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    Bristol Myers Squibb tops earnings estimates and hikes outlook, helped by Eliquis and new drugs

    Bristol Myers Squibb reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that blew past expectations on strong sales from its blood thinner Eliquis and a portfolio of drugs it expects to deliver long-term growth.
    The pharmaceutical giant also raised its full-year revenue and adjusted earnings forecast.
    The results come as Bristol Myers moves to slash $1.5 billion in costs by the end of 2025 and funnel that money into key drug brands and research and development programs.

    The Bristol Myers Squibb research and development center at Cambridge Crossing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023. 
    Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Bristol Myers Squibb on Thursday reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that blew past Wall Street’s expectations thanks to its blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis and a portfolio of drugs it expects to deliver long-term growth. 
    The pharmaceutical giant also raised its full-year revenue guidance for the year, expecting sales to increase by around 5%. Bristol Myers previously said it expected sales to rise in the “upper end” of the low single-digit range. 

    The company also raised its 2024 adjusted earnings guidance to 75 cents to 95 cents per share, up from a previous forecast of 60 cents to 90 cents per share. 
    The results come as Bristol Myers moves to cut $1.5 billion in costs by the end of 2025 and funnel that money into key drug brands and research and development programs. The company in April said that will involve laying off more than 2,000 employees, culling some drug programs and consolidating its sites, among other efforts. 
    Shares of the company rose more than 2% in premarket trading Thursday.
    Here is what Bristol Myers reported for the third quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: 

    Earnings per share: $1.80 adjusted vs. $1.49 expected
    Revenue: $11.89 billion vs. $11.28 billion expected 

    Bristol Myers posted net income of $1.21 billion, or 60 cents per share, for the third quarter. That compares with net income of $1.93 billion, or 93 cents per share, for the year-earlier period. 

    Excluding certain items, it reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.80 for the quarter. 
    The pharmaceutical giant’s revenue rose 8% from the same period a year ago to $11.89 billion. 
    The increase came from Eliquis and the company’s so-called “Growth Portfolio” of drugs, which includes a cancer drug called Opdivo. But revenue was partially offset by leukemia treatment Sprycel, which is facing generic competition due to its loss of exclusivity.
    The company is preparing to offset the loss in revenue from top-selling treatments slated to lose exclusivity on the market, including Eliquis, Opdivo and Revlimid, a blood cancer treatment. 
    Sales of Eliquis could also take a hit in 2026, when a new price for the drug goes into effect for certain Medicare patients following negotiations with the federal government. The first round of those price talks, a key provision of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, wrapped up in the summer. 
    Notably, the Food and Drug Administration approved Bristol Myers Squibb’s highly anticipated schizophrenia drug Cobenfy during the quarter. It is the first novel type of treatment for the debilitating, chronic mental disorder in more than seven decades.

    Eliquis, new drugs post growth 

    Eliquis booked $3 billion in sales for the quarter, up 11% from the year-ago period. That was above the $2.84 billion that analysts were expecting, according to estimates compiled by StreetAccount.
    The blood thinner, which Bristol Myers shares with Pfizer, is expected to lose market exclusivity by 2028.
    Revlimid took in $1.41 billion in sales, down 1% from the same period a year ago. That surpassed analysts’ revenue expectations of $1.11 billion for the treatment, according to StreetAccount. 
    Revenue from the company’s Growth Portfolio was $5.8 billion for the third quarter, up 18% from the year-earlier period. 
    That was driven in part by higher demand for anemia drug Reblozyl, which raked in $447 million in the third quarter, up 80% from the same period a year ago. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected that treatment to bring in $435 million in revenue. 
    Advanced melanoma treatment Opdualag, lymphoma treatment Breyanzi and Camzyos, a drug for a certain heart conditions, also helped fuel the Growth Portfolio’s revenue during the third quarter, according to the company. 
    Breyanzi and Camzyos posted sales above analysts’ expectations, while Opdualag fell short of estimates, according to StreetAccount. 
    Opdivo brought in $2.36 billion in revenue for the third quarter, up 4% from the year-earlier period. That fell under analysts’ estimate of $2.41 billion for the quarter, StreetAccount said. 
    Meanwhile, Abecma, a cell therapy for a rare blood cancer called multiple myeloma, drew $124 million in sales for the quarter. Analysts had expected $110 million in revenue. More

