stockrowWhat it does
Amgen discovers, develops, manufactures and sells medicines for people with serious diseases. It operates in a single business segment, human therapeutics, and has a presence in approximately 100 countries. Founded in 1980, Amgen is headquartered in Thousand Oaks. Robert A. Bradway is its chief executive officer.
Its medicines address conditions including osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammatory diseases and rare diseases. For example, Prolia is used to treat certain patients with osteoporosis, while Repatha lowers LDL cholesterol and reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events in adults at increased risk. Otezla is an oral treatment for conditions including plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. BLINCYTO treats a form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a blood cancer.
Amgen also markets medicines developed with partners and sells biosimilars: versions of biological medicines that have been shown to be highly similar to a reference product. Its products reach patients through wholesalers and healthcare providers, including physicians, hospitals, dialysis centers and pharmacies. In some markets, Amgen uses partners to commercialize its medicines.
The company develops potential new medicines and studies additional uses for existing ones. Its research includes both large-molecule biological medicines and small-molecule drugs. New products must complete testing and obtain regulatory approval before they can be marketed.
How it makes money
Q3 2026 total revenue: $10.4 billion.
Amgen earns most of its sales by supplying medicines across its human therapeutics business. Its portfolio includes Prolia and EVENITY for osteoporosis, Repatha for cardiovascular risk and cholesterol, ENBREL and Otezla for inflammatory conditions, and cancer treatments including BLINCYTO and KYPROLIS. TEZSPIRE is marketed with a collaboration partner for severe uncontrolled asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. Amgen also earns other revenue, including royalties.
Product revenue depends on the quantity purchased and the net selling price received. Total product sales increased 10% in 2025, as volume growth of 13% was partly offset by a 3% decline in net selling price. Purchases are made through wholesalers and healthcare providers; sales of medicines used for ongoing treatment can continue while patients remain on therapy. TEZSPIRE, for example, is approved as an add-on maintenance treatment for inadequately controlled chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.
Prices and access depend in part on coverage and reimbursement from government health systems, insurers and other payers. Payers use measures such as prior authorization and step therapy to control costs. Competition can also affect prices, particularly when biosimilars or generic versions enter a market. Amgen sells its own biosimilars as well as original medicines.
Customers and how it sells
In the United States, substantially all of Amgen’s sales are made to pharmaceutical wholesale distributors, which distribute products to healthcare providers. Outside the United States, the company sells principally to healthcare providers or wholesalers, depending on local distribution practices. It also markets certain products through direct-to-patient channels.
Three wholesalers—McKesson, Cencora and Cardinal Health—each accounted for more than 10% of total revenue in 2025. Together, they accounted for 77% of worldwide gross revenues that year. Amgen monitors the financial condition of larger customers and uses credit limits, letters of credit or credit insurance in some circumstances.
The United States is Amgen’s principal market, accounting for 73% of product sales in 2025. The company’s sales and marketing teams are concentrated in the United States and Europe. It also markets products in Japan, China, other parts of Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
Depending on the market, Amgen uses its own affiliates, acquired businesses or product rights, and third-party collaborations. Its Asia Pacific partners include Astellas Pharma, BeOne, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, Takeda Pharmaceutical and Kyowa Kirin. The approach varies with the opportunity and the company’s operational capabilities in each market.
Suppliers and costs
Amgen performs a substantial majority of its commercial manufacturing activities at its facility in the United States. It also uses third parties for some clinical trial activities. Some raw materials, medical devices and component parts come from sole third-party suppliers; the available information does not name those suppliers.
Manufacturing and testing facilities, equipment and processes are subject to regulatory inspection. Changes to manufacturing equipment, location or processes can require additional review. Amgen identifies potential supply disruptions from shortages, quality failures, supplier financial difficulties, cyberattacks and natural disasters.
Research and development is a major expense. R&D expenses were $7.3 billion in 2025, and Amgen expects to continue allocating significant resources to those activities. Operating expenses increased 6% in 2025, primarily because of investment in later-stage clinical programs and Otezla intangible asset impairment charges, partly offset by lower amortization expense from acquisition-related assets.
Amgen also invests in manufacturing capacity. Capital expenditures were $1.9 billion in 2025, including investment to enhance and expand its manufacturing network. The company has invested in facilities in Ohio, North Carolina and Puerto Rico.
- Revenue$36.8B
- Cost of revenue−$12.0B
- Research and development−$7.3B
- Selling, general and administrative−$7.1B
- Other operating costs−$1.3B
- Operating income$9.1B
Competitive position
Amgen competes against other original medicines, biosimilars and generic drugs. Novartis markets LEQVIO against Repatha, Cosentyx against Otezla and ENBREL, and PROMACTA or REVOLADE against Nplate. Pfizer’s Xeljanz competes with ENBREL in the United States, while its BESPONSA competes with BLINCYTO in the United States and Europe. AstraZeneca’s FASENRA competes with TEZSPIRE in the United States.
