Arcutis Biotherapeutics shares fell 15% in after-hours trading Wednesday, Nov. 4, after the Westlake Village drugmaker reported earnings that fell short of Wall Street expectations.

The company posted diluted earnings of 6 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, according to its earnings release. Analysts had expected 17 cents per share, according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate as reported by Yahoo Finance. Pacific Coast Business Times reported the analyst range at 17 to 18 cents.

The stock had hit a 52-week high of $34 a share earlier on Nov. 4, Pacific Coast Business Times reported. After the earnings release, shares dropped to just above $29.

Revenue grew sharply. ZORYVE net product sales hit $143.9 million for the quarter, a 45% increase over the same period a year ago and an 11% sequential gain over the second quarter. The company attributed the growth to increasing demand across its product lines.

Net income was $8.8 million, up from $7.4 million a year earlier.

Spending climbed with sales

The gap between strong revenue and a thin bottom line traces partly to rising costs. Selling, general and administrative expenses reached $99.6 million for the quarter, up from $62.4 million a year ago, according to the company's financial statements. The company said the increase reflected greater marketing spending on its "Skin to Believe In" celebrity awareness campaign with gymnast Simone Biles and higher personnel costs tied to a sales force expansion.

Research and development spending also rose, reaching $22.4 million compared with $19.6 million a year earlier.

Guidance raised, pipeline advances

Despite the earnings miss, Arcutis raised its full-year 2026 net product sales guidance to $535 million to $545 million, up from a prior range of $525 million to $540 million.

Frank Watanabe, president and chief executive officer, said in the earnings release that the quarter reflected "consistent execution of our corporate strategy." He said ZORYVE continues to lead the branded non-steroidal topical segment.

ZORYVE topical foam generated $75.1 million in third-quarter revenue. ZORYVE cream 0.3% brought in $37.8 million, cream 0.15% added $27.3 million and cream 0.05% contributed $3.7 million.

The company also announced it appointed Rob Lisicki as chief commercial officer, effective Nov. 4, and added Rob Scott, MD, to its board of directors in October 2026.

Looking ahead, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has set a Feb. 23, 2027, target action date for a supplemental application to expand the ZORYVE cream 0.05% indication to infants aged 3 to 24 months. Arcutis said it expects to report results from a Phase 2 study of ZORYVE foam for vitiligo treatment by the end of 2026.