Biogen raises 2026 profit forecast floor as Q3 revenue rises 11%
Biogen said third-quarter total revenue was $2.8 billion, up 11% from a year earlier, and raised the low end of its 2026 Non-GAAP diluted EPS guidance to $12.20 from $12.00.
Key takeaways
- Biogen Inc. (BIIB) reported third-quarter total revenue of $2.8 billion, up 11% from a year earlier, and said it raised the low end of its 2026 Non-GAAP diluted EPS guidance to $12.20 from $12.00. GAAP diluted loss was 14 cents per share, driven mainly by transaction-related charges, a regulatory filing showed Oct. 28.
Biogen Inc. (BIIB) said on Oct. 28 that third-quarter total revenue rose 11% from a year earlier to $2.8 billion, and it raised the low end of its full-year 2026 Non-GAAP diluted EPS guidance. A press release furnished with a regulatory filing showed the results.
The company reported a GAAP net loss for the quarter, driven primarily by transaction-related charges, including $284 million of acquired in-process R&D, upfront and milestone expense, primarily related to its acquisition of RayThera Inc.
Here's how the company did:
- Total revenue: $2,804.1 million vs. $2,534.7 million a year earlier
- GAAP diluted EPS: a loss of 14 cents per share vs. $3.17 a year earlier
- Non-GAAP diluted EPS: $2.62 per share vs. $4.81 a year earlier
Total revenue grew 10% at constant currency, the company said. Product revenue, net was $2,088.7 million, up 13% from $1,846.9 million.
Growth Portfolio revenue reached $1.26 billion, up 49% from a year earlier, and made up 63% of Core Pharmaceutical revenue. The figure includes the first full quarter of products from Apellis, which Biogen acquired in May 2026.
“Our third quarter results demonstrate that Biogen has returned to growth,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher A. Viehbacher. “We’re seeing the strength of our Growth Portfolio – including the first full quarter of results from Apellis products – which helped drive double-digit revenue growth.”
Net income has swung from a loss of $48.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 to a profit of $319.5 million in the first quarter of 2026, according to its SEC filings.
2026 guidance
Biogen raised the lower end of its full-year 2026 Non-GAAP diluted EPS range to $12.20 from $12.00. The range is now $12.20 to $13.00, which the company said reflects ongoing business strength and Apellis dilution favorability.
The company expects full-year total revenue to increase by a mid-single-digit percentage in 2026 compared with 2025. It expects combined Non-GAAP R&D and SG&A expense of about $4.95 billion for the full year.
Pipeline and expenses
The company expects top-line data from the TOPAZ-1 and TOPAZ-2 Phase 3 studies of litifilimab in lupus, known as SLE, in the first half of December 2026.
Additional Phase 3 readouts are expected for litifilimab in CLE and felzartamab in antibody-mediated rejection in the first half of 2027, and for zorevunersen in Dravet syndrome in the third quarter of 2027.
R&D expense was $574.0 million, up from $436.1 million, reflecting higher clinical trial spending and the inclusion of Apellis operating expenses. SG&A expense was $752.0 million, up from $594.8 million. Restructuring charges were $66.5 million, up from $7.4 million.
Cash and debt
Net cash from operations was about $641 million in the quarter, and free cash flow was about $600 million after capital expenditures of about $40 million. As of Sept. 30, Biogen had cash and cash equivalents of about $1.3 billion and total debt of about $7.7 billion, for net debt of about $6.4 billion.