What happened
Shares of Edwards Lifesciences (EW 0.50%) were 10.1% higher as of 10:49 a.m. EDT on Wednesday. The nice gain came after the maker of artificial heart valves announced its second-quarter earnings results following the market close on Tuesday.
Edwards topped Wall Street analysts' revenue and earnings estimates. The company also boosted its full-year 2019 outlook.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
One quarter, whether positive or negative, doesn't mean very much in the scheme of things. But there was a lot for investors to like with Edwards' Q2 results.
The company posted revenue of $1.1 billion, up 15% year over year. It reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.38. This reflected an 11% increase over the same quarter in 2018 and was also well above the consensus analysts' EPS estimate of $1.33.
Most important, though, was the reason behind the solid performance in the second quarter. Demand for the company's products increased across the board. Edwards makes most of its revenue from selling transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) products. Even though its TAVR prices remained stable during Q2, sales soared 16% year over year due to strong demand. Sales of surgical structural heart products jumped 15% thanks to higher demand for premium products including the Inspiris Resilia aortic valve.
As a result of its better-than-expected second quarter, Edwards boosted its full-year 2019 outlook. The company now expects revenue of $4 billion to $4.3 billion, near the top end of its previous guidance range. Edwards also projects adjusted non-GAAP EPS will come in between $5.20 and $5.40 versus its previous guidance of $5.10 to $5.35.
Now what
It seems likely that the strong demand for Edwards Lifesciences' TAVR and surgical structural heart products will continue. Investors will also want to watch the progress of the launch of the company's Pascal transcatheter mitral system in Europe.
In addition, there's an important Food and Drug Administration decision on the way. Edwards hopes to win FDA approval in the third quarter for its SAPIEN 3 valve intended for patients with low surgical risk.
