Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) has carved out a strong spot in the biotech world, thanks to its lineup of medicines for cancer, heart disease, inflammation, and some rare conditions. The company’s tried-and-true products bring in plenty of cash, and its newer treatments show real promise for growth. For those looking beyond a single pharmaceutical stock, the 10 Unstoppable Dividend Stocks to Buy list offers another way to explore companies with income-generating potential. Amgen’s big challenge is keeping that momentum going as older drugs come under pressure from competitors and falling prices.
Looking at the second quarter of 2026, Amgen turned in a solid performance. Revenue climbed 10% from last year to hit $10.1 billion, and GAAP earnings per share jumped 65% to $4.37. The company also improved its operating margin to 36.8% from 30.3%. But adjusted EPS only grew by 4% to $6.29, which shows that the headline numbers make the growth look stronger than it really is under the surface. Still, Amgen generated $3.5 billion in free cash flow, giving it plenty of room to keep investing in research, acquisitions, and shareholder dividends.
The company’s growth story is a bit of a mixed bag. Sales of Repatha were up 37%, and EVENITY saw a 38% jump. On the flip side, Prolia sales dropped 32% because of tough competition from biosimilars cutting into both volume and prices. Enbrel also took a hit from lower selling prices, partly due to new Medicare pricing rules. Amgen’s size and research know-how give it an edge, but they can’t completely shield the company from patent expirations, regulatory bumps, or pricing challenges.
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Forward P/E: Growth Must Earn Its Premium
Amgen Inc. currently trades at about 16.7 times forward earnings and 25.2 times trailing earnings. The difference between these numbers suggests investors expect earnings to grow, but that’s not a guarantee the stock is a bargain. The forward P/E has actually climbed from 13.4 in June 2025 to 16.7 in June 2026, and the five-year expected PEG ratio is now at 2.45. So, the market is putting a higher value on future profits, even though the actual growth in quarterly earnings has been modest.
With a forward P/E of 16.7, Amgen’s earnings yield comes out to about 6.0%. For comparison, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield sits around 5.3%. That small gap means investors aren’t getting a whole lot of extra reward for taking on the risks that come with owning Amgen stock, like clinical trial failures, patent expirations, or swings in earnings.
Amgen’s stock trades at a lower multiple than Johnson & Johnson’s (about 22 times earnings), even though Amgen has reported stronger revenue growth and operating margins recently. But just because Amgen looks cheaper on paper doesn’t automatically make it a better buy. Investors also have to think about things like how dependent it is on a few products, how tough the competition is, and whether its earnings will hold up over time. Read the detailed comparison between the two here.
The Dividend: Sustainable, but Not a Substitute for Growth
In July 2026, Amgen announced a quarterly dividend of $2.52 per share, adding up to $10.08 a year. With the share price hovering around $432.49, that works out to a dividend yield of about 2.3%. Amgen can afford this payout thanks to its strong cash flow, though it still has to balance that with the costs of acquisitions, paying down debt, and funding research. Based on the company’s forward P/E, the dividend uses up about 39% of expected earnings, a comfortable level, but it’s always smart to keep an eye on cash flow and debt payments, too.
The dividend adds some income to your total returns and could grow in the future, but the yield is still lower than what you’d get from Treasuries right now. Readers comparing Amgen with other income-generating companies can also explore our list of unstoppable dividend stocks for alternatives that may offer a different balance of yield, payout sustainability, and growth potential. Amgen needs to deliver both earnings growth and a rising share price to make the extra risk worthwhile.
Bottom line
Amgen has a solid lineup of medicines and a steadily growing dividend. But at today’s price, there isn’t much room for slip-ups; the company needs to keep performing well. The dividend is reliable, but the real test is whether Amgen’s new drugs can make up for the losses from older products and drive real earnings growth over time.
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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
