Feb 10 (Reuters) – AstraZeneca forecast steady 2026 profit growth on Tuesday, betting on demand for its cancer drugs while it boosts its pipeline and invests in the U.S. and China to counter geopolitical pressures and patent expiries on its sales.
The outlook comes as longtime CEO Pascal Soriot steers the company towards its ambitious goal of reaching $80 billion in annual sales by 2030, driven by new medicines and investments, even as U.S. tariff and healthcare policies remain volatile.
“The momentum across our company is continuing in 2026 and we are looking forward to the results of more than 20 Phase 3 trial readouts this year,” Soriot said in a statement.
Shares were up 1% in morning trading after earlier rising as much as 2.2% after what Barclays analysts said was a “reassuring” update overall.
STABLE OUTLOOK, DIVIDEND RAISED
The UK’s most valuable listed company forecast 2026 core profit growth of a low double-digit percentage at constant currency rates, but total revenue is expected to grow slower by a mid-to-high single-digit percentage.
In 2025, sales and profit rose 8% and 11%, respectively, in line with AstraZeneca’s own forecasts.
AstraZeneca said it would raise its annual dividend by about 3% to $3.30, signalling confidence in its long-term plans.
It has made major moves to grow in the United States and China, its top two markets, with a $50 billion U.S. manufacturing deal last year, an NYSE listing and a $15 billion China investment this year following setbacks in the region.
Soriot has navigated the political environment in the U.S. well, helping make AstraZeneca the first non-U.S. drugmaker to sign a drug pricing deal with the White House last October in exchange for tariff relief.
QUARTERLY RESULTS MEET EXPECTATIONS
Core earnings for the three months ended December 31 stood at $2.12 per share on total revenue that grew 2% to $15.50 billion, in line with market view in a company-compiled consensus.
Cancer drug sales leapt 20% to $7.03 billion, but revenue from cardiovascular drugs fell 6% to $3.05 billion, partly due to generic competition, including for diabetes and heart failure drug Farxiga.
Revenue from its biggest market, the United States, rose 6% to $6.93 billion, and China sales grew just 1% to $1.38 billion.
AstraZeneca this year pledged to invest $15 billion in China, its biggest there yet, and struck a licensing deal for weight loss drugs from China’s CSPC.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka and Sri Hari N S in Bengaluru, and Maggie Fick and Bhanvi Satija in London; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Bernadette Baum)
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