Amgen Inc. (AMGN) is an American multinational biopharmaceutical juggernaut that has quietly delivered market-crushing returns to long-term investors through share price gains and ever-increasing dividend payouts. Over the past 24 years, this stock has soared over 700% thanks to consistent innovation, strategic growth, and shareholder rewards.
Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, Amgen focuses on developing and delivering vital medicines for patients fighting serious illnesses. The company makes drugs used to treat cancer, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, bone health, and cardiovascular disease.
With annual revenue exceeding $26 billion and a market capitalization over $140 billion, Amgen is one of the world’s largest independent biotechnology companies. And its track record of growth and reliably increasing dividends makes it a compelling stock for income investors looking to beat the market.
Meteoric 24-Year Share Price Growth
On November 22, 1999, Amgen executed a stock split, leaving shares priced at $34.72 the following day. An investor putting $1,000 into the stock at that point would have secured around 29 shares.
Nearly a quarter century later, those 29 shares would now be worth a staggering $7,625 – representing share price growth of over 700% not including dividends.
To put Amgen’s performance in perspective, a $1,000 investment in the S&P 500 over the same 24-year stretch would have returned around $5,800. Amgen has thoroughly trounced the broader market thanks to several major catalysts.
Driving this growth is Amgen’s expanding line-up of top-selling drugs and globally diversifying revenue streams. In 2022, the company secured 8 blockbuster drug approvals across therapeutic areas like osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and various cancer types.
Strategic international expansion has also fueled stable growth. Nearly 40% of Amgen’s latest annual revenue came from outside the U.S., especially Asia and Europe. With new drug launches planned abroad and maturing international markets, analysts see overseas opportunities powering sales higher.
Ever-Increasing Dividends
In addition to market-beating share price appreciation, Amgen has rewarded long-term investors through 11 consecutive years of dividend growth.
The company currently pays out $8.52 per share annually in reliable dividends split into quarterly payments. For an investor holding 29 shares, that would mean $247 in passive dividend income per year on top of share price gains.
Impressively, Amgen has grown its dividend at a 15% compound annual rate over the past 5 years. So investors have not only secured reliable payouts, but also seen the income from their initial investment rapidly rise every single year.
Analysts widely expect Amgen’s dividend growth streak to continue thanks to its strong free cash flow generation. Despite spending billions on research, acquisitions, and share buybacks annually, the company still produces ample excess cash to support hiking payouts.
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Bullish Growth Outlook
Amgen continues to drive growth through new drug development across its robust pipeline targeting cancer, inflammation, cardiovascular, and neuroscience.
With over 30 ongoing late-stage trials and additional earlier phase studies, analysts see Amgen’s lineup expanding significantly in coming years. The company also plans to leverage its expertise in biologics manufacturing to capture contract drug production partnerships.
Acquisitions similarly offer growth potential after Amgen acquired Horizon Therapeutics in 2022 for $28 billion, adding a slate of immunotherapy drugs. Further deals could bring promising new drug candidates and production capacity into Amgen’s fold.
Between organic growth, mergers and acquisitions, international expansion, and leveraging its biomanufacturing capabilities, analysts see tailwinds driving earnings higher through 2025.
The stock trades at a reasonable forward price-to-earnings ratio around 14. This leaves room for further expansion as the company executes on its deep pipeline and capitalizes on global biopharma demand.
Combined with the stock’s history of dividends reliably growing at double-digit rates, Amgen offers investors growth and income – a compelling combination that could continue powering outsized returns for years to come.