AstraZeneca, a massive pharmaceutical company based in the United States and China, reported on Tuesday that its net profit increased by 45% in the previous year due to robust sales of cancer medications.
According to a statement from AstraZeneca, profit after taxes increased from $7.0 billion in 2024 to $10.2 billion in 2025.
Sales of cancer drugs grew, contributing to a 9% increase in revenue to $58.7 billion.
In an earnings announcement, CEO Pascal Soriot stated, “We saw strong commercial performance across our therapy areas and excellent pipeline delivery in 2025.”
“Our company’s momentum is continuing in 2026,” he continued.
Later, Soriot told reporters that he was “extremely confident” the business would reach its goal of $80 billion in revenue by the end of the decade.
In lunchtime London trading, AstraZeneca’s stock increased 1%, defying a drop in the elite FTSE 100 index.
According to Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, “AstraZeneca could stand head and shoulders above the peer group if it knocks it out of the park with its current pipeline of final-stage trials.”
Focus on China and the US
China and the United States are AstraZeneca’s two biggest markets, where the company has recently increased its presence.
During UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing last month, the group announced that it would invest $15 billion in China through 2030 to increase its pharmaceutical research and manufacture.
A partnership with the Chinese company CSPC Pharmaceutical to assist in the development and marketing of weight-loss injections, which have been extremely popular in recent years, was also revealed during the visit.
The biggest pharmaceutical company in Britain has also just begun to focus more on the US, which it anticipates will generate half of its worldwide sales by 2030.
Forty-three percent of its total revenue came from the United States last year.
In an effort to draw in more investors, AstraZeneca started listing its shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange in February, highlighting the growing significance of the US market.
It will continue to have its main share listing in London and its headquarters in the United Kingdom.
In July, AstraZeneca announced plans to invest $50 billion by 2030 to expand its US manufacturing and research operations in response to fears of pharmaceutical tariffs from US President Donald Trump.
Additionally, Trump negotiated a deal with AstraZeneca that will result in much cheaper prescription costs in the US.
The Trump administration consented to postpone new tariffs for three years in return.
Trump continues to target the pharmaceutical sector, imposing tariffs on pharmaceuticals from other nations while pressuring businesses to relocate their operations to the United States.
