Teva Pharmaceutical Q4 profit gains as branded drugs aid transition from generics

By Steven Scheer

JERUSALEM, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries reported strong quarterly results on Wednesday but forecast lower net profit and revenue in 2026 on a more than $1 billion expected loss in sales of its generic version of a cancer and blood disorder drug.

Israel-based Teva, the world’s largest generics drugmaker, said it earned 96 cents per diluted share, excluding one-time items, in the October to December quarter, up from 71 cents a share a year earlier.

Revenue was up 11% in dollar terms at $4.71 billion and was boosted by a $500 million milestone payment from French drugmaker Sanofi to begin a late-stage study for a drug to treat ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Analysts had forecast earnings of 64 cents per share ex-items for the company on revenue of $4.32 billion, LSEG I/B/E/S data showed.

The results were also helped by sales of its branded medicines which have driven the group’s transition from being a generics pure-play to a global pharmaceutical company.

TRIO OF DRUGS CONTRIBUTING TO REVENUE

CEO Richard Francis noted that Teva would lose more than $1 billion in sales of its generic version of cancer and blood disorder drug Revlimid due to increased competition. This is expected to weigh on group revenue and EPS this year, though core earnings are predicted to rise.

It forecast annual group revenue of $16.4 to $16.8 billion, down from $17.3 billion in 2025. It expects adjusted EPS of $2.57-$2.77, compared with $2.93 in 2025. Analysts forecast adjusted EPS of $2.63 and revenue of $16.9 billion for 2026.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are projected at as much as $5.3 billion this year versus $4.9 billion in 2025 excluding the milestone payment.

Teva’s New York-listed shares were down 1.1% at $32.17 in morning trade.

Long reliant on copycat medicines, Teva has ramped up development of its own drugs to drive sales and profits.

“We have transitioned the company from pure-play generics to a biopharma,” he told Reuters.

After losing multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone to generic competition a few years ago, Teva now has a trio of drugs – Austedo which is mainly for Huntington’s disease, migraine medicine Ajovy and schizophrenia treatment Uzedy – that contributed $3.1 billion of its revenue in 2025. Their sales are expected to grow to as much as $3.6 billion this year.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer, Editing by Louise Heavens and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)