Correction - Updated version 1 - Bristol Myers Squibb raises its 2026 revenue forecast, lowers earnings per share expectations due to provisioning expenses.

Correct the "one-time" amount in paragraph 2 from 60 cents to 58 cents

Deena Beasley

Reuters, October 29 - Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY.N) on Thursday raised its full-year revenue outlook, citing strong new drug sales, but lowered its 2026 earnings per share forecast due to a substantial merger-related expense.

The U.S. pharmaceutical company said it now expects 2026 adjusted earnings per share to be $6.35 to $6.55, with revenue of $49.75 billion to $50.25 billion. Previously, the company forecast EPS of $6.75 to $7.00 and revenue of $49 billion to $50 billion. The company recorded a 58-cent expense this quarter.

According to 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 shares rose 2.3% in pre-market trading.

Third-quarter revenue grew 7% to $13.1 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $12.75 billion. Quarterly adjusted EPS was $1.35, also above Wall Street’s forecast of $1.14.

“We achieved strong commercial performance with our existing medicines, while also making meaningful advances on our late-stage pipeline,” chief commercialization officer Adam Lenkowsky said in an interview.

Bristol Myers Squibb said sales of its new drugs rose 12% year-on-year in the third quarter, driven by higher sales of products such as cancer cell therapy Breyanzi and anemia drug Reblozyl.

Sales of intravenous cancer immunotherapy Opdivo fell 6% from a year earlier to $2.37 billion, but its newer subcutaneous version Qvantig more than tripled sales to reach $334 million.

The company said sales of its “legacy” drugs grew 1% for the quarter, with sales of Eliquis, an anticoagulant co-developed with Pfizer (PFE.N), surging 25%.

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Lenkowsky said Bristol Myers Squibb is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the goal of resuming clinical trial recruitment for its experimental cell therapy zolacabtagene autoleucel for autoimmune diseases in early 2027.

In September, after Novartis (NOVN.S) halted eight experimental cell therapy trials (link) due to three patient deaths, the company also voluntarily paused its related study to review safety data.

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

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