AstraZeneca shares gain after Q3 profit beats forecasts, outlook unchanged
Investing.com -- Shares in drugmaker AstraZeneca rose 3% on Friday after its third-quarter core earnings per share of $2.79 beat the $2.62 analysts expected, helped by lower costs than forecast.
Core earnings, which exclude items such as restructuring charges and amortisation of intangible assets, rose 19% per share at constant exchange rates from a year earlier.
Core operating profit was $5.86 billion versus consensus of $5.40 billion, and core operating margin was 36%, 2.5 percentage points above consensus.
"We like the 36% Operating Margin in Q3, 250bps ahead of consensus. Whilst guidance is unchanged…we argue that this bodes well for the 2027 margin trajectory," said analysts at Jefferies in a note.
Lower operating costs, possibly partly due to timing ahead of the usual rise in research spending in the fourth quarter, and higher other operating income of $277 million drove the profit beat.
Total revenue was $16.21 billion, up 7% at constant rates. Product sales of $15.07 billion topped the $14.92 billion consensus. Revenue from medicines sold with partners was $1.11 billion versus $1.03 billion expected.
Cancer drug Tagrisso brought in $2.09 billion versus $2.01 billion expected, and Imfinzi $1.99 billion versus $1.97 billion.
Truqap sales of $210 million missed the $254 million forecast, hit by U.S. destocking, the company said. Diabetes drug Farxiga sales were $1.61 billion, down 25%. U.S. Farxiga sales fell 71% to $127 million after multiple generic versions launched in the second quarter.
AstraZeneca reconfirmed 2026 guidance at constant rates, with revenue growth of a mid-to-high single-digit percentage and core earnings per share growth of a low double-digit percentage.
Jefferies estimates full-year revenue of $63.5 billion to $65.3 billion, compared with its estimate of $63.6 billion and consensus of $63.3 billion. Core EPS is projected at $10.10 to $10.40, versus Jefferies' estimate of $10.41 and consensus of $10.27.
Breast cancer drug Etcamah missed its main goal in the SERENA-4 trial, and a lung cancer trial of volrustomig was discontinued.
The company launched a restructuring programme costing up to $2.0 billion in one-time charges to deliver $1.5 billion in annual pre-tax savings, and completed a $2 billion investment in Summit Therapeutics for about 12.0% of the company.
