Driven by the robust sales performance of its blockbuster skin and asthma drug Dupixent, Sanofi (SNY.US) reported fourth-quarter 2025 profits that surpassed expectations and forecast continued revenue and earnings growth for 2026. The financial results showed Sanofi's Q4 sales reached 11.303 billion euros, a 7.0% increase year-over-year (or 13.3% growth at constant exchange rates). Business operating profit was 2.341 billion euros, up 12.7% year-over-year; business net profit stood at 1.856 billion euros, a 13.0% increase; and business earnings per share were 1.53 euros, surging 16.8% and beating the analyst consensus estimate of 1.45 euros.
In the fourth quarter, Dupixent sales grew 32.2% year-over-year (at constant exchange rates) to a record 4.246 billion euros, outperforming analyst expectations and solidifying the drug's role as the primary engine for Sanofi's performance growth. Sales from the Pharmaceuticals business surged 49.4% to 1.121 billion euros, primarily driven by Ayvakit and ALTUVIIIO.
However, Sanofi's vaccine business is facing challenges, with Q4 sales declining 2.5% year-over-year to 2.039 billion euros. The company's Chief Financial Officer, Francois-Xavier Roger, stated that vaccine sales in 2026 are "likely to see a slight decline," although it is too early to draw definitive conclusions. In the United States, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is upending long-standing vaccine guidelines. Francois-Xavier Roger indicated that despite changes to the US vaccination schedule, the impact on "actual clinical practice, dosing, and administration is minimal." He added that the effect is more perception-related.
Looking ahead, Sanofi anticipates its 2026 sales will grow by a high-single-digit percentage (at constant exchange rates), with business earnings per share growth slightly outpacing sales growth. The company will also execute a 1 billion euro share buyback program in 2026.
Sanofi's CEO, Paul Hudson, expressed optimism, stating the company's earnings growth is set to continue for "at least five years." Simultaneously, however, Paul Hudson is under increasing pressure to demonstrate to investors that Sanofi's R&D pipeline will be capable of replacing the revenue generated by Dupixent. The company is currently heavily reliant on its superstar product, Dupixent. Despite the drug's consistently record-breaking sales, the market often views over-reliance on a single product as a significant risk.
All multinational pharmaceutical companies fear the patent cliff. Sanofi must find a second growth curve before Dupixent's growth peaks. Over the past 12 months, a series of mixed and disappointing trial results have raised questions about whether Sanofi's upcoming new drugs can generate sufficient revenue. The company's experimental multiple sclerosis drug, tolebrutinib, failed in a late-stage trial for primary progressive multiple sclerosis last year, and US regulators rejected its application for another indication. On Thursday, Sanofi announced it would take a 2.24 billion euro impairment charge, largely related to this drug.
Meanwhile, the experimental atopic dermatitis drug amlitelimab, which investors had hoped would compete with Dupixent, produced mixed results in trials. Nevertheless, analysts still believe the drug has potential for approval in the US.
Following the spin-off of its stable cash-flow consumer health business (Opella), Sanofi is eager to prove to the market that its "pure-play innovative medicines" strategy is successful. In December of last year, the company consecutively struck two major deals—a $1.04 billion collaboration with Korea's ADEL to license a clinical-stage Alzheimer's disease antibody, and a deal worth up to $1.7 billion to deepen its collaboration with US-based Dren Bio, bolstering its autoimmune platform.
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