Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY)

Gross Profit Margin

The gross profit margin exhibits a generally increasing trend from March 2020 through mid-2022, rising from approximately 72.31% to peaks above 79%. After reaching this peak, there is a gradual decline starting late 2022 and continuing through to March 2025, falling back to around 70.47%. This indicates that while the company initially improved its core profitability, there has been some erosion over the most recent periods.

Operating Profit Margin

Operating profit margin shows considerable volatility. Initially negative in early 2020 (around -21.6%) and improving significantly through to the end of 2021, it reached positive levels exceeding 19%. This suggests operational recovery and efficiency gains over that period. However, from early 2024 onwards, the margin returned sharply to negative territory, dropping approximately to -15.5%, before rebounding again to around 15.24% by March 2025. The fluctuations highlight periods of operational challenges interspersed with significant recovery.

Net Profit Margin

Net profit margin trends follow a similar pattern to operating margin, starting with large negative values in early 2020 (about -21.2%) and improving steadily into positive territory by the end of 2021, peaking near 18.44%. Subsequent quarters show a sharp reversal with margins again turning strongly negative from early 2024 to late 2024, reaching lows near -18.53%, before partially recovering to 11.38% by the first quarter of 2025. This pattern reflects variability in overall profitability after accounting for all expenses and taxes.

Return on Equity (ROE)

The return on equity similarly starts with highly negative values in early 2020 (around -23.84%) with steady improvement through 2021, shifting to strong positive returns peaking around 28.57% by late 2023. However, from early 2024, ROE deteriorates dramatically into deeply negative territory (as low as -54.78%), before recovering sharply to a positive 31.16% by March 2025. These swings indicate periods of both strong shareholder value creation and significant declines, suggesting volatility in net income relative to equity.

Return on Assets (ROA)

Return on assets follows a comparable trajectory, negative in early 2020 (approximately -7.61%), improving to modest positive returns above 9% in late 2023, then falling into negative figures again throughout 2024, reaching nearly -9.66%. It subsequently recovers to a positive 5.86% by March 2025. This illustrates fluctuating efficiency in asset utilization over the period, consistent with profit margin trends.

Summary

Overall, the company experienced considerable financial volatility from 2020 through 2025. Profitability margins and returns improved substantially from initial large negative values to positive peaks by late 2021 through 2023, reflecting operational recovery and improved earnings capacity. However, the period 2024 shows a pronounced reversal across all key profitability and return measures, indicating significant operational or financial difficulties. The recovery observed in early 2025 suggests effective corrective actions or improved market conditions. These patterns highlight the cyclical nature of profitability and the importance of ongoing management focus to sustain positive returns.

The financial data reveals several notable trends in the company's quarterly performance over the observed periods.

Revenue Trends

Revenues experienced an overall upward trajectory from March 2020 through March 2025, with intermittent fluctuations. Starting at approximately US$10,781 million in the first quarter of 2020, revenues peaked around US$12,342 million by the first quarter of 2025, although a decline appeared in the last quarter of 2024 and early 2025, showing a decrease to about US$11,201 million.

Gross Margin Trends

Gross margins demonstrated a general increase through most of the period, rising from US$7,119 million in early 2020 to a high near US$9,629 million in late 2021. Post-2021, gross margin figures show a slight decline and more variability, dropping to around US$7,530 million by late 2024 before a modest recovery to approximately US$8,168 million in early 2025.

Gross Profit Margin Percentages

The gross profit margin percentage began at around 72.31% in early 2021 and improved steadily, reaching a peak of approximately 79.62% mid-2022. However, from that point forward, it showed a consistent downward trend, falling to 70.47% by the first quarter of 2025. This decline suggests decreasing efficiency in generating profit from revenue over the most recent quarters.

Patterns and Insights

The revenue growth during the initial periods alongside increasing gross margins indicates improving operational scale or pricing power. However, the declining gross profit margin percentage in the latter periods, especially after mid-2022, points to rising costs or reduced profitability on sales. The recent dip in revenue and gross margin figures could signify emerging challenges in market demand, cost management, or competitive pressures. The temporary recovery in gross margins towards early 2025 might indicate initial corrective measures or seasonal effects.

The analysis of the quarterly financial data reveals notable fluctuations in operating income, revenues, and operating profit margin over the reported periods.

