Arcutis CFO Defers 2027 Guidance, Says Sales Will 'Inflect' As Simone Biles Campaign Lifts Spending 60%
The company raised its 2026 revenue range to $535 million to $545 million while selling costs climbed to $99.6 million.
Arcutis Biotherapeutics, which sells the Zoryve skin treatment, raised its 2026 revenue forecast to $535 million to $545 million, from $525 million to $540 million. On its third-quarter earnings call Wednesday, Chief Financial Officer Latha Vairavan said she would not yet size 2027 growth, only that it will improve.
A deferral on 2027
A Guggenheim analyst pressed for a frame on next year's acceleration. Vairavan said the company will "improve our growth and inflect our 2027 net sales because that's our path to the peak sales that we put out there."
She added: "this is not the time where I'm going to give a soft guide." The company gave one last year, she said, "because it was our first time," and analysts "have to wait till we close out the year."
Chief Executive Frank Watanabe also stayed general, saying the company can "sustain or even accelerate" growth and adding, "I'll get in trouble if I get into too much specifics."
Third-quarter numbers behind the spending
Net product revenue was $143.9 million, up 45% from a year earlier and 11% from the second quarter. Quarterly prescriptions passed 300,000.
Selling, general and administrative expenses were $99.6 million, against $62.4 million a year earlier, up 60%. Vairavan attributed the rise to media spending, mainly for the Simone Biles campaign, and to sales force expansion. She expects fourth-quarter expenses to stay at that level.
Net income was $8.8 million, versus $7.4 million a year earlier. Cash and marketable securities stood at $259.8 million, operating cash flow was $18.9 million, and debt totaled $109.4 million.
Waiting on the Biles campaign
Chief Commercial Officer Rob Lasecki said the campaign's announcement alone generated more than 6 billion impressions. Its effect on prescriptions should become more visible in early 2027, he said, because awareness efforts take time.
New dermatology reps have been in the field about six months. A roughly 20-rep primary care and pediatric team started at the end of August, and the company is adding a virtual dermatology platform and an AI-enabled prescription workflow partner.
Vitiligo readout due this quarter
Arcutis expects results from its 20-patient vitiligo trial, plus a decision on whether to advance it, in the fourth quarter. A hidradenitis suppurativa readout is expected late in the first quarter of 2027, and the FDA's decision date for use in infants is February 23, 2027.
Vairavan said the full-year results, due in a few months, are when the 2027 picture comes into view.
Sources
- Earnings To Watch: Arcutis Biotherapeutics Inc (ARQT) Q3 2026 -- GF Value Sees 35% Upside — Yahoo Finance
- Arcutis Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results and — globenewswire.com
