VIVUS Earnings: Here’s Why Investors were Disappointed

VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) had a loss and missed Wall Street’s expectations, AND came up short on beating the revenue expectation. The revenue miss is a negative sign to shareholders seeking high growth out of the company.

VIVUS Inc. Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Adjusted Earnings Per Share decreased to $-0.56 in the quarter versus EPS of $-0.14 in the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue:$1.97 million this quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: VIVUS Inc. reported adjusted EPS loss of $0.56 per share. By that measure, the company missed the mean analyst estimate of $-0.44. It missed the average revenue estimate of $3.09 million.

Quoting Management: Leland Wilson, chief executive officer of VIVUS said, “In 2012, we obtained FDA approval for QsymiaTM and STENDRATM and launched Qsymia in the U.S. Since approval, we have dedicated resources and been actively engaged in the process of educating physicians and creating awareness for Qsymia. In order to expand access to Qsymia, we submitted to FDA in mid-October 2012 a modification of the REMS that, pending approval, would allow patients to access Qsymia through select certified retail pharmacies. We continue to make substantial progress in obtaining reimbursement coverage. Our goals for 2013 include expanding both access and reimbursement for Qsymia as well as securing partnerships for STENDRA.”

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