AstraZeneca Lifts Outlook, Plans $3.5B US Investment

Company Performance - AstraZeneca increased its full-year sales outlook due to booming demand for its cancer and rare-disease drugs [1][2] - The company now projects fiscal 2024 revenue and core EPS to grow by a high-teens percentage, up from a mid-teens percentage [2] - AstraZeneca reported higher-than-estimated Q3 results with revenue of $13.57 billion, up from$11.49 billion last year, and core EPS of $2.08, beating estimates of$2.06 [4] Investment Plans - AstraZeneca plans to invest $3.5 billion in its U.S. business by the end of 2026, including$2 billion to create more than a thousand new high-skilled jobs [1][3] - The investment will expand the company's U.S. research and manufacturing footprint, including an R&D center in Cambridge, Mass., a biologics manufacturing facility in Maryland, specialty manufacturing in Texas, and cell therapy manufacturing capacity on the West and East Coasts [3] Market and Demand - The company's strong growth trajectory in the first nine months of 2024 reflects growing demand for medicines across oncology, biopharmaceuticals, and rare disease [3] Legal and Regulatory - AstraZeneca has not received any notification that it is under investigation in China despite senior executives being implicated in an insurance fraud case [5]