News of a significant earnings beat propelled Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN 4.53%) to a nearly 5% share price gain on the second trading day of the week. The company posted its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results before market open, and investors were clearly impressed by the numbers. Regeneron’s price zoomed well higher than the S&P 500 index’s trajectory, which was a rise of 0.7% on the day.
A crushing bottom-line beat
The quarter saw Regeneron grow its revenue by 10% year over year to just under $3.79 billion. Although non-GAAP (adjusted) net income didn’t rise as precipitously, it did improve, gaining 2% to $1.39 billion. The latter figure shook out to $12.07 per share.
That meant a double beat for the pharmaceutical company, especially on the bottom line, as analyst expectations for the period were more modest. Collectively, they were anticipating Regeneron would book $3.76 billion in revenue, filtering down to adjusted net income of $11.27 per share.
Sales of its leading product, retina disorder treatment Eylea, crept up by 2% during the period to bring in slightly under $1.5 billion. Of its remaining product sales, standouts included cancer drug Libtayo, with a robust 50% gain to $367 million. The company’s collaboration revenue derived from partnerships with Sanofi and Bayer rose by 17% to nearly $1.61 billion.
Headed in the right direction
Regeneron also proffered selected guidance for the entirety of 2025. It anticipated spending $5 billion to $5.2 billion on non-GAAP research and development expenses, while capital expenditures should land at $850 million to $975 million. It did not provide revenue or profitability forecasts.
Although that’s a bit atypical, all in all it was a solid earnings report for the company. Its portfolio isn’t large, but it is a good mix of established and up-and-coming products, plus it’s doing well with collaborations and has a robust pipeline. There is much to like about this stock these days.
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.