Moderna raised its 2026 revenue growth forecast to 15% to 25%, from a previous outlook of up to 10%, after third-quarter sales and earnings exceeded analyst expectations. CEO Stéphane Bancel said newer products and expansion into additional markets helped drive the quarter, while Covid vaccine revenue also outperformed.
The company reported third-quarter revenue of $1.31 billion, up 29% from a year earlier, and net income of $162 million, or 38 cents a share. A year earlier, it recorded a net loss of $200 million, or 51 cents a share.
New products helped lift the outlook
Bancel said the “new product” and broader geographic reach contributed to the strong quarter. Moderna is beginning to see a full-year contribution from its next-generation mRNA Covid vaccine, which received U.S. approval in May 2025.
The timing matters for vaccine sales. Covid is seasonal, and contracts are typically set in the first quarter. The next-generation shot therefore had only a small launch at the start of its first year, Bancel said; the raised forecast reflects a fuller contribution as it reaches the market.
Moderna’s stand-alone flu vaccine, approved in the U.S. in August, faces a similar timing constraint. Bancel expects its U.S. launch to be limited in 2026, so it will not immediately provide the same kind of full-year sales contribution.
International sales and lower costs
Third-quarter revenue rose in international markets, where Moderna reported $533 million, alongside $780 million in the U.S. Higher Covid vaccine sales abroad and deliveries under long-term government partnerships supported the increase.
In a separate CNBC interview, Bancel pointed to expansion in Canada, the U.K. and Asia as another factor behind the results. He also said the company’s cost-cutting work helped it return to quarterly profit. “It’s the sales that are stronger and the costs that are also lower,” he said.
The mix is important to the outlook: sales growth came alongside reduced costs, while newer vaccines are still moving through their initial launch periods. The company’s forecast depends in part on how those products perform as their market reach expands.
Investors weigh growth against cancer-vaccine reaction
The sales update follows investor attention to a separate part of Moderna’s pipeline. Weeks before the quarterly results, Moderna and Merck released late-stage findings for an experimental personalised cancer vaccine used with Keytruda in certain melanoma patients.
The data drew a mixed market response. Moderna shares fell after some findings appeared on social media shortly before trial investigators were due to present them at a European medical conference. Bancel described the investor reaction as surprising, while saying long-term investors and analysts who reviewed the full results responded positively. He also said doctors were impressed and hoped to use the approach in practice.
Shares rose roughly 3% in premarket trading on Friday after the quarterly report. The company’s raised sales outlook now puts its vaccine launches and international expansion at the centre of the next stage of its growth.
What comes next
Moderna’s immediate test is delivering on the revised 2026 growth range while its new flu vaccine begins a limited U.S. launch and its next-generation Covid shot moves beyond its initial rollout. The next concrete marker is the company’s sales performance as those launches progress through 2026.
Sources
- indiapharmaoutlook.com — “Moderna Stock Slumps on Cancer Shot Data as Other Vaccines Gain Ground”
- The Pharmaletter — “Bristol Myers lifts sales outlook as newer medicines grow | Pharmaceutical”
- TradingView News — “Bristol Myers lifts sales outlook as newer drugs drive growth”
- Seeking Alpha — “Bristol Myers lifts sales outlook as newer drugs drive growth (BMY:NYSE)”