Q4 2024 Earnings Call Recaps, Part 1

This is Part 1 of paid subscriber exclusive long-form content. ARQT, GERN, CRDF, APLS.

Word Count: 4,046; Reading Time: About 19 minutes

Normally I publish every Wednesday but with the time-sensitive nature of earnings calls I’m abandoning that for the next two weeks and publishing as soon as I get a block of company recaps done so you can have the content as soon as possible.

The companies covered in Part 1: ARQT, GERN, CRDF, APLS.

There will be a template at the start of each company section:

NASDAQ Stock Symbol:

Company Name:

Earnings Call Date, Call Time:

Share Price Heading Into Call:

Shares Outstanding:

Market Capitalization:

Share Price One Full Trading Session After Call:

Stock Price Change:

Market Capitalization One Full Trading Session After Call:

…this will be followed by four sections of analysis…

Bottom Line Up Front:

Analyst Question Topics:

Pulled Quotes From Executives:

Additional Analysis:

The analysis section will focus heavily on my opinion of the content of the call and the quotes I find to be relevant. I believe I have a very good track record but past performance is not indicative of future results.

Standard boilerplate disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor. This is not financial advice. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell securities. For research purposes only.

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NASDAQ Stock Symbol: ARQT

Company Name: Arcutis

Earnings Call Date, Call Time: 2/25/2025, post-market

Share Price Heading Into Call: $12.20

Shares Outstanding: (from recent 10-Q): 118,638,235

Market Capitalization: $1,447 million

Share Price One Full Trading Session After Call: $13.22

Stock Price Change: +8.36%

Market Capitalization One Full Trading Session After Call: $1,568 million

Bottom Line Up Front: Arcutis reported what I thought was an extremely strong quarter with the possibility for an explosive move up in late 2025 if growth can be sustained.

Analyst Question Topics: Reason for difference between preannouncement and actual revenue figure, strength of intellectual property with generic company challenge, growth resuming in PsO cream prescriptions, effects of sales force expansion, refill rate about TRx and question about how many tubes of cream/canisters of foam patients use yearly, % of covered lives in Medicaid and Medicare segments, near-term profitability guidance, label for upcoming PDUFA for foam in psoriasis, expectations for Phase 1b data for ARQ-255, what % of sales are attributable to Kowa PCP partnership, use of ZORYVE as a first line therapy before steroids.

Pulled Quotes From Executives:

“In 2025, we'll further expand ZORYVE's approved indications, continue to expand our prescriber base beyond dermatology, further penetrate the government payer segment, and focus on taking market share from topical steroids. We're especially excited about our May 22, PDUFA date, for an expected indication in scalp and body psoriasis, which will provide another opportunity for doctors to prescribe ZORYVE foam to meet a substantial unmet medical need.”

“Our psoriasis and seb derm indications continue to grow. We are still very much in new launch mode for atopic dermatitis, and we expect to add further indications and label expansions in the coming year, providing us with significant growth opportunities ahead.”

“…our Kowa commercial partnership permits us to simultaneously pursue the more than 8.5 million patients being treated outside of the dermatology office for these indications. This includes primary care physicians and pediatricians for whom ZORYVE represents an ideal, easy-to-use topical anti-inflammatory agent. Within each of these large segments outlined on the slide, the vast majority of patients are currently treated with topical steroids, but clinicians are starting to shift away from these products, although we're only in the very early stages of this transition in medical practice.”

“This quarter, we achieved $69.4 million, $65.4 million before the nonrecurring adjustment in net product revenue for ZORYVE, reflecting 46% growth over the third quarter.”

“It is common to see a decline in prescription volume growth for products in January following the end of year demand pull forward, and we are seeing such a decline for many of the other branded topical nonsteroidals. While the typical Q1 gross-to-net fluctuation will affect total net product revenue, we are encouraged we've been able to sustain and even expand the number of scripts written to date in 2025 compared to Q4 '24. Speaking of Q4 prescription volume, on Slide 10, you can see that ZORYVE prescription volume has reached another record high at 16,000 weekly scripts.”

Additional Analysis: