AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN, NASDAQ:AZN), the FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals giant, has reconfirmed its full-year 2026 guidance after reporting first-quarter total revenue of $15.3 billion, up 8% at constant exchange rates, driven by double-digit growth in Oncology and Rare Disease.
The company expects full-year total revenue to increase by a mid-to-high single-digit percentage at constant exchange rates, with core earnings per share forecast to grow by a low double-digit percentage.
First-quarter core operating profit rose 12% at constant exchange rates, while core EPS grew 5% to $2.58, with growth partly tempered by a less favourable tax rate compared with the prior year period.
Product sales rose 7% to $14.4 billion, with alliance revenue climbing 26% to $825 million.
On the pipeline, AstraZeneca reported positive phase III readouts for four high-value programmes since its fourth-quarter results, including first pivotal data for two new molecular entities.
Tozorakimab met its primary endpoint in three trials targeting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, while efzimfotase alfa met primary endpoints in two paediatric trials for hypophosphatasia, a rare metabolic bone disorder.
The company also secured 14 regulatory approvals across major regions in the period, including US approval for Calquence in first-line chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and US approval for Breztri in asthma.
AstraZeneca exercised its option to license PTX-299, a first-in-class bispecific antibody degrader targeting EGFR, a protein implicated in several cancers, from Pinetree Therapeutics for an initial payment of $25 million, with the total potential value of the deal exceeding $500 million.
The company also closed a $1.2 billion upfront collaboration with CSPC Pharmaceuticals to develop next-generation obesity and type 2 diabetes therapies.
R&D expenditure rose 8% at constant exchange rates to $3.5 billion, equivalent to 23% of total revenue, reflecting accelerated trial recruitment, investment in antibody-drug conjugates and cell therapies, and pipeline additions from business development activity.
Core SG&A expenditure grew 7% to $3.9 billion, representing 25% of total revenue, as the company invested ahead of multiple anticipated product launches.
Chief executive Pascal Soriot said the group was advancing through a catalyst-rich period and remained on track to achieve its 2030 ambition, under which the company has previously targeted $80 billion in annual revenue.