Biogen beats estimates on cost cuts and new drugs like Leqembi, but profit outlook falls short 

Biogen on Wednesday posted fourth-quarter revenue and profit that topped expectations as its cost cuts showed progress and new products, including its breakthrough Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi, saw growth. 

But the biotech company’s guidance for the current year missed Wall Street’s expectations. Biogen issued a full-year 2025 adjusted earnings outlook of $15.25 to $16.25 per share, which fell short of the $16.34 per share that analysts were anticipating, according to LSEG. That reflects a foreign exchange headwind of 35 cents per share, Biogen said.  

Biogen expects revenue to decline by a “mid-single digit” percentage in 2025 compared to 2024, as sales of its multiple sclerosis products fall. That portion of the business has declined for several quarters as some of those therapies face generic competition. 

But Biogen expects Leqembi, along with its new rare disease and depression treatments, to help offset that sliding revenue this year. 

Leqembi generated $87 million in revenue for the fourth quarter, including $50 million in the U.S. Analysts had expected the drug to book $67 million in sales, according to estimates from StreetAccount. 

Leqembi, which Biogen shares with the Japanese drugmaker Eisai, became the second drug proven to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s to win approval in the U.S. in 2023. The therapy’s launch has been gradual due to bottlenecks related to diagnostic test requirements, the need for regular brain scans and the difficulty of finding neurologists, among other issues. 

Here’s what Biogen reported for the fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: 

• Earnings per share: $3.44 adjusted vs. $3.35 per share expected
• Revenue: $2.46 billion vs. $2.40 billion expected

Biogen booked sales of $2.46 billion for the quarter, which is up around 3% from the year-earlier period. 

The drugmaker posted net income of $266.8 million, or $1.83 per share, for the quarter. That compares with a net income of $249.7 million, or $1.71 per share, for the same period a year ago. 

Adjusting for one-time items, including certain restructuring charges and costs associated with intangible assets, the company reported earnings of $3.44 per share.

Biogen first initiated a cost-cutting program in 2023. The company expects to generate $1 billion in gross savings, or $800 million net savings, by the end of 2025. 

Also on Wednesday, Royalty Pharma announced an agreement to provide $250 million in research and development funding to Biogen for litifilimab, a key drug in its pipeline that is being studied to treat lupus. Royalty Pharma, a leading funder of the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, will be eligible for regulatory milestones and certain royalties.

Another new drug, Skyclarys, booked $102 million in sales for the fourth quarter, almost double what it reported in the year-earlier period.

Analysts had expected sales of around $112 million for the quarter, according to StreetAccount. 

Skyclarys came from Biogen’s acquisition of Reata Pharmaceuticals in July 2023. The Food and Drug Administration greenlit Skyclarys in 2023, making it the first approved treatment for Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare inherited degenerative disease that can impair walking and coordination in children as young as five. 

Zurzuvae, the first pill for postpartum depression, generated fourth-quarter sales of $22.9 million. Analysts had expected it to post $26 million in sales, StreetAccount estimates said.

Meanwhile, Biogen’s second-quarter sales from multiple sclerosis treatments fell 8% to $1.07 billion.