By Deena Beasley
(Reuters) – Amgen on Thursday said its first-quarter profit rose 24%, handily exceeding Wall Street expectations, as product sales increased 11% and profit margins widened.
Shares of the biotechnology company, which fell more than 2% in regular trading, were flat after hours.
Amgen reported adjusted earnings per share of $4.90 for the quarter, sailing past the average analyst estimate of $4.30, as compiled by LSEG.
Overall revenue rose 9% to $8.1 billion, which was in line with Wall Street estimates.
For the full year, Amgen said it still expects adjusted earnings per share of $20.00 to $21.20 on revenue of $34.3 billion to $35.7 billion. Analysts, on average, have estimated earnings of $20.63 per share on revenue of $35.1 billion.
Amgen said its 2025 outlook includes the impact of implemented tariffs, but does not account for any future levies, including potential sector-specific tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has opened a national security investigation into pharmaceuticals in a bid to demonstrate why the U.S. needs tariffs to boost domestic manufacturing.
Amgen CEO Robert Bradway, on a conference call to discuss the results, said it was “premature to speculate” about the full impact of tariffs or tax changes, while emphasizing that Amgen has “proven our ability to adapt and demonstrated operating ability to navigate change.”
The company is slated to present at a medical meeting next month full results from a mid-stage trial of its experimental weight-loss drug MariTide, viewed by many investors as a potential blockbuster.
Amgen is conducting late-stage trials of the drug in patients with and without diabetes, and said results from a Phase 2 diabetes trial will be announced in the second half of this year.
The company also said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has lifted its clinical hold on an early-stage trial of a different experimental weight-loss drug known as AMG 513.
The first-quarter results “suggest momentum for established products, but uncertainty is apparent in the newer growth portfolio, both of which highlight the importance of obesity as a future driver for shares,” Citi Research analyst Geoff Meacham said in a note to clients.
Some analysts have forecast the market for weight-loss drugs will reach $150 billion a year in the next decade.
Amgen’s sales of bone drug Prolia rose 10% to $1.1 billion, but the company said it expects lower sales of the medication later in the year as biosimilar competitors are launched.
Sales of cholesterol-lowering medication Repatha rose 27% to $656 million, while sales of much older arthritis drug Enbrel fell 10% to $567 million.
In the rare disease space, sales of thyroid eye disease drug Tepezza fell 10% to $381 million, and sales of gout treatment Krystexxa were flat at $236 million. Both drugs were acquired with Amgen’s 2023 purchase of Horizon Therapeutics.
(Reporting By Deena Beasley; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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