Operating Income (Loss)

The operating income shows considerable volatility. During 2020, it peaked at 1,342 million USD in Q3 but drastically declined to a loss of -12,277 million USD in Q4. Following this, the subsequent quarters of 2021 exhibited recovery and positive operating income, reaching a high of 2,251 million USD in Q4. In the years 2022 and 2023, operating income generally remained positive but showed a downward trend toward Q4 2023 with some quarterly fluctuations; for instance, Q4 2023 declined to 1,303 million USD from earlier highs above 2,300 million USD.

In 2024, a similar pattern of volatility is observable, with a dramatic negative spike to -11,435 million USD in Q1, followed by recovery in later quarters, with operating income reaching up to 3,309 million USD by Q4 2024. Quarter 1 of 2025 reflects a decline to 330 million USD, reflecting ongoing variability in profits.

Revenues

Revenues over the analyzed periods maintained a more stable pattern compared to operating income. The revenues mostly fluctuated within a range between approximately 10,000 million USD and 12,300 million USD per quarter. Starting from around 10,781 million USD in Q1 2020, revenues increased to about 11,985 million USD by Q4 2021, displaying moderate growth.

However, there is no clear consistent upward or downward trend over the entire period; revenues exhibit slight quarterly fluctuations without significant deviations. Although revenues in Q1 2025 settled at 11,201 million USD, a decrease compared to the previous quarter, it remains within the operational range observed in prior years.

Operating Profit Margin

The operating profit margin displays notable instability, likely reflecting the volatility in operating income. In 2020, the margin turned negative sharply in Q4, reaching -21.6%, coinciding with the large operating loss.

In contrast, for most quarters in 2021 through 2023, the operating profit margin remained positive, generally ranging between approximately 15.9% and 19%. This indicates relatively stable profitability during these periods.

Yet, in early 2024, the margin again turned negative, with values around -14% to -15.5%, indicating decreased operational efficiency. The margin rebounded to approximately 15.24% by Q1 2025, aligning with the recovery signaled in operating income.

In summary, the data suggest that while revenue streams have been relatively stable with minor fluctuations, operating income and operating profit margins have experienced significant volatility. This inconsistency may indicate challenges related to cost management, one-time charges, or business disruptions that heavily impact profitability despite stable sales. The repeated negative spikes require further investigation to determine underlying causes and implications for future financial performance.

The quarterly financial data reveals several notable trends and fluctuations in key metrics over the presented periods.

Net Earnings (Loss) Attributable to BMS

The net earnings exhibit significant volatility throughout the timeline. Initially, the company experienced substantial losses, exemplified by a severe loss of -10,027 million USD in December 2020 and another notable loss of -11,911 million USD in March 2024. Conversely, positive net earnings generally dominate the subsequent quarters, with peaks such as 2,372 million USD in December 2021 and 2,262 million USD in March 2023. Despite these intermittent losses, most quarters show positive earnings, reflecting periods of profitability interspersed with significant losses, typically at year-end or specific quarters.

Revenues

Revenues demonstrate relatively stable performance throughout the evaluated quarters, generally fluctuating within a range of approximately 10,000 to 12,300 million USD. Growth trends show moderate increases over time, with revenues gradually rising from around 10,700 million USD in early 2020 to peaks exceeding 12,000 million USD in multiple quarters by 2024. The fluctuations are not drastic, indicating consistent revenue generation capability with occasional dips below the general upward trend.

Net Profit Margin

The net profit margin exhibits wide fluctuations with several negative values, particularly during periods of substantial loss in net earnings. Negative margins as low as -21.2% in December 2020 and multiple other quarters highlight the impact of large losses. However, positive margins dominate many quarters following those losses, often ranging from approximately 13% to 18%, indicating periods of efficient profitability management. Notably, declines in margin percentages occur around quarters exhibiting losses, with margins dropping below zero or significantly reduced, and then recovering in subsequent periods. The margin trend correlates closely with the volatility observed in net earnings.

Overall, the data reflects a company navigating through periods of significant financial challenge and recovery. Revenues remain comparatively stable and gradually increase, whereas net earnings and net profit margins are exposed to pronounced volatility, especially with sporadic but severe quarterly losses. This suggests potential non-recurring charges or extraordinary events affecting profitability in some quarters, while core revenue performance remains steady over the analyzed period.

Net earnings (loss) attributable to BMS

The net earnings display significant volatility over the periods analyzed. An initial loss of -775 million USD in March 2020 was followed by recovery and positive earnings, peaking notably at 1,872 million USD in September 2020 before a sharp negative swing to -10,027 million USD in December 2020. Subsequently, the earnings recovered with consistent positive figures from March 2021 through December 2023, generally ranging between 1,278 million USD and 2,372 million USD, indicating a period of relative stability and profitability. However, a pronounced decline occurred again in March 2024, recording a substantial loss of -11,911 million USD, followed by erratic recovery with fluctuating earnings through March 2025.

