30th Oct 2026 10:28
(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC on Friday delivered strong third quarter results with sales ahead of forecast and lower than expected costs driving an even more impressive profit beat.
Shares in the Cambridge, England-based pharmaceuticals company were up 4.0% at 13,574.00 pence each in London on Friday morning.
The FTSE 100 listing said pretax profit rose 22% to USD3.96 billion in the third quarter ended September 30 from USD3.24 billion a year earlier.
Revenue increased 6.7% to USD16.21 billion from USD15.19 billion, beating USD15.94 billion company compiled consensus by 1.7%.
Oncology sales grew 15% on-year to USD7.07 billion, more than USD6.99 consensus, and Rare Diseases revenue increased 9% to USD2.63 billion, ahead of consensus of USD2.58 billion.
Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism sales fell 19% to USD2.60 billion, slightly below consensus of USD2.62 billion. Meanwhile, Respiratory & Immunology sales rose 9% to USD2.29 billion, in line with consensus.
Vaccine & Immune Therapies sales totalled USD266 million, ahead of USD225 million consensus, albeit down from USD274 million a year ago.
Rare Diseases was supported by strong showings from Strensiq and Ultomiris, Oncology's beat reflected a good sales of Tagrisso, while Vaccines & Immune Therapies beat was largely due to Flumist.
Operating profit climbed 23% to USD4.39 billion from USD3.58 billion, while earnings per share rose 23% to USD2.02 from USD1.64.
Core operating profit picked up 17% to USD5.86 billion from USD4.99 billion on-year, beating USD5.36 billion consensus by 9.3%.
Core earnings per share of 2.79p were also 17% higher on-year from 2.38p, topping 2.59p consensus by 7.7%.
Selling, general & administrative expenses edged up to USD5.11 billion from USD5.09 billion a year ago. Core SG&A costs of USD3.91 billion were below USD3.99 billion consensus.
AstraZeneca highlighted 47 approvals in major regions since its 2025 results, including four new medicines, alongside 12 positive phase III trial readouts.
Chief Executive Pascal Soriot was bullish.
"With multiple potential blockbuster assets in late-stage development and transformative technologies scaling rapidly, we are on track to deliver our 2030 ambition and to sustain growth through the next decade," the CEO stated.
AstraZeneca maintained its full-year guidance for revenue growth of a mid-to-high single-digit percentage from USD58.74 billion in 2025, and core EPS growth of a low double-digit percentage at constant exchange rates from USD9.16.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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