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Swiss Healthcare Firm Roche Upholds 2026 Guidance as Strong Franc Hits Quarterly Sales

-- Roche (RO.SW) affirmed its 2026 trajectory on Thursday after first-quarter sales declined in reported terms as the strong appreciation of the Swiss franc against most currencies, particularly the US dollar, weighed on results, even as underlying growth remained solid.

Group sales fell 5% year over year to 14.72 billion Swiss francs, missing the FactSet-compiled consensus estimate of 15.14 billion francs. At constant exchange rates, or CER, however, sales rose 6%, supported by strong demand for pharmaceutical products and diagnostics.

The healthcare company's pharmaceuticals division delivered sales of 11.47 billion francs, up 7% at CER, thanks to the continued need for the treatment of severe diseases. Of the total, 5.3 billion francs came from the sales of its top five growth drivers, namely Xolair for chronic hives and food allergies, breast cancer drug Phesgo, haemophilia A medicine Hemlibra, Vabysmo for severe eye diseases, and Ocrevus for multiple sclerosis.

Meanwhile, sales from the diagnostics division jumped 3% at CER to 3.25 billion francs as demand for core lab and pathology services more than offset the impact of healthcare pricing reforms in China.

"Our diversified portfolio across both divisions, together with continued pipeline progress, positions us well for sustained future growth in a dynamic geopolitical environment. We confirm our full-year outlook," said Chief Executive Officer Thomas Schinecker.

For full-year 2026, Roche reiterated its growth expectations for group sales in the mid-single-digit range and for core EPS in the high-single-digit range at CER. The company expects to further boost its dividend in Swiss francs.

Roche's stock rose over 2% in Thursday midday trading in Zurich.

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