Amgen Beats Third-Quarter Estimates and Raises Its Outlook as Repatha Offsets Biosimilar Losses

Amgen beat Wall Street's third-quarter bar on Tuesday, as Repatha-led sales growth outran the drag from biosimilar rivals.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) is a Thousand Oaks, California biotechnology company. It sells medicines for heart disease, cancer, bone health, inflammation and rare diseases. Its shares trade on Nasdaq.

Sales and adjusted earnings beat the estimates

Total revenues were $10.37 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. That was up 8% from a year earlier. Product sales were $9.88 billion, and other revenues were $482 million.

Analysts had expected revenue of about $10.1 billion, according to LSEG data reported by Reuters. By TickerGrove's calculation, reported revenue beat that estimate by 2.6%.

Non-GAAP earnings per share were $6.45, up 14% from a year earlier. Non-GAAP means adjusted figures, excluding acquisition-related costs and similar items. The LSEG estimate was $5.79, so the beat was 11.4% by TickerGrove's calculation.

Reported profit jumped as one cost line shrank

GAAP earnings per share were $7.08, up 19% from $5.93 a year earlier. GAAP means the standard accounting rules. GAAP net income was $3.86 billion, against $3.22 billion a year earlier.

GAAP operating income was $3.7 billion. The GAAP operating margin was 37.5% of product sales, up 9.9 percentage points from 27.6%. Operating margin is operating profit as a share of sales.

The margin jump had a stated cause. GAAP cost of sales fell to 28.2% of product sales, from 33.7%. The release ties that drop mainly to lower amortization on acquisition-related assets and lower manufacturing costs.

Adjusted operating income was $4.7 billion, up from $4.3 billion. The non-GAAP operating margin was 47.3% of product sales, up 0.2 percentage points. Adjusted costs rose where GAAP costs fell, because the two measures treat acquisition items differently.

Repatha and newer drugs carried growth

Repatha sales rose 37% to $1.09 billion, driven by volume growth. Repatha is a cholesterol drug, given by injection. It is Amgen's largest product in this release.

Seventeen products grew at least double-digit rates in the quarter. Seventeen products are also annualizing at more than $1 billion each, based on third-quarter sales. Evenity, a bone drug, rose 39% to $751 million.

Uplizna sales rose 191% to $451 million, on volume growth. Imdelltra sales rose 128% to $406 million, also on volume. Both are newer medicines in rare disease and lung cancer.

Biosimilar rivals cut into Prolia and XGEVA

Prolia sales fell 45% to $632 million as multiple biosimilars launched globally. Biosimilars are near-copy versions of biologic drugs. Volume fell 23%, and the rest of the drop came equally from lower prices and higher estimated deductions.

XGEVA sales fell 47% to $288 million, on the same biosimilar pressure. Volume fell 32%, and net selling price fell 11%. Prolia and XGEVA share the same active ingredient, denosumab.

Bradway pointed to breadth and the pipeline

"Amgen delivered another strong quarter as our strategy for long-term growth continued to produce results across the enterprise," said Robert A. Bradway, chairman and chief executive officer.

"The strength of our commercial portfolio, combined with important clinical advances and a promising late-stage pipeline, reinforces our confidence in Amgen's ability to deliver durable growth well into the next decade," he said.

On MariTide, the experimental obesity drug, Reuters reported that initial Phase 3 results are not expected until next year. The release lists a broad set of MariTide Phase 3 studies as ongoing or enrolling.

Shares slipped after hours despite the beat

Shares fell 1.57% in after-hours trading to $454.00 as of 6:36 p.m. ET on Tuesday, according to Nasdaq quote data. The official regular close was $461.26, down 0.90% on the day. That reaction figure is an after-hours snapshot, not a close.

Amgen had closed Monday at $465.45, the prior close. The stock fell in Tuesday's regular session, before the report was released. The after-hours move deepened that decline, on this one snapshot.

Cash flow eased, and the dividend rose

Free cash flow was $3.7 billion, down from $4.2 billion a year earlier. Free cash flow is operating cash flow minus capital spending. The release ties the drop to working-capital changes and rebate and collection timing.

Cash and cash equivalents were $13.2 billion at September 30, 2026. Debt outstanding was $54.0 billion at the same date. The third-quarter dividend was $2.52 a share, up 6%, and Amgen repurchased no shares in the quarter.

Full-year guidance is announced, not reported

For the full year 2026, Amgen said it expects total revenues of $38.9 billion to $39.7 billion. That outlook is announced, not reported. Announced GAAP earnings guidance is $18.34 to $19.28 a share.

Announced non-GAAP earnings guidance is $22.90 to $23.70 a share. The company also announced capital spending of about $2.6 billion. Announced share repurchases are capped at $3.0 billion.

The new ranges sit above the outlook Amgen announced with its second-quarter results. That earlier frame was revenue of $38.2 billion to $39.4 billion. Its non-GAAP earnings frame was $22.30 to $23.50 a share, and its GAAP frame was $15.80 to $17.08.

What remains unknown

What remains unknown includes whether the after-hours decline holds into Wednesday's regular session. After-hours snapshots can fade or reverse. The official test is the next regular close.

Fourth-quarter results also remain unknown, against the announced outlook. How fast biosimilars keep eroding Prolia and XGEVA is unproven. MariTide's first Phase 3 results are not due until next year, per Reuters.

What to watch next

What to watch next is fourth-quarter revenue against the announced $38.9 billion to $39.7 billion range. Watch full-year earnings against the announced GAAP and non-GAAP ranges. Watch Repatha volume against new competition.

Watch Prolia and XGEVA sales for the pace of biosimilar erosion. Watch the next regular close against the after-hours snapshot. Watch for MariTide trial milestones during 2027.