Updated Version 1 - Bristol-Myers Squibb raises 2026 revenue forecast, lowers earnings per share outlook due to provision expenses

Stock price information was added in paragraph 4, along with a chart.

Deena Beasley

Reuters, October 29 - Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY.N) raised its full-year revenue expectations on Thursday, citing strong sales of its new drugs, but lowered its 2026 earnings per share forecast due to substantial acquisition-related costs.

The U.S. pharmaceutical company now expects adjusted earnings per share in 2026 to be $6.35 to $6.55 and revenue to be $49.75 billion to $50.25 billion. Previously, the company expected EPS of $6.75 to $7.00 and revenue of $49 billion to $50 billion. The company recorded a $0.60 expense this quarter.

According to London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) data, Wall Street analysts previously expected the company’s full-year EPS to average $6.49, with revenue at $49.89 billion.

The company’s stock price rose 2.3% in pre-market trading.

Third quarter revenue grew 7% to $13.1 billion, beating analysts’ expectations of $12.75 billion. Adjusted quarterly earnings per share were $1.35, also above Wall Street’s forecast of $1.14.

“We delivered strong commercial performance with our existing medicines, while also making meaningful progress on our pipeline products in research and development,” said Adam Lenkowsky, the company’s Chief Commercialization Officer, in an interview.

Bristol-Myers Squibb said that driven by sales increases of new products like the cancer cell therapy Breyanzi and the anemia drug Reblozyl, its new drug sales for the third quarter rose 12% year-on-year.

Sales of intravenous cancer immunotherapy Opdivo fell 6% from a year earlier to $2.37 billion, while the newer subcutaneous formulation of the same drug, Qvantig, more than tripled its sales to $334 million.

The company said its “legacy” drug portfolio’s quarterly revenue rose 1% overall, with sales of the anticoagulant Eliquis, co-developed with Pfizer PFE.N, jumping 25%.

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Lenkowsky said Bristol-Myers Squibb is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to resume enrollment in its clinical trials of the experimental cell therapy zolacabtagene autoleucel for autoimmune diseases in early 2027.

In September, after Novartis (NOVN.S) halted eight experimental cell therapy clinical trials following the deaths of three patients ((link)), Bristol-Myers Squibb also voluntarily paused related studies to review safety data.

Last week, Bristol-Myers Squibb disclosed the death of a patient enrolled in its cell therapy clinical trial (link), which aims to treat relapsing or progressing multiple sclerosis.

(To assist non-native English speakers, Reuters has automatically translated its reports into several other languages. Since automated translation may contain errors or may not include the required context, Reuters does not guarantee the accuracy of automated translations and provides them solely for readers’ convenience. Reuters accepts no liability for any damage or loss caused by the use of automated translation.)