Bulletin: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Ratings Unaffected By Accelerated Share Repurchase Program

NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 21, 2017--S&P Global Ratings said today that Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s (A+/Stable/A-1+) announcement that it has entered into accelerated share repurchase programs to repurchase $2 billion of common stock does not affect its current rating or outlook on the company. The share repurchase program, while significant, is within our estimated capacity for the current rating. The rating reflects the company's well-established position in an array of high-margin pharmaceutical markets. The company has solid positions in oncology and cardiovascular, and has eight drugs with sales in excess of $1 billion. We expect growth will slow in 2017 and 2018 as Opdivo faces competitive challenges, but still expect leverage will remain below 1.5x, our threshold for the

...NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 21, 2017--S&P Global Ratings said today that Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s (A+/Stable/A-1+) announcement that it has entered into accelerated share repurchase programs to repurchase $2 billion of common stock does not affect its current rating or outlook on the company. The share repurchase program, while significant, is within our estimated capacity for the current rating. The rating reflects the company's well-established position in an array of high-margin pharmaceutical markets. The company has solid positions in oncology and cardiovascular, and has eight drugs with sales in excess of $1 billion. We expect growth will slow in 2017 and 2018 as Opdivo faces competitive challenges, but still expect leverage will remain below 1.5x, our threshold for the rating. For the corporate credit rating rationale, see the summary analysis on Bristol-Myers Squibb published on June 17, 2016. Only a rating committee may determine a rating action and this report does not...

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