Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Corcept (NASDAQ: CORT) and the best and worst performers in the branded pharmaceuticals industry.

Looking ahead, the branded pharmaceutical industry is positioned for tailwinds from advancements in precision medicine, increasing adoption of AI to enhance drug development efficiency, and growing global demand for treatments addressing chronic and rare diseases. However, headwinds include heightened regulatory scrutiny, pricing pressures from governments and insurers, and the looming patent cliffs for key blockbuster drugs. Patent cliffs bring about competition from generics, forcing branded pharmaceutical companies back to the drawing board to find the next big thing.

The 10 branded pharmaceuticals stocks we track reported a strong Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.1%.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 3.6% on average since the latest earnings results.

Corcept (NASDAQ: CORT)

Focusing on the powerful stress hormone that affects everything from metabolism to immune function, Corcept Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CORT) develops and markets medications that modulate cortisol to treat endocrine disorders, cancer, and neurological diseases.

Corcept reported revenues of $194.4 million, up 18.7% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 3.5%. Overall, it was a softer quarter for the company with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations.

“The second quarter marked another period of robust growth in our hypercortisolism business. Once again, we had a record number of new prescribers and a record number of new patients receiving treatment. Physicians increasingly recognize hypercortisolism’s true prevalence and the necessity of appropriate treatment, which has led to increased screening and diagnosis. Our financial results don’t fully reflect this surge in demand, which outpaced our specialty pharmacy vendor’s capacity. We expect improved performance by our current vendor, as well as contribution from a second pharmacy that is coming online soon, in the coming quarters and have modified our 2025 revenue guidance to $850 – $900 million,” said Joseph K. Belanoff, M.D., Corcept’s Chief Executive Officer.

Corcept delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 3.8% since reporting and currently trades at $69.52.

Read our full report on Corcept here, it’s free.

Best Q2: Supernus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SUPN)

With a diverse portfolio of eight FDA-approved medications targeting neurological conditions, Supernus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SUPN) develops and markets treatments for central nervous system disorders including epilepsy, ADHD, Parkinson's disease, and migraine.

Supernus Pharmaceuticals reported revenues of $165.5 million, down 1.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 7.4%. The business had an incredible quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and full-year operating income guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Supernus Pharmaceuticals delivered the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 17.2% since reporting. It currently trades at $43.99.

Is now the time to buy Supernus Pharmaceuticals? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ: RPRX)

Pioneering a unique business model in the pharmaceutical industry since 1996, Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ: RPRX) acquires rights to receive portions of sales from successful biopharmaceutical products, providing funding to drug developers without conducting research itself.

Royalty Pharma reported revenues of $578.7 million, up 7.7% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.9%. It was a slower quarter, leaving some shareholders looking for more.

As expected, the stock is down 5.9% since the results and currently trades at $35.65.

Read our full analysis of Royalty Pharma’s results here.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY)

With roots dating back to 1887 and a transformative merger in 1989 that gave the company its current name, Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) discovers, develops, and markets prescription medications for serious diseases including cancer, blood disorders, immunological conditions, and cardiovascular diseases.

Bristol-Myers Squibb reported revenues of $12.27 billion, flat year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 7.8%. It was an exceptional quarter as it also put up a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.

The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $46.31.

Read our full, actionable report on Bristol-Myers Squibb here, it’s free.

Collegium Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: COLL)

Pioneering abuse-deterrent technology in a field plagued by addiction concerns, Collegium Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: COLL) develops and markets specialty medications for treating moderate to severe pain, including abuse-deterrent opioid formulations.

Collegium Pharmaceutical reported revenues of $188 million, up 29.4% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 4.2%. Zooming out, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also logged full-year revenue guidance slightly topping analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The stock is up 17.4% since reporting and currently trades at $34.90.

Read our full, actionable report on Collegium Pharmaceutical here, it’s free.

Market Update

As a result of the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has come down from frothy levels post-pandemic. The general rise in the price of goods and services is trending towards the Fed’s 2% goal as of late, which is good news. The higher rates that fought inflation also didn't slow economic activity enough to catalyze a recession. So far, soft landing. This, combined with recent rate cuts (half a percent in September 2024 and a quarter percent in November 2024) have led to strong stock market performance in 2024. The icing on the cake for 2024 returns was Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. Presidential Election in early November, sending major indices to all-time highs in the week following the election. Still, debates around the health of the economy and the impact of potential tariffs and corporate tax cuts remain, leaving much uncertainty around 2025.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Growth Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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