Novartis (NYSE:NVS) experienced a significant boost in its stock price on Tuesday as it surpassed analyst estimates in its first-quarter earnings report for 2024. Investors responded positively to the global healthcare company’s performance, driving its stock price up by over 2% on the day. Novartis outperformed the S&P 500 index, which recorded a 1.2% gain during the trading session.
In the first quarter, Novartis achieved an 11% year-over-year increase in net sales, reaching $11.8 billion. The company’s core net income also rose by 14% to $3.68 billion ($1.80 per share). Both of these key figures exceeded the average analyst expectations, with analysts anticipating net sales of $11.43 billion and a per-share core net income of $1.67.
CEO Vas Narasimhan expressed satisfaction with the company’s performance, highlighting that the positive results were broad-based across all key growth brands and geographic regions. Novartis entered 2024 with a renewed strategic focus, positioning itself as a “pure-play innovative medicines business” with a concentration on four therapeutic areas believed to have significant potential.
Buoyed by its strong start to the year and confidence in its strategic direction, Novartis raised its full-year 2024 guidance. The company now anticipates net sales to grow by high-single-digit to low-double-digit percentages compared to 2023, up from the previous forecast of mid-single-digit growth. Similarly, core operating income is expected to rise by low-double-digit to mid-teen percent, an improvement over the earlier estimate of high single digits. However, Novartis did not provide specific guidance for either headline or core net income.
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