Moderna Q4 Loss Narrower-Than-Expected, Sales Beat Estimates

Core Insights - Moderna reported a loss of $2.11 per share in Q4 2025, which is an improvement compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $2.60 and a loss of $2.91 in the same quarter last year [1][6] - Total revenues for the quarter were $678 million, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $659.5 million, but reflecting a 30% decline year over year due to lower net product sales [1][3] - Year-to-date, Moderna's stock has increased by 26%, outperforming the industry growth of 18% [1] Financial Performance - Overall product sales decreased by 31% year over year to $645 million, primarily due to reduced sales volume of COVID-19 vaccines [3] - The company generated $33 million from grants, collaborations, licensing, and royalty revenues, marking an 18% increase year over year [4] - For the full year 2025, Moderna's total revenues were $1.94 billion, down 40% year over year, with a loss of $7.26 per share, which is an improvement from a loss of $9.28 per share in the previous year [7] Cost Management - Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were $308 million, down 12% year over year due to reductions in consulting and external services [5] - Research and development (R&D) expenses decreased by 31% to $775 million, reflecting prioritization and efficiency in clinical development [5] Future Guidance - Moderna expects total revenues to grow by up to 10% in 2026 compared to 2025 levels, with a revenue split nearly equal between domestic and international operations [8] - The company is targeting operating expenses of approximately $4.9 billion, including $3 billion for R&D and $1 billion for SG&A [8] - Capital expenditure is projected to be between $0.2 billion and $0.3 billion [8] - Moderna anticipates ending 2026 with cash and cash equivalents between $5.5 billion and $6.0 billion [9] Pipeline Developments - Moderna is developing over 30 mRNA-based investigational candidates across various clinical stages, including a late-stage study for a norovirus vaccine [10] - The company faced a setback when the FDA refused to review its filing for a seasonal flu vaccine due to inadequacies in the supporting study [11] - An important candidate in the pipeline is intismeran autogene, a personalized cancer therapy being evaluated in collaboration with Merck across multiple pivotal studies [12][13]