By Mackenzie Tatananni

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals got a quiet reception from Wall Street on Wednesday despite a first-quarter earnings beat, as investors remain fixated on the release of key data later this year.

The Tarrytown, N.Y.-based drugmaker posted adjusted earnings of $9.47 a share, handily beating the $8.89 Wall Street had anticipated. Revenue ticked higher to $3.61 billion from $3.03 billion last year, surpassing analysts' calls for $3.48 billion.

Sales of Dupixent, the blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug co-developed with Sanofi, rose 33% to $4.9 billion in the first quarter. Dupixent recently was approved by both U.S. and European regulators for young children with chronic spontaneous urticaria, and was separately approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat allergic fungal rhinosinusitis.

Other products didn't fare as well. Sales of the standard formulation of Eylea, a prescription ophthalmologic medicine, fell 10% to $941 million. However, sales of higher-dose Eylea HD surged 52% to $468 million.

Eylea has come under focus ahead of the prospective launch of biosimilars in the second half of the year. While the first of these drugs were approved by the FDA in 2024, Regeneron struck settlement agreements with manufacturers allowing for a staggered release into the U.S. market.

CEO Leonard Schleifer touted the company's "strong double-digit growth on both the top and bottom line," noting that Regeneron continued to invest heavily in its expansive portfolio of product candidates in clinical development.

Research and development expenses rose to $1.54 billion in the quarter from $1.33 billion last year. For the full year, Regeneron expects to spend between $6.45 billion and $6.58 billion on R&D, reiterating prior guidance. Adjusted for stock-based compensation expenses, the drugmaker sees a range of $5.9 billion to $6.1 billion.

Just last week, the company said it reached an agreement with the Trump administration to sell drugs at lower prices in exchange for temporary tariff exemptions. The development capped off months of uncertainty, seeing as Regeneron was one of a few major drugmakers in the U.S. that had yet to strike a deal.

But other overhangs remain. Ahead of the earnings report, Goldman Sachs analyst Salveen Richter noted that some investors had chosen to remain sidelined ahead of upcoming trial results in the second quarter. Regeneron is expected to report Phase 3 data for its cancer treatment, fianlimab, as a first-line treatment in patients with metastatic melanoma.

While commercial execution on first-quarter earnings is important, the "key near-term focus" for shares is the fianlimab data, Richter said. He expects a 70% probability of the drug meeting key markers for progression-free survival, adding that "we expect shares to trade higher as the quarter progresses and events accrue."

Shares barely budged in premarket trading Wednesday, slipping 0.4% to $729. Futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 traded flat.

Business development is another lever, "given management's recent shift in tone indicating larger and later-stage BD, from historical interest in earlier-stage, more modest collaborations," Richter wrote. He held out Regeneron's radiopharma-focused partnership with Telix Pharmaceuticals as one example.

Regeneron has lagged behind the broader market in recent months. Heading into Wednesday, shares have fallen 5.2% in 2026 and gained 22% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 is up 4.3% and 28%, respectively, over the same periods.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

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April 29, 2026 08:01 ET (12:01 GMT)

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