Moderna Q1 2026 earnings: revenue grows, one-time legal charge drives reported loss

May 1, 2026 · Published August 7, 2026

Moderna's Q1 2026 revenue rose year-over-year on international vaccine sales, but a large patent-litigation settlement charge widened the reported net loss.

Figures as reported by the company to the SEC for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. Analyst estimates are not part of a filing, so no comparison to expectations is shown.

Key takeaways

• Revenue increased by roughly $300 million from a year earlier, which the company said was driven mainly by a long-term vaccine-supply partnership with the U.K. government and other international sales; management said international markets made up about 80% of the quarter’s revenue.
• A one-time $878 million charge tied to settling patent litigation with Arbutus Biopharma and Genevant Sciences was recorded in the quarter’s cost of sales, and was the main reason the reported net loss reached $1.3 billion.
• Excluding that legal settlement charge, management said the underlying net loss fell by more than half compared with the same quarter last year, pointing to continued cost discipline even as the vaccine business remains unprofitable overall.
• The very negative margin figures for the trailing twelve months (operating and net margins both roughly -140%) largely reflect that Moderna’s marketed vaccines don’t yet generate enough revenue to cover its research and operating costs, a gap widened further this quarter by the litigation charge.
• Moderna said it cut adjusted cash costs by 26% from a year earlier and reiterated it is targeting about $4.2 billion in full-year cash costs for 2026, as it continues to trim R&D and administrative spending.
• The company reiterated its guidance for full-year 2026 revenue growth of up to 10%, saying it expects sales to keep climbing on new product approvals rather than issuing a new forecast this quarter.
• Moderna highlighted regulatory progress in Europe, including approval of mCOMBRIAX, described as the first combined flu-and-COVID vaccine approved in Europe, alongside approvals for its mNEXSPIKE COVID vaccine and mRESVIA RSV vaccine.
• CEO Stéphane Bancel said the company plans to reinvest cash generated by its marketed vaccines — Spikevax, mRESVIA and mNEXSPIKE — plus upcoming flu, combination and norovirus vaccine launches, into its newer oncology and rare-disease pipeline.

Q1 2026 in context

Figures for the quarter ended Mar 2026 and the quarter ended Mar 2025, as reported to the SEC.

How the stock took it

Moderna Inc closed at $45.94 on Apr 30, 2026, the last session before the report, and at $47.30 on May 4, 2026, the first session after it — +3.0% across the report.

Closes from the market's daily record. Each figure spans the report date — from the last session that closed before it to the first that closed after — because a company may report before the open or after the close.

Financial history →

Sources: company report · earnings call