AstraZeneca Edges Higher After Strong H1 Results, Reaffirmed $80bn Guidance

Shares in AstraZeneca (LON: AZN) have inched modestly higher on Monday after the pharmaceutical giant reported robust first-half and second-quarter 2026 results, reinforcing its ambition to hit $80 billion in Total Revenue by 2030.

Total Revenue for H1 2026 rose 9% at actual exchange rates (6% at constant currency, CER) to $30.67 billion, while Core EPS climbed 12% to $5.21, comfortably beating headwinds from the loss of Farxiga’s US patent exclusivity and China’s volume-based procurement scheme.

Oncology and Rare Disease franchises delivered double-digit growth, offsetting those pressures. Second-quarter Total Revenue grew 6% to $15.38 billion, with Core EPS up 21%.

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The board lifted the interim dividend by 3 cents to $1.06 per share, underscoring confidence in cash generation. AstraZeneca also cited 30 regulatory approvals across major markets since its last update, including the first US approval for Baxfendy, its novel hypertension treatment.

Alongside earnings, AstraZeneca unveiled two pipeline updates. Its CLARITY-Gastric01 Phase III trial showed sonesitatug vedotin, a wholly owned antibody-drug conjugate, significantly improved overall survival in CLDN18.2-positive advanced gastric and GEJ cancers—the first such win for an anti-CLDN18.2 ADC and a milestone for the company’s in-house ADC pipeline.

However, Ultomiris missed its primary endpoint in adults and adolescents with post-transplant thrombotic microangiopathy, though paediatric data remain strong and support planned regulatory filings.

Chief Executive Pascal Soriot acknowledged disappointment over the failed CARDIO-TTRansform trial but said setbacks were already factored into long-term targets, pointing to over twenty high-value readouts expected over the next 18 months.

Management reconfirmed full-year guidance, forecasting mid-to-high single-digit Total Revenue growth and low double-digit Core EPS growth at constant currency, lifting shares modestly in early trading.