Moderna (Moderna (MRNA)) reported its second-quarter earnings on Friday, and it was a bit of a mixed bag. The company beat Wall Street's expectations on both the top and bottom lines, but it also revealed a setback in its norovirus vaccine program and continued to burn through cash at a notable pace.
Let's start with the numbers. Moderna posted a loss of $1.97 per share, which was better than the consensus loss of $2.10 per share. Sales came in at $145 million, beating the $102.998 million that analysts had expected. The revenue beat was driven by a mix of factors: lower COVID vaccine sales in the U.S. and South America were offset by deliveries in the U.K. under a long-term strategic government partnership, as well as higher stand-ready manufacturing and collaboration revenue.
Breaking down the revenue geographically, the U.S. contributed $87 million, while international markets brought in $58 million.
R&D Spending Declines as Moderna Advances Pipeline
Research and development expenses for the quarter were $651 million, a 7% decrease year over year. That decline was primarily due to lower clinical development costs following the wind-down of several late-stage programs.
But here's where the cash situation gets interesting. As of June 30, Moderna had $6.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments, down from $7.5 billion at the end of March. The decrease reflects cash used to fund operations, continued investment in R&D, and pipeline advancement. And then, in July, the company paid $950 million related to the litigation settlement that was announced in the first quarter of 2026.
That's a significant chunk of change, and it's worth keeping an eye on how the company manages its cash runway as it continues to invest in its pipeline.
Moderna Reaffirms 2026 Sales Guidance
Looking ahead, Moderna reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 sales guidance of $2.138 billion, which is above the consensus estimate of $2.089 billion. The company is targeting up to 10% year-over-year growth and expects the 2026 revenue split to be approximately 50% U.S. and 50% international.
For the second half of 2026, Moderna expects about 55% of its revenue to be recognized in the third quarter. That suggests a front-loaded second half, which could be important for investors to model.
Flu Vaccine Decision Nears as Norovirus Program Continues
On the regulatory front, Moderna is anticipating potential approval of its fifth product with the August 5 PDUFA date for mFLUSIVA, its seasonal influenza vaccine candidate. That's a big potential catalyst, and it's coming up soon.
But there was also some less positive news on Friday. The company said its norovirus vaccine candidate, mRNA-1403, did not meet statistical criteria for early success at the Phase 3 interim analysis. As a result, Moderna is preparing to enroll an additional cohort. This is a setback, but it's not necessarily the end of the road for the program. The company is continuing to push forward, which suggests they still see potential in the candidate.
At the time of publication on Friday, Moderna shares were down 2.68% at $56.37, according to market data.
So, what's the takeaway? Moderna is making progress on some fronts, but the cash burn and the norovirus miss are reminders that this is a company in transition. The upcoming flu vaccine decision could be a major catalyst, but investors will also be watching how the company manages its balance sheet and pipeline priorities.
