Q1 2026: double-digit sales and business EPS growth
Q1 sales growth of 13.6% at CER1 and business earnings per share (EPS)2 of €1.88
- Pharma launches sales increased by 49.6%, reaching €1.2 billion, driven primarily by Ayvakit, ALTUVIIIO, and Sarclisa
- Dupixent sales increased by 30.8% to €4.2 billion, a strong start to 2026
- Vaccines sales increased by 2.1% to €1.3 billion, benefiting from Heplisav-B
- Research and Development expenses reached €1.7 billion, up by 1.5%
- Selling and general expenses reached €2.3 billion, up by 11.6%, mainly due to the effect of recent acquisitions
- Business EPS was €1.88, up by 14.0% at CER; 5.0% at actual exchange rates; IFRS EPS €1.34
Pipeline progress
- Five regulatory approvals, all in immunology
- Positive pipeline readouts: venglustat in the rare disease GD3 (phase 3) and lunsekimig in respiratory diseases (phase 2)
- Two regulatory submission acceptances, one phase 3 study start, four regulatory designations (breakthrough, orphan)
Capital allocation
- Completion of the Dynavax acquisition
- Completion of €921 million of the €1 billion share buyback programme
Other major developments
- 25-year partnership with
WHO 3 in sleeping sickness: positive CHMP recommendation paves the way inAfrica for acoziborole, the first single-dose oral treatment co-developed with DNDi4
Guidance affirmed
- In 2026, sales are expected to grow by a high single-digit percentage at CER. Business EPS at CER is expected to grow slightly faster than sales (before share buyback), delivering profitable growth.5
| Q1 2026 | Change | Change at CER | |
| Net sales | €10,509m | +6.2% | +13.6% |
| IFRS net income | €1,614m | -13.8% | — |
| IFRS EPS | €1.34 | -11.8% | — |
| Free cash flow6 | €1,054m | +2.4% | — |
| Business operating income | €2,967m | +2.2% | +10.9% |
| Business net income | €2,264m | +2.4% | +11.1% |
| Business EPS | €1.88 | +5.0% | +14.0% |
1 Changes in net sales are at constant exchange rates (CER) unless stated otherwise (definition in Appendix 8).
2 To facilitate an understanding of operational performance,
Appendix 8). The income statement is in Appendix 3 and a reconciliation of IFRS net income to business net income is in Appendix 4.
3
4 Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative.
5 Applying
6 Free cash flow is a non-IFRS financial measure (definition in Appendix 8).
Attachment
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