Exelixis Reports Third-Quarter Revenue of $658.7 Million, Exceeding Zacks Estimates
Key Facts
Exelixis reported revenue of $658.7 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, up from $597.8 million in the same period of 2025, according to results announced by the company on October 29. GAAP net income was about $218.1 million, or $0.85 per diluted share, compared with $193.6 million and $0.69 per share a year earlier. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share rose to $0.94 from $0.78. Chief Executive Michael Morrissey said the company “continued to execute on our key priorities in the third quarter, advancing the cabozantinib franchise while preparing zanzalintinib as a potential next franchise opportunity.”
Most of the revenue growth came from products, whose net sales rose to $604.9 million from $542.9 million in the third quarter of 2025. The company attributed the increase mainly to higher sales volume and average net selling price. This item represents the largest share of quarterly revenue, as management describes cabozantinib as its established commercial franchise. Net income rose alongside increases in key operating expenses. Research and development expenses were $209.5 million, compared with $199.2 million a year earlier. The company said the increase was related to personnel and clinical trial costs, partly offset by lower licensing and collaboration costs.
Selling, general and administrative expenses also increased to $154.6 million from $123.7 million in the year-earlier period. The company attributed the increase to personnel, marketing, legal and consulting costs. Meanwhile, collaboration revenue declined to $53.8 million from $54.8 million. The company attributed the decrease to lower revenue tied to development milestones and reimbursement of development costs, partly offset by higher royalties on cabozantinib sales outside the United States. Exelixis said GAAP earnings per share also benefited from a lower weighted-average number of common shares as a result of its share repurchase programs.
The company kept its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook at a range of $2.50 billion to $2.55 billion, and its net product revenue outlook at $2.30 billion to $2.35 billion. These estimates exclude any potential revenue from regulatory approval and commercial launch of zanzalintinib in the United States. The company had submitted an application to use it with atezolizumab to treat metastatic colorectal cancer after prior therapies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration set March 3, 2027, as its target date for a decision on the application. The date followed a three-month review extension after the company submitted updated safety and efficacy data in response to an agency information request.
The company continues to test the drug's potential in other clinical programs. In June 2026, it said the final overall survival analysis in the subgroup of patients without liver metastases showed a trend that was not statistically significant in favor of the combination of zanzalintinib and atezolizumab, and that it planned to present the details at a later medical conference. It also expected initial results from the Phase 3 STELLAR-304 trial in the first quarter of 2027; the study is testing zanzalintinib with nivolumab against sunitinib in previously untreated patients with advanced non-clear cell kidney cancer. In October 2026, the company began the Phase 2 STELLAR-202 trial to evaluate zanzalintinib with pembrolizumab as maintenance treatment for squamous non-small cell lung cancer.
On capital returns, Exelixis said it had repurchased $402.1 million of shares under its May 2026 program through the end of the third quarter, at an average price of $54.03 per share. On October 28, the company announced a settlement and license agreement with Azurity, granting the latter the right to market its proposed product in the United States beginning December 1, 2030, if it receives FDA approval, subject to the agreement's terms. Exelixis had announced that third-quarter results would be released after the market close on October 29, and that management's call to discuss them would begin at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. The stock closed at $66.28 on October 28, the day before the results announcement after the market close.