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what it is
Amphastar makes difficult generic injectables, inhalers, and nasal drugs, then sells them where manufacturing mistakes cost real money.
how it gets paid
Last year Amphastar Pharma made $720M in revenue.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 1.7% last year. The company implemented a series of initiatives earlier this year aimed at mitigating the aforementioned pricing/competitive headwinds.
what just happened
Revenue hit $537M and gross margin held at 50.4%, showing how powerful the portfolio gets when the mix works.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
55/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
7.6x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
13.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 64/100 — average
What they do
Amphastar makes difficult generic injectables, inhalers, and nasal drugs, then sells them where manufacturing mistakes cost real money.
Amphastar wins in drug niches that are annoying to make and harder to copy at scale. It still posts a 19.5% operating margin and a 22.6% net margin, which is high for a generic-drug company where price cuts usually wreck weaker players. If your hospital or pharmacy needs sterile injectables, inhalation drugs, and nasal products from one supplier, fewer rivals can do all three without squeezing their own profits.
How they make money
$720M
annual revenue · revenue declined -1.7% last year
total revenue
$720M
1.7%
The products that matter
glucagon nasal spray
Baqsimi
~$200M · 28% of revenue
this severe hypoglycemia treatment now makes up 28% of total revenue. that's a lot of weight for one product in a $720M company, which is why every growth conversation starts here.
growth engine
OTC asthma inhaler
Primatene Mist
branded OTC product
it is the only FDA-approved over-the-counter epinephrine inhaler in the U.S. The page does not give revenue for it, so we won't pretend it does, but its relevance is strategic: it adds a branded niche business next to the generic base.
niche franchise
generic injectables portfolio
Legacy Generics
~$520M · 72% of revenue
this is still roughly $520M of the business. pricing pressure and competition already pushed total company revenue down 1.7% last year, so Baqsimi has to run faster just to keep the whole company from shrinking.
cash base under pressure
Key numbers
$40
18-month target
The published 18-month target sits 52% above $26.31, so the stock already prices in a lot of doubt despite a profitable business.
7.6x
trailing p/e
P/E → price-to-earnings → what you pay for each dollar of profit. At 7.6x, you are paying a bargain multiple for a company with a 22.6% net margin.
22.6%
net margin
Net margin → profit after all costs → what the company keeps from each sales dollar. Amphastar keeps about $0.23 of every $1 in revenue.
$609M
long-term debt
Debt → money owed → fixed pressure. That debt load equals 34% of capital, which limits how much bad luck the story can absorb.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 40 / 100
- long-term debt $609M (34% of capital)
- net profit margin 22.6% — keeps 23 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 18% — $0.18 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in AMPH 3 years ago → it's now worth $9,140.
The index would have given you $13,920.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $537M and gross margin held at 50.4%, showing how powerful the portfolio gets when the mix works.
Reported revenue rose 180% vs. prior year, and EPS reached $1.52 on the EDGAR figures provided. The broad point is simple: when Amphastar's top products fire at once, this income statement gets loud fast.
$537M
revenue
$1.52
eps
50.4%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The 50.4% gross margin matters most because it shows Amphastar is not just selling more drugs. It is selling them at prices and mix that still leave room for profit.
-
amphastar pharmaceuticals reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.vs. prior year comparisons continued to be pressured by increased competition across the drugmaker’s legacy portfolio, along with corresponding pricing headwinds. rising operating costs also remained a drag, reflecting higher spending in support of clinical trials and expanded marketing campaigns tied to key products baqsimi and primatene mist. on a positive note, the overall impact to amphastar’s third-quarter results was lighter than we had anticipated, with adjusted earnings of $0.93 a share coming in comfortably ahead of our $0.85 estimate.
-
we have added a dime to our full-year earnings call, now at $3.45 a share.
-
the revision largely reflects lower modeled operating expenses, as leadership’s cost-containment efforts have been increasingly effective over these last few quarters.the company implemented a series of initiatives earlier this year aimed at mitigating the aforementioned pricing/competitive headwinds, and based on what we saw in the september period, they appear to be gaining traction.
-
our presentation suggests a bottom-line recovery will occur in 2026.we look for earnings to reach $3.75 a share next year, fueled by cost-control benefits and an acceleration in top-line growth.
-
our assumption is based on continued momentum in amphastar’s core baqsimi franchise, which following a strong surge in sales this year, now accounts for 28% of total revenue.new product launches, including iron sucrose injection, should also be supportive of comparisons in 2026.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is generic injectable pricing pressure outrunning Baqsimi growth. This is not a vague pharma risk. It's specific to a business where 72% of revenue still comes from the legacy portfolio.
med
legacy generic pricing erosion
Competition is already pressuring Amphastar's older generic products. Total revenue fell 1.7% last year even with Baqsimi growing fast, which tells you the base business is not standing still.
roughly 72% of revenue still sits in the legacy portfolio, so this is the main pressure point
med
Baqsimi concentration
Baqsimi now drives 28% of revenue and most of the growth narrative. When one product becomes that important, execution, reimbursement, competition, and demand all matter more to the equity story.
one product accounts for 28% of total revenue in a company valued around $1B
med
margin compression from a weaker mix
The company still posts a 36.0% operating margin and a 21.8% net margin. Those are unusually strong numbers for this kind of business. If the mix shifts back toward lower-quality generics or cost inflation returns, the valuation support gets thinner.
the market is paying 7.6x earnings because it doubts current profitability is fully durable
A stalled Baqsimi franchise plus continued erosion in legacy generics would pressure both sides of the equation — the $720M revenue base and the 36.0% operating margin that currently makes the stock look cheap.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
whether Baqsimi stays above its current weight class
it already accounts for 28% of revenue. if that share keeps climbing, the transition story stays alive. if it stalls, the multiple probably stays low.
trend
legacy generics versus company-wide revenue
total revenue fell 1.7% last year. you want to see that stop happening before calling this a clean turnaround.
calendar
2026 numbers against the street's recovery case
the current setup points to $780M in revenue and $3.75 in EPS. those are the reference points now, not nice-to-haves.
risk
operating margin holding the line
36.0% is the part of the story that makes the valuation look wrong. if that starts sliding while growth is still uneven, the market's skepticism wins.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
top 20%
momentum score 2 — analysts expect above-average price performance in the year ahead. in human-speak, they think the setup has rebound potential.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — this is a middle-of-the-pack risk profile, not a bunker stock and not a disaster case.
chart momentum
below average
technical score 4 — the chart is still doing the stock no favors. shares sit about 33% below the 52-week high of $39.
earnings predictability
55 / 100
earnings are only moderately predictable. translation: you should expect revisions and a few uneven quarters.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 2 consecutive quarters — 115 buyers vs. 125 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 33.2M shares. net selling for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$21
$59
$26
current price
$40
target midpoint · +52% from current · 3-5yr high: $70 (+165% · 28% ann'l return)
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