Moderna posts quarterly loss as company takes $1.3 billion write-down on unused Covid shots

Moderna on Thursday posted a steep loss for the third quarter as the drugmaker recorded a large write-down due to unused Covid vaccines, its only marketable products. 

Moderna’s total revenue for the period topped Wall Street’s expectations, even amid plummeting demand for its shot. Its outlook for next year, however, came in lower than what analysts were projecting.

Here’s what Moderna reported for the third quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

• Loss per share: $9.53. That may not be comparable to the $1.93 per share expected by analysts. 
• Revenue: $1.83 billion vs. $1.40 billion expected

Moderna posted a net loss of $3.63 billion, or $9.53 per share, for the quarter. That compares with net income of $1.04 billion, or $2.53 per share, reported during the year-ago period. 

The company said the loss was primarily driven by $3.1 billion in mostly non-cash charges related to tax allowances and changing its manufacturing footprint. The resizing, which resulted in $1.4 billion in charges during the third quarter, aims to make the company’s Covid vaccine profitable in 2024 and beyond, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. 

Cost of sales for the quarter came in at $2.2 billion. That included a $1.3 billion charge for vaccines that have exceeded their shelf life and a contract manufacturing wind-down cost of $500 million, among other costs.

The biotech company generated third-quarter sales of $1.83 billion, with sales of its Covid shot dropping 44% from the same period a year ago. Total revenue plummeted from the $3.36 billion Moderna recorded in the third quarter of 2022, when Covid cases still trended higher in the U.S. 

Moderna’s stock is down more than 57% for the year as of Wednesday’s close, putting the biotech company’s market value at roughly $29 billion.

Moderna reiterated its current full-year outlook of at least $6 billion in Covid vaccine sales, but did not provide a range for that forecast. In August, Moderna said it expected its shot to rake in $6 billion to $8 billion in revenue in 2023. 

The company said its guidance assumes Covid vaccine trends will be consistent with last fall, but noted that U.S. vaccination rates are still the “largest remaining variable to sales for the year.” 

Notably, Moderna said its Covid vaccine has won 45% of the U.S. market share so far this fall, up from the 36% market share it captured in 2022. The company added that it expects the U.S. market for Covid shots to be at least 50 million doses this fall. 

Moderna expects roughly $4 billion in sales in 2024, mostly in the second half of the year, mainly due to global Covid shot sales and the launch of its vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. Wall Street analysts had expected $6 billion next year. By 2025, Moderna expects to return to organic sales growth. 

Moderna and its rivals Pfizer and Novavax have all seen sales of their Covid-related products plummet as much of the world moves on from the pandemic and depends less on protective vaccines and treatments. 

The lineup includes Moderna’s experimental vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. The company in July filed for full approval of the shot for adults ages 60 and older and expects a decision from regulators in 2024. 

Moderna is also hoping to win approval for its combination vaccine targeting Covid and the flu in 2025. That shot recently showed positive initial results in a mid-stage clinical trial and is expected to deliver greater convenience to patients and health care providers.  

The pipeline also includes Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine, a highly anticipated shot being developed with Merck to target different tumor types, along with a flu vaccine. 

Moderna will hold an earnings call with investors at 8:00 a.m. ET on Thursday.