Shares of Viatris Inc. (VTRS) surged a staggering 15.68% on November 7, 2024, after the generic drugmaker reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, fueled by strong demand for its newly launched generic drugs.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, Viatris posted adjusted earnings of $0.75 per share, surpassing analysts' average estimate of $0.68 per share. Revenue came in at $3.74 billion, beating the consensus forecast of $3.71 billion.

The company's impressive performance was driven by robust sales of its recently introduced generic versions of popular drugs like AstraZeneca's asthma inhaler Symbicort and Takeda's ADHD medication Vyvanse. Revenue from new product launches totaled $133 million in the third quarter, contributing significantly to the overall revenue beat.

"We continue to make excellent progress executing on our debt paydown commitment and are on pace to achieve our long-term gross leverage target of ~3.0x by year-end," said Viatris CFO Doretta Mistras.

While reaffirming its full-year revenue guidance in the range of $14.6 billion to $15.1 billion, Viatris slightly lowered its adjusted earnings per share forecast to $2.56 to $2.71, from the previous estimate of $2.58 to $2.73. The company cited higher expected R&D costs related to its licensing agreement for Lexicon's diabetes drug sotagliflozin as the reason for the EPS guidance revision.