Strong overseas sales of COVID-19 vaccines: Moderna (MRNA.US) turned losses into profits in Q3 and raised full-year revenue guidelines sharply

The Zhitong Finance App learned that before the US stock market on November 6, Moderna (MRNA.US) announced the results for the third quarter of 2026. According to financial reports, the company's total revenue was US$1,313 million, up 29% year on year, far higher than market expectations of about US$885 million; net profit of US$162 million, reversing losses compared with a net loss of US$200 million in the same period last year; and diluted earnings of $0.38 per share, which was significantly better than the market's expected loss of 1.25 US dollars per share.

The company said that revenue growth was mainly driven by strong sales of COVID-19 vaccines in international markets and delivery of long-term strategic government cooperation orders such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. The US market revenue for the quarter was $780 million, and the international market revenue was $533 million.

Simultaneous improvements on the profit side: sales costs of US$318 million (up 54% year on year, including US$65 million in third-party royalties); R&D expenses of US$583 million, a decrease of 27% year over year, mainly due to the completion of late-stage clinical research in some infectious disease pipelines and organizational cost reduction and efficiency; operating profit of US$130 million, with operating losses of US$260 million in the same period last year.

As of the end of September, cash and investments of $8 billion increased month-on-month, mainly from net proceeds from the issuance of $2.6 billion in convertible bonds, partially offset by US$950 million in litigation settlement expenses and seasonal working capital expenditure.

The company raised its full-year guidance. The 2026 revenue growth rate was drastically raised from the previous “up to 10%” to 15% to 25%. The estimated revenue is about half from the US and half from the international market; the R&D expenses guide was lowered from about US$2.9 billion to about US$2.7 billion; and the year-end cash and investment guidance was raised from US$4.7 billion to US$8.2 billion to US$8.1 billion to US$8.3 billion.

In terms of business and pipeline, CEO Stéphane Bancel said that the company has been approved for five products: the August influenza vaccine mFlusiva was approved by the US FDA (for people aged 50-64, accelerated approval for those aged 65 and above), and the influenza/COVID-19 combination vaccine mCoFlu was approved in Canada (EU brand mCombriax), which is still awaiting review in Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia and other places.

In the tumor pipeline, the individualized cancer vaccine intismeran, in collaboration with MSD, achieved positive results in the phase III melanoma clinical trial (data shows that combining Keytruda can reduce the risk of recurrence or death by 42%). However, the mid-term analysis of the norovirus vaccine mRNA-1403 phase III did not meet the early success criteria, and the company did not add new research cohorts this season.

Moderna's stock recently rebounded sharply above $220 from a 52-week low of $22.28 due to melanoma data.