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    Greenland faces one of history’s great resource rushes—and curses

    A billion years ago, as one tectonic plate ripped apart from another, two chambers of magma were sealed off beneath what would later become Greenland. As thousands of years passed, the magma cooled, each layer crystallising under rarefied conditions. Today the Ilimaussaq intrusion is a giant fold of rock beneath Gardar, in south-west Greenland. By a stroke of luck, it is home to 30 of the world’s most desired raw materials. More

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    Ireland’s government has an unusual problem: too much money

    Across Europe fiscal policy is causing headaches. The governments of Britain and France are both raising tax rates sharply. Germany is hobbled by a self-imposed debt brake. Meanwhile, Italy’s profligate borrowing continues to unsettle investors. Ireland faces a different problem: the government is so flush with cash it does not know quite what to do with it. More

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    American men are getting back to work

    America’s politicians have long worried about the rising share of men out of work. More on the sidelines means slower economic growth, heftier benefit payments and a frailer social fabric. During the election campaign, both candidates have offered policies designed to tackle this long-standing problem. Donald Trump proposes sweeping tariffs and clamping down on illegal immigration. Kamala Harris vows to revive traditional male sectors, not least manufacturing. More

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    Why China needs to fill its empty homes

    If not another flat was built and sales continued at their current pace, it would take eight years to sell all the homes lying dormant around Luoyang, a city of 7m in central China. The region is a hot spot for the country’s property crisis, where years of overbuilding have turned entire districts into housing graveyards. Sprawling wastelands of concrete and glass scar the city. More

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    Sin taxes are suffering from a shortage of sinners

    Pity the California taxman. The state has a yawning budget deficit, which politicians are attempting to narrow. Local laws make it difficult to raise taxes, requiring a two-thirds majority. Worse, once-reliable sources of funds are running dry. Fuel-tax revenues are forecast to fall sharply as drivers switch to electric vehicles. Revenues from cigarette taxes have fallen by $500m, or 29%, since 2017; now those from alcohol taxes are dropping, too. This is a concern: at present, revenues from the trio of taxes amount to nearly half of what the state spends on higher education. More

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    Merck tops earnings estimates on strong demand for Keytruda, new drugs even as HPV vaccine sales fall

    Merck reported third-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that topped expectations.
    The company saw strong sales from its top-selling cancer drug Keytruda, recently launched treatments and its animal health business. 
    But Merck’s vaccine that prevents cancer from HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S., posted another quarter of lighter-than-expected sales.

    The exterior view of the entrance to Merck headquarters in Rahway, New Jersey, on Feb. 5, 2024.
    Spencer Platt | Getty Images

    Merck on Thursday reported third-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that topped expectations as the company saw strong sales from its top-selling cancer drug Keytruda, recently launched treatments and its animal health business. 
    But Merck’s vaccine that prevents cancer from HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S., posted another quarter of lighter-than-expected sales. Revenue from the shot, Gardasil, fell 11% compared to the year-earlier period, mainly due to lower demand in China. 

    The pharmaceutical giant narrowed its full-year sales forecast to a range of $63.6 billion to $64.1 billion, from a previous guidance of $63.4 billion to $64.4 billion. 
    Merck also lowered its adjusted profit guidance from a range of $7.72 to $7.77 per share, from a previous forecast of $7.94 to $8.04 per share. That updated outlook reflects a one-time charge of 24 cents per share related to business development deals with Curon Biopharmaceutical and Daiichi Sankyo. 
    Here’s what Merck reported for the third quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: 

    Earnings per share: $1.57 adjusted vs. $1.50 expected
    Revenue: $16.66 billion vs. $16.46 billion expected

    Merck posted net income of $3.16 billion, or $1.24 per share, for the third quarter. That compares with net income of $4.75 billion, or $1.86 per share, during the year-earlier period. 
    Excluding acquisition and restructuring costs, Merck earned $1.57 per share for the three-month period. 

    The company booked $16.66 billion in revenue for the third quarter, up 4% from the same period a year ago.
    The results come as Merck shows substantial progress in preparing for Keytruda’s patent expiration in 2028. The loss of exclusive rights to the medicine will likely cause sales to fall, forcing the company to draw revenue from elsewhere.
    But Merck has a handful of new deals under its belt and key drug launches that will help it offset those losses. That includes Winrevair, a medication approved in the U.S. in March to treat a progressive and life-threatening lung condition. 
    And Capvaxive, a vaccine designed to protect adults from a bacteria known as pneumococcus that can cause serious illnesses and lung infection, was approved in the U.S. in June. 

