Viking Therapeutics Stock Before Q4 Earnings: To Buy or Not to Buy?

By Kosaku Narioka

Toyota Motor sold 10.8 million vehicles globally last year, retaining its position as the world's biggest carmaker.

The Japanese automaker said Thursday that its group worldwide sales dropped 3.7% from a record 11.2 million vehicles in 2023. Stronger U.S. and European sales failed to offset the weakness in Japan and China.

Toyota has benefited from a shift among consumers in the U.S. and some other markets to hybrid cars from fully electric vehicles, though it struggled in China, the world's largest auto market, like many other foreign automakers.

Earlier this month, rival Volkswagen said its group car deliveries fell 2.3% to 9.03 million in 2024 as it faced intense competition in China.

Meanwhile, China's BYD has said its sales grew 41% last year to 4.3 million vehicles.

Toyota Motor has been taking what it calls a multipathway approach in adopting alternatives to conventional engines powered by emissions-generating fossil fuels. It is offering consumers a range of vehicles, including hybrid-electric cars.

Toyota said its group worldwide production fell 7.8% to 10.6 million vehicles, dragged by declines in China and Japan.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

By Helena Smolak

Sanofi forecast stronger earnings growth this year and said it planned to launch a $5.2 billion share buyback.

The French pharmaceutical company said business earnings per share--a key measure of profitability--should grow at a low double-digit percentage at constant currencies this year, above growth of 4.1% that Sanofi reported for 2024.

Meanwhile, the company expects mid-to-high single-digit growth at constant currencies in sales compared with 11.3% growth in 2024. This is the first time Sanofi provided a sales forecast for the group to investors.

Sanofi also said it would launch a buyback of up to 5 billion euros ($5.21 billion) in 2025, stemming from plans to sell a controlling stake in its Opella consumer health business, which the company expects to close in the second quarter at the earliest.

The transaction would allow Sanofi to solely focus on its more lucrative, drugs and vaccines business. The company's research-and-development spending increased 24% on-year in the last quarter in an attempt to bring further blockbusters such as its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine Beyfortus to market.

Chief Executive Paul Hudson said in a call with reporters that the company isn't entering the obesity market, calling instead for a shift in focus to immunology which is often overlooked, a space where he said competitors struggle to catch up with Sanofi.

Sanofi's chief financial officer, Francois-Xavier Roger, told reporters that Beyfortus sales are projected to increase further this year, albeit at a slower rate than its initial launch period. The drug is set to face competition from Merck's RSV drug this year.

Meanwhile, Sanofi's asthma treatment, Dupixent, generated 3.46 billion euros in sales last quarter, but missed analysts' expectations. However, the company forecast increased demand for Dupixent this year as a treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Net sales in the fourth quarter rose 9.1% to 10.56 billion euros. At constant currency, sales were up 10%, with growth in its specialty-care unit driven by continued strength in anti-inflammatory drug Dupixent--jointly developed with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals--and in vaccines.

Business operating profit--one of the company's preferred metrics, which strips out exceptional items--fell 12% to 2.08 billion euros.

Analysts had expected sales of 10.39 billion euros and business operating profit of 2.08 billion euros, according to estimates provided by the company.

The company posted a net profit of 683 million euros compared with a net loss of 555 million euros the year-earlier quarter. Sanofi raised its dividend for the year to 3.92 euros a share from 3.76 euros a year prior.

Write to Helena Smolak at helena.smolak@wsj.com

Sanofi's planned buyback and higher R&D spend are positive, Jefferies analysts say in a note. The French pharma giant's increased R&D investments kept EBIT and EPS in line with consensus, Jefferies says. Its issued buyback of $5.21 billion, exceeding recent investors' expectations, should be taken well, the analysts say. Investors will now focus on longer-term R&D spend growth given Sanofi's likely expansion of its late-stage immunology pipeline, they say. Shares rise 1.3% to 103.20 euros.(helena.smolak@wsj.com)

Sanofi's 4Q sales beat expectations, driven by its lung drug Beyfortus, offsetting a sales miss of its anti-inflammatory drug Dupixent, UBS analysts say in a note. The French pharma giant expects further sales growth of Beyfortus this year despite facing competition from U.S. company Merck's RSV shot, the analysts say. The U.S. administration's drug pricing redesign and typical 1Q rebates are also affecting sales, though not quantified, the analysts note. Its share buyback of 5 billion euros for 2025 is in line with UBS's estimates but ahead of market expectations, they add. Shares rise 1.4% to 103.32 euros. (helena.smolak@wsj.com)

Sanofi reported Q4 business earnings Thursday of 1.31 euros ($1.36) per share, down from 1.54 euros a year earlier.

Analysts' estimates were not readily available for comparison.

Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was 10.56 billion euros, up from 9.69 billion euros a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected 10.83 billion euros.

For 2025, the French biopharmaceutical giant expects sales growth percentage in the mid to high single digits. Analysts polled by FactSet expect 46.33 billion euros.

Sanofi said it intends to launch a 5 billion euro share buyback program this year.

Shares of the company were up nearly 3% in Thursday's premarket activity.

French drugmaker Sanofi recorded a year-over-year jump in net income and sales for 2024, prompting it to boost shareholder returns and forecast continued sales growth for the year ahead.

For the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2024, attributable net income came in at 5.74 billion euros, up from 5.40 billion euros in 2023. The profit boost was backed by double-digit growth in sales to 41.08 billion, with asthma drug Dupixent generating 13.07 billion euros and respiratory syncytial virus treatment Beyfortus delivering 1.69 billion euros in its first full year on the market.

Sanofi's pipeline momentum strengthened further with key regulatory approvals in the fourth quarter, including Dupixent, rheumatoid arthritis drug Kevzara, Gaucher disease treatment Cerdelga, and flu vaccine Efluelda. Overall, the company secured 14 regulatory approvals across its medicines and vaccines portfolio in 2024.

Following its strong annual performance, the board recommended a full-year dividend of 3.92 euros per share, up from 3.76 euros per share in the prior year, subject to approval at the annual general meeting on April 30, 2025. The company also announced plans for a 5 billion-euro share buyback in 2025 through block trades and open-market purchases.

For 2025, Sanofi forecasts a mid-to-high single-digit percentage increase in sales at constant exchange rates. Meanwhile, business EPS is projected to grow at a low double-digit percentage at constant exchange rates before share buyback.

"As we enter 2025, we expect continued, solid growth in sales and a strong rebound in earnings. We are also confident in the mid to long-term growth prospects of Sanofi, supported by ongoing launches, Dupixent (currently expected to reach sales of around [EUR]22 billion in 2030, in line with the current ambition), and expected future launches from our pipeline," Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson commented.

The stock was up nearly 1% on Thursday midmorning.