Moderna beats quarterly revenue estimates on resilient COVID shot sales

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Moderna MRNA.O reported fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Friday, helped by sales of its COVID-19 vaccine.

The company has been struggling financially as demand for COVID vaccines collapsed in the years following its pandemic windfall. It is working on newer products to plug the revenue gap and prove the long-term viability of its mRNA technology.

Moderna reiterated its expectation of 10% revenue growth in 2026 compared to a year earlier, and said it expects about 50% sales to come from the U.S. and the rest from international markets.

Its 2025 sales came in at $1.94 billion, above analysts' average estimate of $1.89 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

"We entered the new year with strong momentum despite the continued challenging environment in the U.S.," CEO Stéphane Bancel said, adding that it expects to meet its 2026 expectations through the expansion of its next-generation COVID vaccine and international strategic partnerships.

This comes despite the U.S. regulator's refusal earlier this week to review Moderna's flu vaccine application, arguing that its trial was flawed.

The company has been counting on its flu vaccine and a future COVID-flu combination shot to return to revenue growth.

Vinay Prasad, a COVID vaccine critic who now serves as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's top vaccine official, said on Tuesday the company should have compared its vaccine to the standard high-dose flu shot for older people, even though such vaccines are typically not available in many countries where Moderna conducted its trial.

The vaccine maker has criticized the move and said the FDA had approved the trial design as adequate when the study was initiated 18 months ago.

Internal staff reviewers at the agency had supported moving forward with the review, but Prasad overruled them, Stat reported on Wednesday.

Moderna's quarterly revenue stood at $678 million, compared with estimates of $626.1 million.

The company reported a quarterly loss of $2.11 per share, compared with a $2.91 per share loss a year earlier.