Amgen Beats Expectations for Fourth Quarter

Amgen Inc. beat Wall Street estimates in the fourth quarter, as sales from newer drugs such as migraine medication Aimovig offset lower revenue from older, off-patent medications.For the quarter ending Dec. 31, the Thousand Oaks biotech reported adjusted net income of $2.23 billion ($3.81 a share) compared to $2.17 billion ($3.64 a share) for the same period a year ago. Revenues increased 7 percent compared to a year ago to $6.63 billion.Analysts on average predicted net income of $3.36 a share on revenue of $6.57 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.Total product sales increased 8 percent in the fourth quarter, driven by 13 percent volume growth, the company said.For the full year, Amgen’s adjusted net income was $9.8 billion ($16.60 per share); total revenues increased 9 percent to $25.4 billion.“In a year marked by the disruption of COVID-19, we served patients around the world without interruption, advanced our pipeline and delivered strong financial performance, all while keeping our employees safe,” Robert Bradway, chief executive of Amgen, said in a statement. “As we move into 2021, we look forward to commercializing our pipeline successes.”For guidance, Amgen expects “quarter-to-quarter variability” throughout this year, with recovery in the second half of the year, depending on the speed and effectiveness of the global vaccine rollout, the company said in the report.The company announced results after market close. Shares of Amgen (AMGN) closed Tuesday up 6 cents, or a fraction of a percent, to $240.49 on the Nasdaq.