Novartis (NYSE:NVS) shares gained more than 4% intra-day today after the company exceeded expectations with its Q2 results. The company reported EPS of $1.83 on revenue of $13.62 billion, surpassing the Street estimates of $1.71 on revenue of $13.51 billion. This marks a 9% year-over-year increase in revenue.

Novartis demonstrated strong sales growth and robust margin expansion, leading to an increase in the company's guidance for 2023. The positive performance was observed across core therapeutic areas and key geographic regions. CEO Vas Narasimhan emphasized the company's confidence in its mid-term growth outlook, thanks to growth drivers and a promising pipeline with upcoming milestones for Kisqali, Pluvicto, and iptacopan.

Novartis revised its full-year revenue forecast, now expecting high-single-digit rate growth compared to the previous mid-single-digit rate projection.