By Helena Smolak

Roche is scheduled to report results for the first quarter on Thursday. Here is what you need to know.

SALES FORECAST: The group's sales should come to 15.33 billion Swiss francs ($18.94 billion), according to consensus estimates of 14 analysts compiled by Visible Alpha. This compares with 14.39 billion francs the year before.

The stock fell 1.1% since the start of 2025 but is up 15% over the past year.

WHAT TO WATCH

--Roche has a significant manufacturing footprint in the U.S. and has just announced that it will invest $50 billion in research and manufacturing across the country. However, it is unclear how Roche has strategically located its intellectual property locations to maximize on off-shore tax benefits, UBS analysts said in a note.

--Beyond tariffs, investor attention centers around key growth drivers and the potential for late-stage pipeline readouts, UBS analysts said. Investors will look at commentary on blockbuster eye drug Vabysmo's sales performance, which could slow down in the U.S. due to potential Medicare funding issues affecting patients, UBS and Barclays analysts said.

Both brokers expect that solid growth trends for multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus and hemophilia injection Hemlibra have continued in the first quarter. Key late-stage trials include astegolimab in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, early breast cancer experimental drug giredestrant and multiple sclerosis drug candidate fenebrutinib. Following mixed midstage competitor data for all three drug classes, the analysts believe investors are relatively cautious on the pipeline outcomes.

--Roche's sales could be negatively affected by its diagnostics division as China sales are expected to decline 25% due to price and reimbursement headwinds, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note. Morgan Stanley expects Roche to stick to its 2025 targets, forecasting mid-single-digit sales growth and high-single digit core earnings per share growth at constant currencies. However, Roche could revise its diagnostics sales growth outlook to the lower end of its low-to-mid-single digit range, they said.

Write to Helena Smolak at helena.smolak@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 22, 2025 04:15 ET (08:15 GMT)

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