Novartis AG ADR

Novartis posted a largely strong second quarter, with earnings per share of $2.42 beating the $2.37 consensus by 1.96%, even as revenue of $14.05 billion came in fractionally short of the $14.08 billion estimate, a miss of just 0.20% against year-over-year growth of 9.2%. The Swiss drugmaker's standout performer was Kisqali, its breast cancer treatment, which surged 64% to $1.18 billion after doubling its US sales on continued market share gains, reinforcing the view that the drug is on track to become Novartis's next blockbuster franchise. That momentum helped push core operating income margin to 42.2%, up 2.6 percentage points, while IFRS net income climbed 24% to $4.02 billion. Entresto and Kesimpta also contributed meaningfully, rising 24% and 35% respectively, partially offsetting headwinds from generic competition hitting Tasigna and Promacta following US market entry in May 2025. Free cash flow jumped 37% to $6.33 billion, underscoring the underlying strength of the business despite a $443 million legal charge tied to a French competition matter.