Biogen Inc. (BIIB)
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Our Rating
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Buying today means buying a profitable biotechnology company with roughly $2 billion of free cash flow at about 13 to 14 times its own 2026 guidance — and, at the same time, three open questions that will all be answered in the same report. First: what does Apellis actually contribute, measured against quarterly revenue of $2,477.8 million? Second: where does the consolidated leverage ratio sit against the contractual ceiling of 3.75 to 1.0 after $3.6 billion of liquidity left and $2.0 billion of credit was drawn? Third: does revenue really fall only by a mid-single-digit percentage? Watching here means waiting for the quarterly report covering June 30, 2026 rather than betting on the next earnings beat — which says less about the state of the business than about the level of the estimate. The decision is yours.
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
Biogen has beaten analyst estimates for five straight quarters, most recently by 23.5 percent. That is why our in-house stock scanner ranks the shares 40th in the U.S. selection of its biggest earnings surprises (as of July 25, 2026). The SEC filings tell a second story alongside it: revenue fell from $14,377.9 million in 2019 to $9,890.6 million in 2025 and is guided lower again for 2026. On May 14, 2026 the company therefore bought Apellis Pharmaceuticals — roughly $5.3 billion, paid out of its own cash cushion plus two billion in bank loans. We read the filings before the bill for Apellis shows up on the balance sheet.
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This stock currently matches 11 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
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AI Rating
Uses AIBiogen verkauft keine KI und weist keinen KI-Umsatz aus, setzt KI-gestützte Software aber nach eigener Angabe in Forschung, Marketing, Fertigung und Vermarktung ein und kündigt eine steigende Nutzung an; im Geschäftsbericht 2025 und im Quartalsbericht zum 31.03.2026 steht das als eigener Risikofaktor.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„AI-based software is increasingly used in the biopharmaceutical industry, including by us, for research, marketing, manufacturing and commercialization, and we anticipate increasing our usage of technology that uses AI in the future."
KI-gestützte Software wird in der biopharmazeutischen Industrie zunehmend eingesetzt, auch von uns, für Forschung, Marketing, Fertigung und Vermarktung, und wir erwarten, unsere Nutzung von Technologie, die KI verwendet, künftig auszuweiten.
„Since the use of AI is subject to new or evolving laws and regulations, compliance may impose operational costs and limit our ability to use AI-based software, and failure to comply may result in potential government actions, litigation, fines, penalties or adverse publicity."
Da die Nutzung von KI neuen oder sich entwickelnden Gesetzen und Vorschriften unterliegt, kann deren Einhaltung Betriebskosten verursachen und unsere Möglichkeit einschränken, KI-gestützte Software zu nutzen; ein Verstoß kann zu behördlichen Maßnahmen, Rechtsstreitigkeiten, Geldbußen, Strafen oder nachteiliger Publizität führen.
„our incorporation of technologies using AI into some of our processes"
unsere Einbindung von Technologien, die KI nutzen, in einige unserer Prozesse
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-04-29 · 10-K 2026-02-06 · 10-Q 2025-10-30 · 10-Q 2025-07-31 · 10-Q 2025-05-01 · 10-K 2025-02-12
Rated on July 25, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Quarterly Figures
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q2 | 5.28 | 31.30 | 2,465 | 0.40 | 23.70 | 626 | 583 |
| 2024: Q3 | 4.08 | -6.40 | 2,466 | -2.50 | 15.80 | 936 | 806 |
| 2024: Q4 | 3.44 | 4.20 | 2,455 | 2.90 | 10.90 | 761 | 695 |
| 2025: Q1 | 3.02 | -17.70 | 2,431 | 6.10 | 9.90 | 259 | 212 |
| 2025: Q2 | 5.47 | 3.60 | 2,646 | 7.30 | 24.00 | 161 | 144 |
| 2025: Q3 | 4.81 | 17.90 | 2,455 | -0.40 | 19.00 | 1,273 | 1,226 |
| 2025: Q4 | 1.99 | -42.20 | 2,279 | -7.10 | -2.10 | 512 | 468 |
| 2026: Q1 | 3.57 | 18.20 | 2,478 | 1.90 | 12.90 | 646 | 594 |
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Five quarters above the analyst estimate, most recently by 23.5 percent (first quarter of 2026: $3.57 against $2.89). But the beats refer to the non-GAAP measure: 2025 showed $15.28 per diluted share there and only $8.79 under GAAP — and a loss of $0.33 in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Revenue fell from $14,377.9 million (2019) to $9,890.6 million (2025), down 31 percent. The multiple sclerosis franchise halved from $8,529.3 million to $4,038.9 million; the fumarates TECFIDERA and VUMERITY lost 68 percent. For 2026 Biogen itself guides to a mid-single-digit percentage decline (as of April 29, 2026).
Operating cash flow of $2,204.6 million in 2025 against only $153.8 million of capital expenditure — roughly $2.05 billion of free cash flow. The "Fit for Growth" program delivered roughly $1.0 billion in gross operating expense savings by the end of 2025 at a net headcount reduction of roughly 1,400 and about $320 million in restructuring charges.
In the first quarter of 2026 SKYCLARYS grew to $151 million (up 22 percent), ZURZUVAE to $55 million (up 100 percent) and QALSODY to $33 million (up 110 percent); global LEQEMBI in-market sales rose 74 percent to $168 million. The rare disease franchise grew from $1,803.0 million (2023) to $2,154.2 million (2025).
