Astellas Pharma (4503) 1Q FY2026 results: Strong start that should lead to full-year core operating margin reaching 30%

Research evidence excerpt

J P M O R G A N

Asia Pacific Equity Research

05 August 2026

Astellas Pharma (4503)

1Q FY2026 results: Strong start that should lead to fullyear core operating margin reaching 30%

Positive: Astellas Pharma reported results at 15:30 on August 5, with a briefing at

16:00. 1Q operating profit was ¥184.5 billion (+94.9% YoY; our estimate: ¥136.5

billion, Bloomberg consensus estimate: ¥131.4 billion), well above our estimate

and the Bloomberg consensus estimate, and we expect a positive share price

impact. Sales of core pharmaceuticals including Xtandi and Padcev grew solidly,

and fixed costs were also firmly under control. While full-year results above

guidance are factored into consensus estimates to some extent, we expect an even

larger overshoot. It seems that the core operating margin could reach 30% already

in FY2026 (core operating margin guidance: 27.9%).

1Q results: US and international sales of Xtandi drove sales, as did Padcev.

The level of mirabegron sales was also high. Fixed costs were also firmly under

control, with a core operating margin of 34.5%. The gap with our estimates was

mainly due to Xtandi, mirabegron, and Padcev. Management commented that

international sales of Xtandi were strong after bids were placed in countries

including Russia and that progress was in line with guidance, but we see room

for an overshoot for the full year even considering the IRA-based price cut in

the US in 4Q. Trends remain strong for mirabegron, in line with US

prescription trends. For Padcev, reimbursement expansion in Europe and

elsewhere for the first-line (1L) indication and faster-than-expected uptake in

the US for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) were factors behind the

strong performance. Its use in the US has been expanding, mainly at university

hospitals, regardless of cisplatin eligibility since before the indication

expansion to cisplatin-eligible patients, causing sales to significantly beat

guidance. However, management commented that it believes the product has

taken up future demand ahead of schedule and that it expects growth rates in

US MIBC to slow down to single digits.

Pipeline: Novel technologies: Astellas announced plans to use technologies

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