AstraZeneca reaffirmed its full-year guidance after reporting stronger-than-expected first-half results.

Total revenue increased 6% at constant exchange rates to $30.7bn in the first half, while second-quarter revenue rose around 5% to $15.38bn. Core operating profit climbed 11% to $10.5bn and core earnings increased 11% to $5.21 per share, with second-quarter core earnings of $2.63 per share comfortably ahead of market expectations.

The medical giant also said it is on track to deliver on its ambition of $80bn in total revenue in 2030.

Growth continued to be driven by AstraZeneca's oncology portfolio, where revenue rose by around 15%, supported by medicines including Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Calquence, Lynparza and Enhertu. Rare disease revenue also increased 11% to about $4.9bn, comfortably now the group's second major growth engine.

The company, one of the FTSE 100's heavyweight constituents, maintained its FY26 guidance for mid-to-high single-digit revenue growth and low double-digit growth in core earnings. It also alluded to continued progress across its pipeline, including 30 approvals in major markets since its last results, six positive Phase III trials and eight first approvals, while more than 20 high-value clinical trial readouts are expected over the next 18 months.

The update comes despite recent disappointment over the late-stage failure of the Wainua Cardio-TTRansform trial, while cardiovascular, renal and metabolism revenues continued to be affected by the US loss of exclusivity for Farxiga. China also remained a weak spot, with revenue declining during the period.

CEO Pascal Soriot said: "We saw strong performance and continued pipeline delivery... We remain confident in the strength of our pipeline and have more than twenty high-value readouts due over the next 18 months."

He added: "We are on track to deliver our $80bn Total Revenue ambition, which assumes successes and setbacks. We continue to invest at pace in our transformative technologies, and in our commercial execution to bring our innovative medicines to patients around the globe and drive growth beyond 2030."

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