Pharma Giant Flexes Financial Muscle — Novartis Posts Strong Earnings, Announces $10 Billion Buyback

TradingKey - In the early hours of July 17 (U.S. Eastern Time), Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis (NVS.US) released its Q2 2025 earnings report and announced a new share buyback program of up to $10 billion.

The results beat expectations:

Net sales reached $14.05 billion , slightly above the market estimate of $14.04 billion.

Core net income came in at $4.71 billion , surpassing the expected $4.62 billion.

Core EPS was reported at $2.42 , also ahead of the forecast $2.34.

[Second-quarter financial report of Novartis, source: www.novartis.com]

CEO Vas Narasimhan commented: “We delivered another strong quarter with double-digit growth in both sales and core operating profit.”

He highlighted that drugs such as Kisqali , Pluvicto , and Scemblix are gaining momentum, demonstrating the growing strength of the company’s product portfolio. On the R&D front, Pluvicto achieved its third positive Phase III trial result, this time in hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. Meanwhile, the global marketing application for OAV101 IT has already been submitted.

With a solid balance sheet and confidence in future growth, Novartis announced it will launch a new stock repurchase program of up to $10 billion, part of its broader capital allocation strategy.

While quarterly results exceeded expectations, concerns remain around the slowing growth of key drug Cosentyx and the upcoming CFO transition, which could weigh on investor sentiment to some extent.

Analyst Viewpoint:

Analysts at Vontobel noted: "Novartis reported core operating profit of $5.925 billion for the second quarter, representing 21% growth at constant exchange rates, exceeding both consensus estimates and our own forecasts. The company now expects full-year core operating profit to grow in the low teens percentage range , up from its prior guidance of low single-digit growth."

Looking ahead, Novartis remains well-positioned to achieve long-term growth targets, supported by its strong financial foundation and continued investment in the biopharma space.