罗氏披露2026年上半年业绩，利润增速快于收入但全年指引维持不变

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Introduction & Market Context
Roche Holding AG (SIX:ROG) presented its first-half 2026 results on July 23, showcasing profitability gains that exceeded revenue growth despite significant foreign exchange headwinds. The Swiss pharmaceutical and diagnostics giant reported core operating profit growth of 10% at constant exchange rates (CER), outpacing sales growth of 6%, while expanding its core operating margin by 1.7 percentage points to 39.0%.
The company’s shares traded at $26.44, near the middle of their 52-week range of $20.47 to $29.33, reflecting investor confidence in Roche’s diversified portfolio and pipeline progress. The results demonstrated operational leverage across both divisions, with strategic investments in diagnostics technology and obesity treatments positioning the company for future growth.
Financial Performance Highlights
Roche’s first-half performance revealed strong underlying business momentum masked by currency translation effects. As detailed in the company’s financial overview, Group sales reached CHF 30.4 billion, representing 6% growth at constant exchange rates but declining 2% in reported Swiss franc terms due to unfavorable foreign exchange movements.
The pharmaceuticals division generated CHF 23.6 billion in sales, up 6% at CER, while diagnostics contributed CHF 6.7 billion, growing 3% at CER despite healthcare pricing reforms in China. The company noted that excluding China pricing pressures, diagnostics would have grown 6% at CER.
Profitability metrics exceeded top-line growth across all measures. Core operating profit climbed 10% at CER to CHF 11.9 billion, with the core operating margin expanding to 39.0% from 38.8% in the prior year. Core earnings per share advanced 9% at CER to CHF 10.85, while operating free cash flow surged 21% to CHF 6.3 billion.
The following waterfall chart illustrates how business growth overcame both loss of exclusivity impacts and China pricing headwinds to deliver solid sales expansion:
Divisional Performance Analysis
The pharmaceuticals division demonstrated broad-based growth across therapeutic areas and geographies. Regional performance showed particular strength in the United States, where sales grew 6% at CER to CHF 12.2 billion, and in the International region, which posted 10% growth to CHF 5.5 billion. Japan delivered exceptional 11% growth at CER despite a 5% decline in reported terms due to yen weakness.
Pharma profitability outpaced sales growth significantly, with core operating profit rising 10% at CER while the division’s core operating margin expanded 2.0 percentage points to 53.0%. This margin improvement reflected favorable product mix, effective cost management, and operating leverage from the growing revenue base.
The diagnostics division faced headwinds from China healthcare pricing reforms but still achieved 3% growth at CER. Pathology Lab led divisional performance with 11% growth, driven by advanced staining products (+7%) and companion diagnostics (+24%). Core Lab grew 4%, supported by immunodiagnostics and clinical chemistry, while Molecular Lab advanced 3% with transplant diagnostics up 18%.
Portfolio Growth Drivers
Roche’s diversified product portfolio demonstrated the company’s reduced dependence on legacy products facing biosimilar competition. The following chart illustrates the contribution of key therapeutic areas to total sales and their respective growth rates:
Xolair emerged as the top growth driver with 27% expansion, fueled by strong uptake in food allergy indications where over 130,000 patients have been treated since launch. The company noted that first biosimilar competition is expected in the second half of 2026.
In neurology, Ocrevus generated CHF 3.5 billion with 7% growth, driven by the subcutaneous formulation that has reached approximately 44,000 patients globally. The company highlighted that Ocrevus Zunovo has become the fastest-growing anti-CD20 multiple sclerosis treatment in the United States, with roughly 60% of subcutaneous volume coming from community practices.
Vabysmo continued its market share expansion in ophthalmology with 8% growth to CHF 2.1 billion. The company noted that more than 60% of patient starts in the U.S. are treatment-naïve, indicating strong new patient capture rather than just switching from competitor products.
The hematology franchise showed exceptional momentum, with newer products driving significant growth. The following breakdown illustrates the performance of key hematology products:
Columvi posted 70% growth, Lunsumio surged 130%, and Polivy expanded 20% on strong first-line DLBCL uptake with over 120,000 patients treated globally. Hemlibra maintained solid 11% growth with continued global expansion and increasing adoption in non-inhibitor patients.
Pipeline Progress & Clinical Milestones
Roche highlighted substantial pipeline advancement during the first half, with positive Phase III readouts and multiple regulatory filings achieved. The company reported an 80% Phase III success rate for the year, significantly above industry averages.
Divarasib, a KRAS G12C inhibitor, demonstrated superiority in both progression-free survival and overall survival versus approved KRAS G12C inhibitors in second-line or later NSCLC in the KRASCENDO 1 study. The following data illustrates the strong efficacy observed in the Phase II PD-L1 positive cohort:
In the PD-L1 positive cohort, divarasib achieved a confirmed objective response rate of 73% with 10% complete responses and median progression-free survival of 19.3 months. The company has initiated a broad Phase III program covering adjuvant, first-line, and second-line settings in NSCLC.
Roche’s pipeline expansion through partnerships and acquisitions strengthened its position across multiple therapeutic areas. The following chart shows recent additions to the pipeline:
The collaboration with Nurix Therapeutics added bexobrutineg, a potentially best-in-class BTK degrader with applications across hematology, neurology, and immunology. The compound’s mechanism of degrading BTK rather than merely inhibiting it offers potential advantages including overcoming resistance mutations observed with BTK inhibitors.