Roughly $3.6 billion of the $4.7 billion of liquidity (March 31, 2026) went into Apellis, joined by $2.0 billion of bank debt carrying a leverage ceiling of 3.75 to 1.0 and a $1.0 billion repayment due May 12, 2027. At March 31, 2026 the balance sheet already carried $6,288.5 million of long-term notes; 52.7 percent of total assets are goodwill and intangible assets.
On June 10, 2026 Biogen determined that the Apellis merger was not a significant acquisition as defined in Regulation S-X, so financial statements and pro forma information are not required. Formally correct against $29,483.1 million of total assets, it means in practice that the first reliable contribution from SYFOVRE and EMPAVELI appears only in the quarterly report for June 30, 2026.
Biogen is the beat trap in pure form: earnings came in above the analyst estimate five quarters in a row, most recently by 23.5 percent — and yet revenue has fallen 31 percent since 2019 to $9,890.6 million, with a further decline as the company's own guidance for 2026. The multiple sclerosis foundation halved, the growth products grow at double-digit rates but do not yet fill the gap. To close it, Biogen acquired Apellis Pharmaceuticals on May 14, 2026 for roughly $5.3 billion — paid from $3.6 billion of its own liquidity and $2.0 billion of bank debt carrying a leverage ceiling of 3.75 to 1.0. The cushion that made the shrinking bearable is now largely spent. Not investment advice.
- Biogen came onto the research list through our in-house stock scanner: rank 40 in the U.S. selection of the biggest earnings surprises (81 hits), relative strength 69, as of July 25, 2026. Scanner lists are recalculated daily, so the ranking is a dated snapshot. The scanner measures the distance between reported earnings and the analyst estimate — not the distance between expectation and reality.
- Two earnings measures that must not be confused: GAAP diluted earnings per share were $8.79 in 2025, the non-GAAP figure $15.28. The scanner surprise values and the guidance range of $14.25 to $15.25 refer to the non-GAAP measure, which excludes amortization of acquired drug rights, restructuring charges and one-time items.
- Data currency: the most recent periodic report is the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, filed April 29, 2026. Everything filed after that was reviewed — the tender offer amendments of May 6, 12 and 14, 2026, the Schedule 13D/A of May 14, 2026, the Form 8-K of May 14, 2026 on the completion of the Apellis acquisition, the Forms 8-K and 8-K/A of June 10, 2026 and the Form 8-K of July 1, 2026. The balance sheet figures for March 31, 2026 therefore predate the closing; the first balance sheet including Apellis is the quarterly report for June 30, 2026. The share count comes from the most recent document that names one (147,637,117 as of April 27, 2026). Valuation figures are orders of magnitude as of July 25, 2026, not daily prices.
- Possible confusion: Biogen Inc. was named IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corp. until 2003 and Biogen Idec Inc. until 2015, so the SEC history under CIK 0000875045 begins under a different name. The ticker BIIB belongs to this company alone.
About the Company
Biogen Inc. discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers therapies in the United States, Europe, Germany, Asia, and internationally. The company provides TECFIDERA, VUMERITY, AVONEX, PLEGRIDY, and TYSABRI for multiple sclerosis (MS); SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy; SKYCLARYS to treat Friedreich's Ataxia; QALSODY for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; FUMADERM to treat plaque psoriasis; BENEPALI, an etanercept biosimilar referencing ENBREL; IMRALDI, an adalimumab biosimilar referencing HUMIRA; FLIXABI, an infliximab biosimilar referencing REMICADE. It offers LEQEMBI for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease; ZURZUVAE for the treatment of postpartum depression; RITUXAN to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), rheumatoid arthritis, two forms of ANCA-associated vasculitis, and pemphigus vulgaris; RITUXAN HYCELA for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and CLL; GAZYVA to treat CLL and follicular lymphoma; OCREVUS for relapsing MS and primary progressive MS; LUNSUMIO to treat relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma; glofitamab for aRelapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; and other anti-CD20 therapies. Biogen Inc. has collaboration and license agreements with Merz Therapeutics; Alkermes Pharma Ireland Limited; Denali Therapeutics Inc.; UCB; Eisai Co., Ltd.; Genentech, Inc.; Neurimmune SubOne AG; Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Samsung Bioepis; and Sage Therapeutics, Inc., as well as collaborations with Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. for the development and commercialization of zorevunersen, a disease modifying medicine for the treatment of Dravet syndrome; Dayra Therapeutics, Inc. to develop oral macrocyclic peptides; Vanqua Bio, Inc. for developing Vanqua's preclinical oral C5aR1 antagonist compound; City Therapeutics, Inc. to develop select novel RNAi therapies; and ALTEOGEN Inc. to develop subcutaneous (SC) formulations of biologics utilizing ALT-B4. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
| Employees | 7,500 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Cambridge, MA |
| Website | biogen.com |
| IPO Date | 16. Sep 1991 |
| Next Earnings | 30. Jul 2026 |
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Christopher A. Viehbacher | President, CEO & Director | 1961 |
| Robin C. Kramer | Executive VP & CFO | 1966 |
| Nicole Murphy | Executive VP and Head of Pharmaceutical Operations & Technology | 1973 |
| Priya Singhal M.D., M.P.H. | Executive VP & Head of Development | 1968 |
| Sean Godbout | VP, Chief Accounting Officer & Global Corporate Controller | 1974 |
| Guy Hadari | Chief Information Officer | – |
| Tim Power M.B.A., Ph.D. | Head of Investor Relations | – |
| Natacha Gassenbach | Chief Communication Officer & Head of Corporate Affairs | – |
| Adam Keeney Ph.D. | Executive VP & Head of Corporate Development | 1977 |
| Ginger Gregory Ph.D. | Executive VP & Chief Human Resources Officer | 1968 |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
Data as of: July 24, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.