Here's What Key Metrics Tell Us About Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) Q1 Earnings

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) reported $131 million in revenue for the quarter ended March 2023, representing a year-over-year decline of 7.8%. EPS of -$0.87 for the same period compares to -$0.46 a year ago.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of +0.30% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $130.61 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being -$1.00, the EPS surprise was +13.00%.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Ionis Pharmaceuticals performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Commercial Revenue- Spinraza royalties: $50 million versus $51.57 million estimated by five analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -7.4% change.

• Revenue- Research and development revenue under collaborative agreements: $63 million versus $48.41 million estimated by five analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -10% change.

• Commercial Revenue- Tegsedi and Waylivra revenue, net: $7 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $8.09 million.

• Commercial Revenue- Licensing and royalty revenue: $11 million compared to the $14.66 million average estimate based on five analysts. The reported number represents a change of -8.3% year over year.

• Revenue- Total commercial revenue: $68 million compared to the $75.48 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of -5.6% year over year.

View all Key Company Metrics for Ionis Pharmaceuticals here>>>

Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticals have returned +0.5% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.4% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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