Edwards Lifesciences Q4 Earnings Fall Short Of Expectations, Reaffirms FY22 Outlook

Heart device company Edwards Lifesciences Corp EW posted Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.51, compared to $0.50 posted a year ago and below the consensus of $0.55.

• Sales for Q4 increased 12% to $1.33 billion (underlying 13%), missing the consensus of $1.36 billion.
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) sales grew to $872 million, up 12% despite the “pronounced impact on hospital resources” in December from the omicron variant of COVID-19, said CEO Mike Mussallem. 
• The Company cited the delta variant wave in third-quarter results.
• TAVR sales outside the U.S. grew about 20% on an underlying basis in Q4, and Edwards Lifesciences said it continues to project that the global TAVR opportunity will double to $10 billion by 2028.
• In Q4, R&D expenses grew 19% to $233 million, primarily on transcatheter innovations such as increased transcatheter mitral and tricuspid therapies (TMTT) clinical trial activity. 
• Guidance: Edwards Lifesciences reaffirmed its FY22 projection of adjusted EPS of $2.50 - $2.65 and reiterated its top-line outlook of $5.5 billion to $6.0 billion.
• For Q1 FY22, Edwards Lifesciences expects revenue between $1.27 billion - $1.35 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.54 to $0.62.
• Analyst Reaction: SVB Leerink maintains Edwards Lifesciences with an Outperform but lowered the price target from $132 to $130.
• Price Action: EW shares are down 5.27% at $102.91 during the premarket session on the last check Thursday.