Prolia and XGEVA face denosumab biosimilars, and Amgen expects their sales to erode as competition increases. Amgen also sells biosimilars that compete against other companies’ branded and biosimilar products. Competition can affect both market share and prices.
Our reading: Patents and regulatory exclusivity provide meaningful but time-limited protection. Their strength varies by medicine and territory, and the expiration of Prolia and XGEVA antibody patents illustrates the limits of that protection.
Our reading: Amgen’s clinical evidence, manufacturing capabilities and established relationships with healthcare providers can support its competitive position, but they do not prevent competition from medicines with different approaches or from biosimilars. Access and reimbursement also matter: payers can restrict use and scrutinize prices even after a medicine is approved.
| Competitor | Where they compete | Threat (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Novartis AG | Repatha, Otezla, ENBREL, Nplate and TEZSPIRE markets | High |
| Pfizer Inc. | ENBREL and BLINCYTO markets | Medium |
| AstraZeneca | TEZSPIRE’s U.S. market | Medium |
| AbbVie Inc. | Otezla and ENBREL markets | High |
| Bristol Myers Squibb Company | Otezla and ENBREL markets | Medium |
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Repatha and TEZSPIRE markets | Medium |
| Merck & Co., Inc. | Vectibix’s U.S. market | Medium |
Growth opportunities
Amgen seeks growth from existing medicines, new indications, product candidates and biosimilars. In 2025, volume growth included contributions from Repatha, EVENITY, IMDELLTRA, TEZSPIRE and PAVBLU. The FDA broadened Repatha’s approved use in 2025, approved additional uses for UPLIZNA and TEZSPIRE, and granted full approval for IMDELLTRA after platinum-based chemotherapy in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.
Amgen reported positive Phase III results in Q3 2026 for IMDELLTRA in small cell lung cancer, TEZSPIRE in eosinophilic esophagitis and dazodalibep in Sjögren’s disease. The company is working to file IMDELLTRA with regulators worldwide following its first-line maintenance study. Amgen estimates that, if approved for that use, IMDELLTRA could address 23,000 patients in the United States.
MariTide, a candidate for chronic weight management and related conditions, is in Phase III development. Amgen completed enrollment in its Phase III sleep apnea and cardiovascular outcomes studies and initiated a Phase III type 2 diabetes study in Q3 2026. Amgen expects MariTide ultimately to be delivered through a handheld autoinjector.
The company is also developing additional biosimilars. Candidates for EYLEA HD, OPDIVO, KEYTRUDA and OCREVUS are in late-stage clinical development. These programs and proposed uses require further development or regulatory approval before commercialization.
- $26.0BFY2021
- $26.3BFY2022
- $28.2BFY2023
- $33.4BFY2024
- $36.8BFY2025
- $38.9BFY2026 guidance
Structural risks
- Biosimilars and generics: Amgen faces increasing competition after patent expirations, including for Prolia and XGEVA. It was reported on 4 November 2026 that Q3 Prolia sales fell 45% and XGEVA revenue fell 47% amid competitive pressure.
- Pricing and reimbursement: Sales depend on government and commercial payer coverage. Payers scrutinize prices and can restrict use; Medicare selected ENBREL and Otezla for price setting beginning in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
- Research and approvals: Significant R&D spending does not guarantee a commercial product. Candidates can fail to show efficacy, have harmful side effects, face regulatory rejection or receive limited reimbursement after approval.
- Manufacturing and supply: Amgen conducts a substantial majority of commercial manufacturing at its U.S. facility. Sole-source materials and components can be affected by supplier problems, shortages, quality failures or disasters.
- Safety and regulatory action: The FDA requested voluntary withdrawal of TAVNEOS from the U.S. market in January 2026, raising concerns about trial endpoint adjudication and hepatotoxicity. Amgen informed the FDA that it did not intend to withdraw the medicine and was evaluating next steps.
- Acquisitions and collaborations: Efforts to acquire or collaborate on products and technology, or integrate acquired operations, may result in unexpected costs, delays or failure to realize anticipated benefits.
Bottom line
Our reading
Our reading: Amgen is an established medicines business whose sales depend on continued treatment demand, reimbursement and the ability to replace revenue exposed to patent expirations. [item1, item7] Its newer medicines and pipeline offer routes to growth, but clinical development and access remain uncertain while biosimilar competition pressures older products. [item1, item1a, call_prepared]