Moderna stock: Q3 revenue jumps 29% to $1.31 billion, 2026 outlook raised

Moderna reported a profit for the third quarter of 2026 and raised its revenue forecast for the full year, the US vaccine maker said in its results on Friday, 6 November 2026. Revenue for the July-September quarter rose 29% to $1.31 billion, and net income was $162 million, or 38 cents a share. The company now expects 2026 revenue to grow 15% to 25%, against its earlier forecast of growth of up to 10%. Its shares rose in early trading after the results, according to market reports.

Moderna became one of the best-known drug companies in the world during the Covid-19 pandemic, when its mRNA vaccine was sold in huge volumes. Since then, demand for Covid shots has fallen sharply, and investors have been asking whether the company can build a business beyond that one product. A quarterly profit and a higher forecast suggest that, for now, sales are holding up better than the company itself expected only a few months ago.

mRNA, short for messenger RNA, is a technology that gives the body's cells a set of instructions to make a harmless piece of a virus, which then trains the immune system to recognise it. Moderna has spent years trying to use the same platform for other diseases. The approval of mFLUSIVA, a flu vaccine, matters because flu shots are given every year to large numbers of people, which could make it a steadier source of income than Covid vaccines. The company's own claims about the product are its claims; how widely it is used will depend on health authorities and buyers.

The size of the beat is the main reason markets paid attention. Revenue came in far above what analysts had forecast. That gap shows how hard it has become to predict vaccine demand, which now depends heavily on government contracts and seasonal buying rather than an emergency. The international share of sales also stands out: deliveries to other countries made up a large part of the quarter.

Early share moves were reported differently by different market sources, ranging from a gain of about 3% before the market opened to around 5% to 10% during the morning. Because the reported figures varied, this story does not give a single closing price. The results do not amount to a forecast for the shares, and nothing here is investment advice.

Peepals calculation: US revenue of $780 million and international revenue of $533 million add up to $1.313 billion, so the US made up about 59% of sales (780 ÷ 1,313) and the rest of the world about 41%. Revenue of $1.31 billion was about 48% above the roughly $885 million analysts expected (1,310 ÷ 885 ≈ 1.48). A 29% rise to $1.31 billion implies third-quarter 2025 revenue of about $1.02 billion (1.31 ÷ 1.29). Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: The stronger quarter and higher forecast give Moderna more room to fund research without raising new money, with year-end cash now expected at $8.1-8.3 billion. Investors will compare it with other vaccine makers that report around the same time.

Long-term: The real test is whether new products such as the flu vaccine can replace falling Covid income. If they do, Moderna moves from a one-product pandemic company to a broader vaccine maker; if they do not, revenue could fall again once government contracts end.

Who is affected: Moderna's shareholders and staff; governments that buy vaccines under long-term deals; rival vaccine makers; and health systems deciding which flu and Covid vaccines to buy for the coming seasons.

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