Moderna will break even in 2026: CEO Stéphane Bancel
Moderna (MRNA) missed Wall Street expectations in the third quarter earnings report released Thursday, as it continues rightsizing the company and putting its COVID-19 vaccine windfall to work. But there's good news ahead: The company expects to finally break even in 2026.
As Moderna moves away from pandemic-level vaccine sales, the company has been busy reducing its manufacturing and infrastructure to match current demand. In addition, it has had to pivot to focus on advancing its pipeline, proving the mRNA platform has potential beyond COVID success.
Moderna now expects its annual sales to be on the lower end of its guidance, at $6 billion, from COVID-19 vaccine sales, which totaled $1.8 billion in the third quarter.
"The volume is not as significant as it once was during the pandemic — much of that was to be expected, but it's even probably a little lighter than we thought," said CFO Jamey Mock in an interview with Yahoo Finance Thursday.
The vaccine remains the company's only commercial product to date, as it continues rolling submissions for approval for its RSV vaccine and awaits Phase 3 clinical trial results for its combination COVID and flu vaccine.
“In the third quarter, we significantly resized our manufacturing infrastructure to make our COVID-19 franchise profitable for 2024 and beyond. We are preparing to launch multiple products through 2025, including our RSV vaccine. We expect to return to sales growth in 2025 and, through disciplined investment, to break even in 2026," said CEO Stéphane Bancel.
For Q3, the company reported a $3.6 billion net loss, including a write-down for unused vaccine doses, and a $9.53 earnings per share loss. Simultaneously, the company reported its market share of COVID doses is 45% year to date in 2023, compared to 36% in 2022.
Mock reiterated Bancel's confidence, telling Yahoo Finance the company can break even by 2026 based on its pipeline and "disciplined investments." That will be largely achieved internally — as opposed to looking to fill the pipeline through mergers and acquisitions.
"We understand what investors are concerned about" with regard to breaking even and the pipeline, Mock said, adding that he believes the late-stage pipeline has organic growth promise.
The company traded down about 8% Thursday, and the stock is down more than 60% year to date.
Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, care services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. Follow Anjalee on all social media platforms @AnjKhem.
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