Total BMS shareholders’ equity

Shareholders' equity demonstrated a declining trend from March 2020 (49,911 million USD) to December 2021 (35,946 million USD), reflecting a significant erosion in equity during this timeframe. A further decrease was observed throughout 2022 and into 2023, with equity levels bottoming near 28,998 million USD in September 2023. Equity sharply dropped in March 2024 to 16,490 million USD, signaling a material reduction. The subsequent quarters showed minor fluctuations but no strong recovery trend, with equity remaining around the 16,000 to 17,000 million USD range through March 2025.

Return on Equity (ROE)

ROE values indicate marked instability and negative financial performance during certain periods. Notably, ROE was negative in several quarters at the start of the series, with a low point of -23.84% in December 2020. This was followed by a sustained period of positive and improving ROE throughout 2021 and into 2023, reaching a peak of 28.57% in September 2023. However, a dramatic negative reversal occurred from December 2023 through March 2025, with ROE plummeting to as low as -54.78% in December 2024. The last data point (March 2025) shows a significant rebound to 31.16%, suggesting recent improvement after a period of poor returns.

Overall analysis

The financial indicators reveal a company experiencing significant earnings volatility and challenges with equity preservation over the examined quarters. The two substantial losses at year-end 2020 and early 2024 substantially impacted shareholders’ equity and reflected in the negative ROE during these times. While periods between these losses demonstrated robust profitability and satisfactory returns on equity, the pattern suggests exposure to episodic, material negative events. The variability in net earnings and ROE, combined with a declining equity base, points to financial instability risks, necessitating further investigation into the causes behind these abrupt changes and assessment of sustainability of recent positive trends.

Net Earnings (Loss) Attributable to BMS

The net earnings exhibited significant volatility during the observed quarters. An initial loss of -775 million USD was recorded in Q1 2020, followed by a sharp improvement to positive earnings, culminating in a high of 1,872 million USD in Q3 2020. However, this was interrupted by a substantial loss of -10,027 million USD in Q4 2020, indicating a major one-time expense or event in that period.

Subsequent quarters from Q1 2021 to Q4 2023 showed consistent positive earnings ranging approximately between 1,200 million USD and 2,300 million USD, reflecting stable profitability. The quarter Q1 2024 saw another pronounced negative earnings of -11,911 million USD, suggesting another significant non-recurring impact. Following this dip, earnings rebounded again with values around 1,200 to 2,400 million USD up to Q1 2025.

Total Assets

Total assets demonstrated a continuous declining trend from 129,285 million USD at Q1 2020 to 91,263 million USD at Q4 2023. This decline represents a reduction in the asset base by roughly 30,000 million USD over this period. However, from Q1 2024 onward, total assets stabilized somewhat, fluctuating between approximately 92,400 million USD and 99,031 million USD, showing no clear upward or downward long-term trend in the most recent quarters.

Return on Assets (ROA)

Return on assets showed pronounced fluctuations. The data is limited for early 2020 but shows negative ROA percentages from Q4 2020 through mid-2021, with values such as -7.61% and -5.53%, coinciding with the quarters recording significant net losses.

ROA then shifted to positive territory starting late 2021 and remained positive and generally increasing up to 9.08% in Q3 2023, indicating improved asset profitability and operational efficiency during this period. In contrast, a sharp reversal is visible starting Q1 2024 with ROA plummeting to -6.21%, reaching as low as -9.66% in Q4 2024, aligning with notable net earnings losses in the same period.

By Q1 2025, ROA reverted again to positive at 5.86%, suggesting a recovery in asset utilization efficiency concurrent with the return to net earnings growth.

Overall Insights

The financial data reveals cyclical volatility with periods of significant losses followed by recovery phases. The sharp negative earnings and ROA in late 2020 and early 2024 likely correspond to extraordinary charges or restructuring costs, impacting profitability and asset returns.

Total assets trended downward over the longer term, which might imply asset disposals, depreciation, or shifts in capital structure, before stabilizing post-2023. Meanwhile, the recovery in ROA after negative dips suggests that core operational performance remains resilient when extraordinary events are excluded.

In summary, the company displays a pattern of strong but episodically disrupted profitability and asset efficiency, with recent quarters showing signs of returning to stable positive financial performance after substantial adverse impacts.