AstraZeneca beat third quarter forecasts and used the print to launch a cost programme on the scale its British rival GSK set out in July. Total revenue rose 7 percent at constant exchange rates to $16.21 billion, ahead of consensus forecasts of about $15.94 billion to $15.99 billion in the reporting read, and core earnings per share rose 19 percent at constant rates to $2.79, against a consensus of $2.59. Reported profit after tax rose 23 percent to $3.12 billion. For the first nine months, revenue reached $46.88 billion, up 7 percent at constant rates, and core earnings per share rose 14 percent to $8.00.
The new programme, called Reshaping for Sustainable Growth, is expected to cost up to $2.0 billion in one time restructuring charges over three years and to deliver annualised pre tax benefits of about $1.5 billion, largely complete by the end of 2029. The savings are to be reinvested mainly in research and development, behind a pipeline the company puts at more than 180 projects. AstraZeneca did not detail whether the plan involves job cuts or which business areas carry the savings, a gap that will draw questions on its investor call.
Oncology did the work in the quarter, rising 17 percent to about $7.77 billion and accounting for 48 percent of total revenue, with Enhertu sales up 35 percent to $969 million and Imfinzi up 26 percent to about $2 billion. The offset was the mature portfolio now facing generics: cardiovascular, renal and metabolism revenue fell 18 percent, with Farxiga down 25 percent to $1.61 billion after generic launches in the United States, and Brilinta also falling sharply on generic entry.
Full year 2026 guidance was reaffirmed: total revenue growth of a mid to high single digit percentage and core earnings per share growth of a low double digit percentage, both at constant exchange rates, with a core tax rate of 18 to 22 percent. Chief executive Pascal Soriot said the company remains on track for its 2030 ambition of $80 billion in annual revenue, up from nearly $59 billion last year, and pointed to a catalyst rich 2027, when late stage results could support more than $20 billion in peak annual sales on analyst reporting of the call outlook.
The sequencing matters. GSK laid out a £1.9 billion savings plan in July to fund development ahead of patent losses, and AstraZeneca has now followed with the same logic at similar scale, after late stage failures this year raised the stakes for 2027. Two of Europe’s largest drugmakers are now explicitly funding their pipelines by cutting elsewhere, which makes the delivery of the savings, and the readouts they are meant to protect, the paired tests for both stocks.