    Pharmaceutical unit beats estimates

    Merck’s pharmaceutical division, which develops a wide range of drugs, booked $14.94 billion in revenue during the third quarter, up 5% from the same period a year ago.
    The company’s immunotherapy drug Keytruda recorded $7.43 billion in revenue during the quarter, up 17% from the year-earlier period. Analysts had been expecting $7.33 billion in Keytruda sales, according to estimates from StreetAccount. 
    That increase was driven by higher uptake of Keytruda for earlier-stage cancers and strong demand for the drug for metastatic cancers, which spread to other parts of the body. 

    Source: Merck

    Gardasil brought in $2.31 billion in sales, down 11% from the third quarter of 2023. Merck said the decline was primarily due to lower demand in China compared with the year-earlier period. It was partially offset by higher sales in the U.S. 
    That is below the $2.51 billion that analysts expected, according to StreetAccount. 
    Winrevair posted $149 million in revenue for the third quarter following its approval in March. Analysts had expected the treatment to book $127 million in sales. 
    The company’s Type 2 diabetes treatment, Januvia, saw $482 million in sales, down 42% from the same period a year ago. Merck said the decline was primarily due to lower prices of the drug in the U.S., along with generic competition in several countries. 
    Analysts had expected the drug to rake in $610 million in sales, StreetAccount said. 
    Januvia is one of 10 drugs targeted in ongoing Medicare drug price negotiations, a policy that aims to make costly medications more affordable for seniors. Those price talks, a key provision of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, will end at the beginning of August.
    Sales of Merck’s Covid antiviral pill, Lagevrio, also fell 40% to $383 million during the quarter. 
    Still, that topped analysts’ expectations of $124.2 million in sales, according to StreetAccount.  
    Merck’s animal health division, which develops vaccines and medicines for dogs, cats and cattle, posted $1.49 billion in sales for the third quarter. That is up 6% from the year-earlier period and slightly above what analysts surveyed by StreetAccount were expecting. More

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    Morgan Stanley is launching an investing index tied to sports teams

    Morgan Stanley is introducing a new portfolio for investors tied to the most prominent sports leagues.
    It will target high net worth sports fans and will carry a minimum investment of $250,000.
    Sports have proven to be an attractive and growing asset class as valuations have skyrocketed over the past decade.

    The Morgan Stanley headquarters in New York on Dec. 27, 2023.
    Angus Mordant | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Morgan Stanley is introducing a new portfolio for investors tied to the most prominent sports leagues.
    The investment bank’s wealth management division on Thursday announced the launch of what it is calling Parametric Custom Core Sports League strategy. The portfolio, aimed at high net worth sports fans, will allow them to invest in a curated index of companies with strong sponsorship, media and advertisement ties to the most prominent sports leagues.

    There is a $250,000 investment minimum to participate.
    Sports have proven to be an attractive and growing asset class as valuations have skyrocketed over the past decade. That has left those who are still on the sidelines wanting to get in. But for most Americans, owning a pro sports team is financially well out of reach. Morgan Stanley is hoping to change that.
    The idea for the new offering first came about when a Morgan Stanley client asked the bank to design a portfolio made up of the companies that support a specific sport.
    “We saw that there was a bigger opportunity to do something here,” said Sandra Richards, managing director and head of Morgan Stanley’s Global Sports and Entertainment Division. “This one person represents many, and multiples of many that are looking to invest in sports as a fan looking to get engaged.”
    The portfolio’s holdings are selected from large-cap U.S. equities and will consist of between 250 and 400 securities from companies that you may see on the sidelines, in the tickers or among the advertisers of major sporting events.

    Morgan Stanley says the portfolio will mimic the risk characteristics of the S&P 500.
    The bank, which has $516 billion of assets under management, will tap into Nielsen Sports as its data source to track the activity, spending and visibility of the companies with exposure to professional sports leagues.
    “We see the demand from our clients that are asking about ways to invest in sports,” said Richards. “And it’s going to continue.”

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