From a Loss Estimate to Thirty-Eight Cents
Moderna's Access Newswire release put third-quarter total revenue at $1.313 billion, up 29% from $1.016 billion a year earlier, with net product sales of $1.273 billion. Diluted EPS was $0.38, versus a loss of $0.51 a year earlier, on net income of $162 million after a year-ago net loss of $200 million. Revenue split $780 million in the U.S. and $533 million internationally, with the company citing higher COVID vaccine sales abroad under long-term government partnerships.
CNBC, citing an LSEG survey, had Street expectations near a $1.25 loss per share and about $885.1 million of revenue. MarketBeat showed a consensus loss near $1.10 and revenue near $890 million. Landing $0.38 of diluted EPS and $1.313 billion of revenue against those bars is a wide beat on both lines. Research and development expense fell 27% year over year to $583 million as late-stage infectious-disease studies wound down, while cost of sales rose with volume to $318 million.
Growth Outlook Lifted Into the Mid-Teens to Mid-Twenties
Full-year 2026 revenue growth guidance moved to 15%–25%, above the prior outlook of up to 10% growth, with roughly half of revenue still expected from the United States and half from international markets. The company improved its GAAP operating-expense outlook by about $0.2 billion, cut the R&D expectation to about $2.7 billion from about $2.9 billion, and raised the year-end cash-and-investments range to $8.1 billion–$8.3 billion from $4.7 billion–$5.2 billion after a convertible-notes financing that contributed about $2.6 billion of net proceeds. Cash, cash equivalents, and investments stood at $8.0 billion as of September 30, 2026.
CEO Stéphane Bancel tied the raise to 29% third-quarter growth, U.S. approval of mFLUSIVA, and positive Phase 3 intismeran data. Cost of sales for the year is still expected near $1.7 billion, including the previously announced $0.9 billion non-recurring litigation settlement charge.
Flu Approval and Melanoma Data Beside the Print
In August, Moderna received FDA approval for mFLUSIVA, its seasonal influenza vaccine, for adults 50–64 and accelerated approval for adults 65 and older, marking a fifth approved product globally, with a limited U.S. launch for the 2026–2027 season after the annual contracting cycle. With Merck, the company presented Phase 3 INTerpath-001 data showing intismeran autogene plus KEYTRUDA reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 42% (HR=0.58) versus KEYTRUDA alone in resected high-risk melanoma. Those pipeline headlines sit beside the financial raise; they are not the same as a completed oncology launch, which still depends on regulatory submissions.
Six Percent Premarket Inside an Eight-Percent Weekly Band
OptionSlam tracked a roughly 8.49% implied move on the November 6 weekly straddle and about 16.84% on the November 20 monthly into the report, with the monthly straddle marked near $40.67 against an about $241.46 reference. Measured from Thursday's close, an 8.5% weekly band puts the break-evens near about $221 and $262. A premarket print near $257.43 is about 6.6% above the cash close and sits inside that weekly band, and well inside the roughly 17% November monthly band. Earlier premarket prints near a 10% gain, as CNBC described, would have pressed closer to the weekly upper break-even before the later fade.
Delayed Cboe quotes are a reference for Friday's open rather than fills: equity options do not trade until 9:30 AM ET, premarket stock prints can fade or extend, and spreads can widen around an event open. When a name gaps higher after a beat-and-raise but stays inside the weekly chain's prepaid move, short straddles and iron condors that sold that weekly premium are so far holding their edge into the open on the stock leg alone, while long straddles that needed a clean break of the band are underwater before any IV crush. Our implied volatility guide covers how post-earnings IV usually compresses after the uncertainty resolves, and the OCC options disclosure document explains the risks of standardized options, including assignment.
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*By the OptionsPilot Editorial Team. Published November 6, 2026, 4:33 AM PT. This article is for education only and is not investment advice. Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors.*
