Moderna raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to between 15% and 25% growth, up from its previous forecast of up to 10%, after the biotech company beat third-quarter earnings and revenue estimates. Shares rose roughly 3% in premarket trading on the announcement.
The company reported third-quarter revenue of $1.31 billion, up 29% from the year-ago period, driven by stronger Covid vaccine sales in international markets and deliveries under long-term government partnerships. Revenue in the United States was $780 million, while international markets generated $533 million. Moderna posted net income of $162 million, or 38 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $200 million, or 51 cents per share, in the same quarter the previous year.
Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel attributed the strong quarter to new products and geographic expansion. The company is seeing the full-year impact of its next-generation mRNA Covid vaccine, which won US approval in May 2025. Bancel noted that Covid is a seasonal business with vaccine contracts typically established in the first quarter, meaning the new shot had only a small launch in its first year. Geographic expansion into Canada, the UK and Asia also boosted results, while cost reduction efforts contributed to the quarterly profit, Bancel said.
The company's standalone flu shot, approved in the US in August, is expected to have a limited launch in the country during 2026 given the timing of the approval, Bancel added. Moderna's improved financial position comes weeks after the company and Merck released promising late-stage trial data on their experimental personalized cancer vaccine combined with immunotherapy Keytruda in certain melanoma patients. Bancel said the companies received positive responses from long-term investors and analysts who examined the full data, and that doctors in the field were impressed with the results.
Moderna's stock has surged more than 700% during the year, largely reflecting investor optimism about the potential of the cancer vaccine shot. For savers and investors in the US, Moderna's stronger revenue outlook and improved profitability could signal growing confidence in the company's product pipeline beyond Covid vaccines.