even if our estimates change. We’ll also focus our comments on our non-GAAP financial measures, which are adjusted to exclude certain specified items. Reconciliations of certain non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measures are available at bms.com.
Finally, unless otherwise stated, all comparisons are made from the same period in 2024, and sales growth rates will be discussed on an underlying basis, which excludes the impact of foreign exchange. All references to our P&L are on a non-GAAP basis.
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