Moderna Posts 38-Cent Profit, Beats Estimates and Lifts 2026 Outlook

Moderna swung to a third-quarter profit of 38 cents per share against Wall Street's expected loss of $1.25, and raised its 2026 revenue growth outlook to a range of 15% to 25%, up from prior guidance of up to 10%.

Revenue came in at $1.31 billion, crushing the $885.1 million analysts surveyed by LSEG had penciled in. Shares climbed about 5% in premarket trading Friday. The stock has skyrocketed more than 700% this year, largely on optimism about Moderna's personalized cancer vaccine in partnership with Merck.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech said Friday that its newer products and broader geographic reach drove the beat. The company now expects 2026 sales growth well above its earlier forecast.

What did the CEO say?

"The new product and the diversification of geography is what has led to such a strong Q3," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in an interview ahead of the results.

Bancel pointed to the "full-year impact" of the company's next-generation mRNA Covid vaccine, which won U.S. approval in May 2025. Covid is a seasonal business, he noted, and vaccine contracts are typically established in the first quarter. That meant Moderna's updated shot only had a "small launch" when it debuted last year.

The company's new stand-alone flu shot will follow a similar path. Approved in the U.S. in August, it will have a "limited launch" in the country in 2026 given the timing, Bancel said.

How big was the revenue jump?

Third-quarter revenue jumped 29% to $1.31 billion, boosted by higher Covid vaccine sales in international markets and deliveries under long-term government partnerships. The split:

• U.S. revenue: $780 million
• International revenue: $533 million

Moderna posted net income of $162 million, or 38 cents per share, for the quarter. That compares with a net loss of $200 million, or a loss of 51 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Why did the stock wobble on cancer vaccine data?

The results land weeks after Moderna and Merck unveiled promising late-stage data on their experimental personalized cancer vaccine in combination with immunotherapy Keytruda in certain melanoma patients.

Investors still battered the stock. Part of the data leaked on social media just days before trial investigators were set to present it at a European medical conference, and the early reveal knocked the shares despite the positive results.

Bancel called it a "surprising reaction." He said the companies also saw a positive response from others on Wall Street, including long-term investors and analysts who examined the full data in depth.

Doctors in the field "were so impressed with the data," Bancel added, and many expressed hope to use it in their day-to-day practice.

What comes next?

The raised 2026 guidance hinges on execution across three fronts: a full year of the next-generation Covid vaccine, the ramp of the newly approved flu shot beyond its limited 2026 launch, and continued international expansion. With the stock up more than 700% year-to-date, the market will be watching whether the Merck cancer vaccine partnership can convert late-stage promise into a commercial engine.