Moderna Returns to Profit in Third Quarter and Raises Full Year Guidance

Moderna returned to profit in the third quarter of 2026, beating analyst forecasts by a wide margin as stronger international Covid vaccine sales and newer products lifted revenue. The company also raised its full year guidance, pointing to sales growth well above its earlier expectations.

Revenue rose 29 percent year on year to $1.31 billion in the three months to the end of September. Moderna reported net income of $162 million, or 38 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $200 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected a loss of $1.25 a share on revenue of $885.1 million.

Where the sales came from

Moderna generated $780 million of revenue in the United States and $533 million from international markets in the quarter. Chief executive Stephane Bancel said expansion in Canada, the UK and Asia supported the results, and that cost cuts helped the company return to profit.

"The new product and the diversification of geography is what has led to such a strong Q3," Bancel said in an interview before the results were released. "It's the sales that are stronger and the costs that are also lower."

This is the first full year in which Moderna is selling its next generation mRNA Covid vaccine, which was approved in the United States in May 2025. The company's stand-alone flu vaccine was approved in the US in August and is expected to have a limited launch in the country in 2026 because of the timing of the approval.

Guidance raised, spending cut

Moderna raised its full year 2026 revenue growth guidance to between 15 percent and 25 percent, from previous guidance of growth of up to 10 percent. "Building on this progress, we have raised our full-year revenue growth expectations to 15% to 25%, while continuing to reduce expenses and strengthen our financial position," Bancel said in the company statement.

The company also raised its expected year-end cash and investments guidance to between $8.1 billion and $8.3 billion, from a previous range of $4.7 billion to $5.2 billion. Expected 2026 research and development spending was cut to about $2.7 billion. Research and development expenses in the quarter fell about 27 percent year on year to $583 million.

Cancer vaccine still the big story

Moderna's shares have risen by more than 700 percent this year, driven largely by optimism over its personalised cancer vaccine developed with Merck. That programme remains uncertain. A Phase III interim analysis did not meet the early success criteria, and the company will not add new study cohorts this quarter.

For the quarter itself, the numbers rest on the vaccine business the company already has: a Covid vaccine selling more strongly abroad than expected, a flu vaccine entering the market, and a cost base that has been cut hard enough to turn a forecast loss into a profit.

This is an earnings report, not financial advice. Readers making investment decisions should do their own due diligence.