Novartis continues strong momentum with double-digit sales growth

Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX) this morning posted first-quarter 2025 financials, showing that net sales were $13.2 billion (+12%, +15% constant currency), with volume contributing 15 percentage points to growth, compared to the $13.12 billion estimated by analysts in an LSEG poll. Novartis shares were up around 1.2% in early trading.

Novartis noted that generic competition had a negative impact of 2 percentage points and pricing had a positive impact of 2 percentage points, benefiting from revenue deduction adjustments mainly in the USA.

Operating income was $4.7 billion (+38%, +44% cc), mainly driven by higher net sales, partly offset by higher investments behind priority brands and launches. Core operating income was $5.6 billion (+23%, +27% cc), mainly driven by higher net sales, partly offset by higher investments behind priority brands and launches, and R&D investments. Core operating income margin was 42.1% of net sales, increasing 3.7 percentage points (4.0 percentage points cc).