Amgen 2nd-qtr beats analysts' forecasts

US biotech giant Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) late Tuesday announced financial results for the second quarter of 2020, which, although better than analysts’ expectations, pushed the firm’s shares down 1.5% to $251.50 in after-hours trading.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, total revenues increased 6% to $6.21 billion compared to the second quarter of 2019, driven by higher unit demand, offset partially by lower net selling prices, and just ahead of the average Wall Street estimates of $6.20. Product sales rose 5%to $5.9 billion.

On a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, earnings per share (EPS) decreased 15% to $3.05 driven primarily by the amortization of costs associated with Amgen’s November 2019 acquisition of Otezla (apremilast), offset partially by increased revenues. Of note, this is the first period to include Amgen’s share of BeiGene's net loss under the equity method of accounting.