By Pushkala Aripaka, Bhanvi Satija and Maggie Fick
LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) – AstraZeneca forecast steady profit growth in 2026 on Tuesday, banking on strong demand for cancer drugs and new launches to offset patent losses and pricing pressure as it pushes ahead with heavy investments in the U.S. and China.
Longtime CEO Pascal Soriot is steering the drugmaker towards its target of $80 billion in annual sales by 2030, backed by more than 20 expected drug launches, even as shifting U.S. trade and healthcare policies weigh on the sector.
“We have a lot of reason to believe we are very much on track to deliver our 2030 ambition,” Soriot told reporters.
Shares in Britain’s most valuable listed company traded choppily and were up about 1% by midday. Barclays analysts called the update “reassuring”. The stock is flat this year but sharply higher over 12 months.
‘SOME’ IMPACT FROM U.S. DRUG PRICING RULES
AstraZeneca expects core earnings per share this year to increase by a low double-digit percentage at constant currencies, with total revenues rising at a mid-to-high single-digit rate. That follows increases of 8% in sales and 11% in profit for 2025.
AstraZeneca also said it would raise its annual dividend by about 3% to $3.30 per share.
Finance chief Aradhana Sarin said the outlook included “some” impact from U.S. drug pricing mandates, with Medicaid sales – accounting for a single-digit percentage of total revenues – most affected.
Under CEO Soriot, AstraZeneca has expanded in the U.S., its biggest market, despite a shifting policy backdrop, striking a $50 billion manufacturing deal, securing an NYSE listing, and negotiating the first drug pricing agreement by a non-U.S. drugmaker for tariff relief.
In China, its second-largest market, the company has pledged $15 billion in investments after setbacks and signed a licensing deal with CSPC for weight loss drugs.
RESULTS IN LINE WITH EXPECTATIONS
Fourth-quarter core earnings to December 31 were $2.12 per share on sales up 2% to $15.50 billion, matching company-compiled consensus forecasts.
Cancer drug sales jumped 20%, but revenue from cardiovascular medicines fell 6% amid generic competition, including for diabetes and heart failure drug Farxiga and heart drug Brilinta.
U.S. revenue rose 6%, while Chinese sales edged up 1%.
Soriot said China’s reimbursement system helped speed uptake, boosting volumes although at lower prices.
He added that recent UK price-setting reforms were welcome but still not enough to draw larger pharmaceutical investment.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru, and Bhanvi Satija and Maggie Fick in London. Additional reporting by Sri Hari N S. Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Bernadette Baum and Mark Potter)
Comments