Bristol-Myers Squibb FY2025: Revenue Flat at $48.2B, Growth Portfolio Up 17%, EPS Swings to $3.46 on Lower Charges

What happened

Bristol-Myers Squibb delivered essentially flat total revenues of $48.2 billion in 2025, as a 17% increase in the Growth Portfolio was offset by a 15% decline in the Legacy Portfolio. U.S. revenues declined 2% to $33.3 billion due to higher government channel rebates and generic erosion, while international revenues grew 5% to $13.8 billion. The Growth Portfolio, now representing 55% of total revenues, was driven by strong performance from Opdivo ($10.0 billion, +8%), Eliquis ($14.4 billion, +8%), Reblozyl ($2.3 billion, +31%), Breyanzi ($1.4 billion, +82%), and Camzyos ($1.1 billion, +77%). New products Opdivo Qvantig and Cobenfy contributed $238 million and $155 million respectively. The Legacy Portfolio faced significant headwinds, with Revlimid declining 49% to $3.0 billion as volume-unlimited generics entered the U.S. market in January 2026, Sprycel down 62% following generic entry in September 2024, and Abraxane down 58% from generic competition. GAAP earnings per share improved dramatically from a loss of $4.41 to earnings of $3.46, primarily due to the absence of the $12.1 billion Karuna acquisition charge recorded in 2024. Acquired IPRD charges declined 72% to $3.7 billion, and amortization of acquired intangibles fell 63% to $3.3 billion as the Revlimid intangible asset was fully amortized in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company's strategic productivity initiative delivered meaningful reductions in selling, general and administrative expenses (down 14%) and research and development expenses (down 11%). Gross-to-net adjustments increased from 44% to 47% of gross sales, driven by the redesign of the Medicare Part D program and higher government channel mix.

Why it matters for investors

The results illustrate a company in transition, managing the decline of major legacy products while building momentum in a diversified Growth Portfolio. The 17% growth in newer products demonstrates commercial execution strength, but the company faces mounting external pressures. The IRA's price-setting mechanism has already established a maximum fair price for Eliquis effective January 2026 and Pomalyst effective January 2027, with Orencia selected for 2028 negotiations. This represents an accelerating threat to margins and pricing power, particularly as the government channel mix increases. The U.S. Government Agreement, while providing tariff relief and exemption from future U.S. pricing mandates through January 2029, requires Eliquis to be provided free to Medicaid starting January 2026 and direct-to-patient discounts of approximately 80% for select products. These arrangements create significant uncertainty around future cash generation from key assets. The sharp improvement in profitability reflects normalization after the 2024 Karuna acquisition charge, but also demonstrates the benefit of cost discipline. With net debt improving by $4.4 billion to $34.0 billion and operating cash flow remaining strong at $14.2 billion, the company maintains financial flexibility despite returning $5.0 billion in dividends. However, capital deployment for acquisitions remains constrained by leverage levels. The ongoing strategic productivity initiative targeting $2.0 billion in savings by 2027 is essential to offset margin compression from pricing pressures and maintain investment capacity in R&D.

Key highlights

Bristol-Myers Squibb is navigating a complex operating environment marked by portfolio transformation and intensifying pricing pressures. The company achieved revenue stability in 2025 at $48.2 billion despite generic erosion across legacy products, demonstrating that the Growth Portfolio is beginning to offset structural declines. Profitability improved significantly with GAAP EPS of $3.46 versus a loss of $4.41 in the prior year, benefiting from the absence of the Karuna acquisition charge, lower amortization as Revlimid's intangible asset was fully amortized, and disciplined cost management. The Growth Portfolio grew 17% to $26.4 billion, now representing 55% of total revenues, driven by Opdivo, Eliquis, Reblozyl, Breyanzi, and Camzyos. The company secured multiple regulatory approvals and label expansions, broadening the commercial opportunity for key assets. However, the business faces material headwinds from government pricing interventions. The December 2025 U.S. Government Agreement will eliminate Eliquis revenue from Medicaid starting January 2026, and IRA-mandated maximum fair prices are now in effect or pending for Eliquis, Pomalyst, and Orencia. Gross-to-net deductions rose to 47% of gross sales, reflecting higher government channel mix and Medicare Part D redesign, which structurally compresses margins. The Legacy Portfolio declined 15%, with Revlimid down 49% as volume-unlimited generics entered in January 2026, Sprycel down 62%, and Abraxane down 58%. Operating cash flow declined 7% to $14.2 billion, impacted by higher GTN payments, though the company reduced net debt by $4.4 billion to $34.0 billion through $8.7 billion in debt repurchases while maintaining a $5.0 billion dividend commitment. The ongoing strategic productivity initiative targeting $2.0 billion in savings by 2027 is essential to preserving operating leverage amid revenue and margin pressure.

Management commentary

Management emphasized the company's strategic focus on delivering transformational medicines in targeted disease areas including oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular, and neuroscience. The company highlighted progress in advancing its pipeline through internal R&D and business development, including the acquisition of Orbital Therapeutics for in vivo CAR-T capabilities, a strategic collaboration with BioNTech for pumitamig, and expansion of radiopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity. Management noted the successful execution of the strategic productivity initiative, which is streamlining the enterprise operating model across R&D, manufacturing, commercial, and support functions to accelerate delivery of medicines to patients. The company expressed confidence in its ability to replace revenue from products losing patent protection through successful development and commercialization of new products, while acknowledging the high rate of failure inherent in pharmaceutical R&D. Management addressed the impact of government pricing actions, stating it continues to evaluate the impact of the IRA and acknowledging that these changes may result in a material impact on business and results of operations. The U.S. Government Agreement was framed as providing tariff relief and exemption from future U.S. pricing mandates through January 2029, though such exemptions may be terminated or not extended. Management emphasized that the company believes its existing cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, and ability to generate cash from operations are sufficient to satisfy existing and anticipated cash needs for at least the next few years, including dividends, capital expenditures, milestone payments, debt maturities, and business development activities.

What to watch next

Investors should monitor:

• Revenue trajectory for Eliquis following the January 2026 implementation of the U.S. Government Agreement eliminating Medicaid revenue and the IRA maximum fair price in the Medicare channel, which could materially accelerate erosion of the company's second-largest product.

• Continued generic penetration for Revlimid, Pomalyst (generic entry expected March 2026), and other Legacy Portfolio products, and the company's ability to offset these declines with Growth Portfolio expansion to maintain revenue stability.

• Progress on the strategic productivity initiative and realization of the targeted $2.0 billion in cost savings by the end of 2027, which is critical to maintaining operating margins amid pricing and revenue pressures.

• Clinical trial results and regulatory decisions for late-stage pipeline assets including milvexian (Librexia AF and Librexia STROKE topline data expected 2026), Sotyktu for psoriatic arthritis (PDUFA date March 6, 2026), and Opdivo for classical Hodgkin Lymphoma (PDUFA date April 8, 2026).

This summary is based solely on excerpts from the company's Form 10-K filing.