TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. trounced Wall Street's first-quarter profit expectations as soaring sales of key new medicines offset higher expenses and a big hit from generic competition. Those factors left the drugmaker with a nearly flat profit, but Bristol-Myers hiked its 2016 adjusted profit forecast by 20 cents per share, to $2.50 to $2.60.
The New York-based company says net income amounted to $1.2 billion, up 0.8 percent from 2015's first-quarter. Earnings per share amounted to 74 cents excluding one-time items, 9 cents above what analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting.
Revenue totaled $4.39 billion, up from $4.04 billion in the year-ago quarter and above the $4.27 billion analysts were expecting.
That surging revenue was offset by higher taxes, research spending and manufacturing costs — due to the growing product sales.