West Pharmaceutical raises 2026 sales and profit forecast on strong Q3 HVP demand

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST) raised its full-year 2026 net sales and adjusted-diluted EPS guidance on Oct. 29, when it reported third-quarter results that the company said exceeded its expectations.

Net sales were $874.5 million, up 8.7% from a year earlier. Organic growth was 11.9%. Diluted earnings per share were $3.02, up 57.3%. Adjusted-diluted EPS was $2.66, up 35.7%.

The company said in a press release attached to its 8-K that it now expects full-year 2026 net sales of $3.41 billion to $3.42 billion, up from the previous range of $3.345 billion to $3.380 billion. It also raised its adjusted-diluted EPS forecast to $9.38 to $9.48, from $8.85 to $9.05.

President and Chief Executive Officer Michel Lagarde said: "I am pleased to report strong third-quarter 2026 results, with net sales and adjusted EPS exceeding our expectations. Our results were again led by our High-Value Product (HVP) Components business."

Proprietary Products

Net sales in the Proprietary Products segment were $728.8 million, up 12.6% from a year earlier and up 16.6% on an organic basis. High-Value Product Components net sales were $466.7 million, up 19.7%, and accounted for 53% of total company net sales.

HVP Delivery Devices net sales were $99.1 million, flat from a year earlier. The company said the divestiture of SmartDose 3.5mL to AbbVie affected the comparison. Standard Products net sales rose 2.9% to $163.0 million.

West Vantage

West Vantage net sales were $145.7 million, down 7.3% from a year earlier and down 6.6% on an organic basis. The company said that decline reflected the planned loss of a customer in its CGM business.

Full-year guidance and capital spending

The company raised its organic net sales growth guidance to 11.3% to 11.6%, from 10% to 11%. It said no additional SmartDose 3.5mL product sales are expected for the remainder of the year.

Full-year 2026 capital spending guidance was lowered to $215 million to $220 million, from $250 million to $275 million.

Cash and capital returns

The company repurchased $231 million of stock in the quarter, bringing the year-to-date total to $685 million. Year-to-date operating cash flow was $403 million, and capital expenditures were $125 million.

The company also said its Board of Directors declared a fourth-quarter dividend of $0.26 per share, an increase of 18% over the $0.22 per share paid in the prior quarter.

The company said in its 8-K that it completed the sale of SmartDose 3.5mL to AbbVie. A pre-tax gain of $55.7 million on that sale was recorded in the third quarter.

In premarket trading, the stock had not yet traded enough to show a meaningful move as of 7:09 a.m. ET.