AstraZeneca profits jump by 40% amid strong demand for cancer drugs

Drugs giant AstraZeneca has notched up a 40% surge in annual profits and forecast further growth in earnings over the year ahead as it continues to put faith in strong demand for its cancer treatments.

The FTSE 100 firm reported pre-tax profits of 12.4 billion US dollars (£9.06 billion) for 2025, up from 8.69 billion dollars (£6.35 billion) in 2024, boosted by a 49% jump in the fourth quarter on a constant currency basis.

Operating profits were 36% higher on a constant currency basis to 13.74 billion dollars (£10.04 billion) as revenues lifted 8% with exchange rates stripped out to 58.74 billion dollars (£42.93 billion).

It said revenues are set to rise by a “mid-to-high single-digit percentage” in 2026 while underlying earnings per share are expected to increase by a low double-digit percentage.

The Anglo-Swedish group is betting on ongoing strong demand for its cancer drugs while it is also pushing further into the US and China and investing in increasingly popular weight-loss medication.

It hopes these actions will help offset the hit from losing patent protection on its best-selling diabetes medicine Farxiga.

Sales growth of Farxiga stood at a muted 2% on a constant current basis in the fourth quarter.

Chief executive Pascal Soriot stood by aims for 80 billion dollars (£58.47 billion) in annual sales by 2030 through new medicines and investments, with the firm set to report results on as many as 20 advanced clinical trials this year.

He said the “momentum across our company is continuing in 2026”.

“We have more than 100 Phase 3 studies ongoing, including a substantial and growing number of trials of our transformative technologies which have the potential to revolutionise outcomes for patients and drive our growth well beyond 2030,” Mr Soriot added.

The group recently announced a deal to ramp up development of experimental weight loss and diabetes drugs, through an 18.5 billion US dollar (£13.52 billion) tie-up with China’s CSPC Pharmaceutical Group.

It sees AstraZeneca boost investment into the fast-growing market for weight loss and diabetes drugs, which has until now been led by blockbuster brands Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy.

The annual results come after AstraZeneca started trading shares on the NYSE earlier this month while it will maintain its listings on the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stockholm.

AstraZeneca makes almost half of its revenues in the US and is targeting further growth in the world’s largest drugs market.

Last July, the company said it plans around 50 billion US dollars (£36.55 billion) in investment in the company by 2030, while a number of joint ventures in China is seeing it target the world’s second biggest economy.

Shares in AstraZeneca edged 1% higher in morning trading on Tuesday, with the stock having risen 28% in the past six months.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: “The numbers this morning continue to show how AstraZeneca seems to have its house in order when it comes to its drug pipeline.

“The outlook and recent performance more than justifies the recent surge in the share price which has finally seen it break higher after years of sideways trading.”