Looking ahead to potential commercial launches, Roche detailed up to 19 new molecular entities with launch potential by 2030, spanning oncology, neurology, immunology, and cardiovascular/renal/metabolism indications:
Several compounds show blockbuster potential with peak sales estimates exceeding CHF 3 billion, including giredestrant in ER+ breast cancer, divarasib in KRAS G12C+ NSCLC, and three obesity assets: enicepatide, petrelintide, and CT-996.
Strategic Initiatives in Diagnostics & Obesity
Roche announced the acquisition of PathAI to expand its AI-powered digital pathology capabilities, complementing recent deals with Freenome for early cancer detection and SAGA Diagnostics for ultra-sensitive minimal residual disease technology. The acquisition strengthens Roche’s end-to-end oncology ecosystem from early detection through diagnosis to disease monitoring.
PathAI’s best-in-class image management system and FDA-approved diagnostic algorithms will integrate with Roche’s immunohistochemistry and H&E staining capabilities, creating a differentiated offering for pathologists and enhancing the company’s companion diagnostics leadership with biopharma partners.
In June 2026, Roche launched the AXELIOS 1 next-generation sequencing platform, delivering what the company described as world-record speed with high accuracy and multi-modal flexibility. The platform demonstrated strong performance in ultra-sensitive applications including minimal residual disease detection and whole genome sequencing.
The sequencing market, valued at $7.3 billion in 2025, represents a significant growth opportunity. AXELIOS 1’s ability to deliver over 1.8 terabases of concordant duplex bases per 4-hour run with high accuracy positions it competitively for both research and clinical applications.
Roche also highlighted progress in Alzheimer’s diagnostics with the Elecsys pTau217 blood-based biomarker, which received CE marking during the period. The test enables rapid, minimally invasive diagnosis in primary care settings, addressing a critical need as Alzheimer’s disease is projected to affect 80 million people by 2030.
With positive predictive value of 78.3% and negative predictive value of 98.6% in primary care, the test provides reliable triage and confirmatory diagnosis, potentially reducing the three-year average time from symptom onset to diagnosis.
The obesity pipeline advanced significantly with Phase II data presentations for both enicepatide and petrelintide at the American Diabetes Association meeting. Enicepatide demonstrated particularly strong weight loss results in the 103 study:
At the 24mg dose, enicepatide achieved mean weight loss of 22.7% at 48 weeks, with 48% of patients achieving over 20% weight loss, 38% exceeding 25% weight loss, and 26% surpassing 30% weight loss. Importantly, no weight loss plateau was observed at 48 weeks, suggesting potential for additional weight reduction with longer treatment duration.
The company has initiated Phase III trials (ENITH-1/2) in obesity and plans to launch additional Phase III studies in glycemic control and cardiovascular outcomes. A Phase II combination study (ZYNERGY) evaluating enicepatide plus petrelintide is also planned.
Outlook & Guidance
Roche confirmed its full-year 2026 guidance, expecting mid single-digit Group sales growth and high single-digit core EPS growth, both at constant exchange rates. The company also projected a further increase in dividend in Swiss francs.
The loss of exclusivity impact for 2026 was estimated at approximately CHF 0.6 billion, covering global losses from Avastin, Herceptin, MabThera/Rituxan, Lucentis, and Actemra. Currency headwinds are expected to reduce sales by approximately 4 percentage points and core operating profit and core EPS by roughly 6 percentage points for the full year, assuming June 30 exchange rates remain stable.
Several near-term regulatory catalysts could drive investor sentiment. Giredestrant has U.S. PDUFA dates set for November 30 (adjuvant ER+/HER2- breast cancer) and December 18 (post-CDK4/6i ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer). Gazyva has multiple PDUFA dates including September 27 for childhood onset idiopathic nephrotic syndrome, November 15 for membranous nephropathy, and December 4 for systemic lupus erythematosus.
Fenebrutinib filing completion in relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis is expected in the coming weeks, while Enspryng has a U.S. PDUFA date of October 15 for thyroid eye disease.
The company highlighted significant upcoming clinical readouts including Phase III results for Itovebi in PIK3CA-mutant breast cancer (both HER2+ and HR+/HER2- settings), Lunsumio plus lenalidomide in second-line or later follicular lymphoma, and sefaxersen in IgA nephropathy. Phase II data for emugrobart in obesity, enicepatide in obesity with type 2 diabetes, and CT-996 in obesity are also anticipated.
Looking beyond 2026, Roche outlined expected regulatory submissions for multiple new molecular entities through 2029 and beyond, with giredestrant, divarasib, fenebrutinib, and vamikibart targeted for 2026 filings, followed by cevostamab, enicepatide, pegozafermin, and bexobrutideg in 2027.
The company’s Pharma Day scheduled for September 28 in London will provide detailed updates on strategy, R&D excellence, AI in drug development, and the late-stage portfolio. Additional investor events throughout 2026 include neurology, immunology, oncology, and cardiovascular/renal/metabolism updates tied to major medical conferences.
Full presentation:
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