Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) reported second-quarter revenue of $145 million, exceeding the high end of its prior guidance range, while continuing to reduce costs and advance programs spanning respiratory vaccines, oncology and rare diseases.
The company posted a net loss of $782 million, or $1.97 per share, compared with a loss of $825 million, or $2.13 per share, a year earlier. Moderna ended the quarter with $6.9 billion in cash and investments, down from $7.5 billion at the end of the first quarter as it funded operations and pipeline development.
Revenue Outlook and Cost Reductions
Chief Financial Officer Jamey Mock said revenue rose 2% year over year in the quarter. The geographic mix was 60% U.S. and 40% international, while first-half revenue totaled approximately $500 million, with international markets accounting for 69% of sales.
Moderna reiterated its expectation for revenue growth of up to 10% in 2026. The company expects a roughly even split between U.S. and international revenue for the full year and said third-quarter revenue should represent about 55% of second-half revenue.
Management said long-term strategic partnerships in markets including the U.K., Canada and Australia contributed to first-half international performance. Mock said the principal variable for the remainder of the year is the size of the U.S. COVID vaccination market, as the company’s outlook assumes a decline in U.S. vaccination rates.
- Cost of sales declined 22% year over year to $93 million, primarily due to lower unutilized manufacturing-capacity costs.
- Research and development expenses fell 7% to $651 million, reflecting lower clinical-development costs after several late-stage programs were wound down.
- Selling, general and administrative expenses declined 6% to $216 million.
Moderna lowered its 2026 cost-of-sales forecast by $100 million to $1.7 billion and reduced its R&D forecast by $100 million to $2.9 billion. The cost-of-sales estimate includes $900 million related to a previously announced litigation settlement. Excluding that charge, the company expects total GAAP operating expenses of $4.7 billion and cash costs of approximately $4 billion, both $200 million below prior guidance.
Moderna projected year-end cash and investments of $4.7 billion to $5.2 billion. The company said it paid $950 million in July related to the litigation settlement, which will be reflected in its third-quarter cash balance.
Respiratory Vaccine Progress
Moderna’s seasonal influenza vaccine candidate, mRNA-1010, received a unanimous positive recommendation from the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. The company’s U.S. PDUFA date is Aug. 5. The vaccine is also under review in the European Union, Canada and Australia.
President Stephen Hoge said Moderna views the flu vaccine as belonging in an enhanced vaccine category based on its phase III data against standard-dose flu vaccines. He said the company has discussed with the FDA its ability to respond to late strain selection, citing its prior ability to update COVID vaccines and supply millions of doses in less than two months.
For mNEXSPIKE, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, Hoge said the product captured about 24% of the U.S. retail COVID vaccine market during its first 2025-2026 season. Among adults age 65 and older, it accounted for approximately 34% of the retail market. A real-world analysis found vaccine effectiveness against COVID-related hospitalization of about 59% among adults age 65 and older and about 67% among adults age 75 and older, compared with matched unvaccinated cohorts.
mNEXSPIKE is now approved in Japan and Taiwan in addition to other markets. Moderna also said mRESVIA, its RSV vaccine, is approved in 44 countries, including a recent approval in Mexico. Its flu-COVID combination vaccine, mCOMBRIAX, is approved in the European Union and remains under review in Canada, Australia and Japan.
Moderna’s phase III norovirus vaccine study did not meet statistical criteria for early success at an interim analysis. The study remains blinded, and the company plans to enroll a fourth cohort for another seasonal period. Hoge said primary-endpoint cases accrued more slowly than expected, partly because a prior season included an outbreak involving strains that did not contribute to the trial’s primary endpoint.
Oncology and Rare-Disease Pipeline
Chief Development Officer David Berman highlighted progress for intismeran autogene, Moderna’s individualized neoantigen therapy being developed with Merck. The phase III adjuvant melanoma study is fully enrolled, with an interim analysis expected in the second half of 2026. Berman said Moderna plans to issue a press release regarding the interim analysis.
At ASCO, the company presented a five-year update from a phase II study of intismeran combined with Merck’s KEYTRUDA in adjuvant melanoma, along with translational data showing induction of neoantigen-specific T cells following treatment.
Moderna’s intismeran program includes nine phase II and phase III studies. The renal cell carcinoma study has been fully enrolled since the second quarter of 2025, and Berman said the event threshold for analysis could be reached this year or next year. The muscle-invasive bladder cancer study completed enrollment earlier in 2026, with a readout more likely in 2027, subject to event accrual.
Elsewhere in oncology, dosing has begun for mRNA-4200 in advanced solid tumors and mRNA-4194 in people with Lynch syndrome. The company also continues to dose patients in a multiple myeloma study of its T-cell engager, mRNA-2808.
In rare diseases, Moderna said its registrational study in propionic acidemia is fully enrolled and is expected to produce data in 2026. The primary endpoint compares metabolic decompensation events during treatment with pretreatment events for each patient. Moderna has deferred a decision on a pivotal trial in methylmalonic acidemia until the propionic acidemia readout is available.
During the quarter, Moderna also appointed Ester Banque as chief commercial officer and added former Biogen CFO Michael McDonnell to its board of directors.
About Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA)
Moderna, Inc is a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializing in messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines. The company’s platform leverages synthetic mRNA to instruct cells to produce proteins that can prevent or treat diseases. Since its founding in 2010, Moderna has advanced from early-stage research into a broad pipeline of vaccine and therapeutic candidates designed to address infectious diseases, rare genetic disorders and chronic illnesses.
Moderna’s flagship product is its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, which was the first of its kind to receive emergency use authorization and later full approval in multiple jurisdictions.
