MW Biogen's stock hit by soft guidance and a decline in sales of MS drugs

By Ciara Linnane

Better-than-expected Alzheimer's disease treatment sales and a quarterly beat not enough to offset below-consensus EPS outlook

Biogen Inc.'s stock $(BIIB)$ fell 0.6% early Wednesday, after the biotech beat fourth-quarter earnings estimates but offered guidance that lagged consensus, as sales of its multiple sclerosis drug fell short of expectations.

Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen had net income of $266.8 million, or $1.83 a share, for the quarter, up from $249.7 million, or $1.71 a share, a year ago. Adjusted for one-time items, EPS came to $3.44, ahead of the $3.35 FactSet consensus.

Revenue rose 3% to $2.455 billion and was also ahead of the $2.408 billion FactSet consensus.

Sales of the company's Alzheimer's disease treatment leqembi came to about $87 million, ahead of the $67 million FactSet consensus. But sales of the core multiple-sclerosis portfolio fell 7% to $1.070 billion.

"Fourth quarter revenue from product launches continued to offset year-over-year decline in multiple sclerosis product revenue," the company said in a statement.

Revenue from the rare-disease-medication skyclarys came to about $102 million, while FactSet was expecting $56 million, The drug has nearly doubled the number of patients on it globally as compared with year-end 2023. In the U.S., skyclarys revenue came to about $71 million and was hit by channel inventory and Medicare-discount dynamics, said Biogen.

Revenue from the postpartum-depression treatment zurzuvae came to about $23 million in the quarter, while FactSet was expecting $26 million.

Rare-disease revenue overall rose 15% to $535 million, while biosimilars revenue was up 7% to $202 million.

The company is now expecting 2025 EPS to range from $15.25 to $16.25, below the $16.33 FactSet consensus. Revenue is expected to decline by a mid-single-digit percent on a constant currency basis, as further declines in MS product revenue are expected to be partially offset by higher revenue from product launches.

Biogen is expecting its 2025 operating margin to remain flat. The Fit for All cost-cutting program is expected to generate about $1 billion of gross savings and $800 million of reinvestment by year-end.

The guidance does not include any assumptions relating to changes in healthcare policy under the Trump administration, tax reform or acquisitions, as Biogen said that are difficult to predict.

The stock has fallen 43% in the last 12 months, while the SPDR S&P Biotech exchange-traded fund XBI has fallen 4% and the S&P 500 SPX has gained 20.8%.

-Ciara Linnane

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February 12, 2025 07:48 ET (12:48 GMT)

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