aibioExelixis authorizes another $750 million buyback as first-quarter revenue hits $610.8 million
Tickers EXEL
The new program runs through Dec. 31, 2027. First-quarter net product revenue was $555.0 million and 2026 guidance was left unchanged.
Key facts
- Company
- Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL)
- News type
- Financings
- Primary source
- Exelixis 8-K (SEC)
Exelixis reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $610.8 million and authorized a new $750 million share repurchase program on May 5. The company said it would finish its existing $750 million program in May and begin the new one, which runs through Dec. 31, 2027.
The new authorization was disclosed in an 8-K filing alongside the earnings release. Net product revenue was $555.0 million, up from $513.3 million a year earlier, and GAAP net income was $210.5 million, or $0.79 per diluted share.
The details
Total revenue included $55.8 million of collaboration revenue, compared with $42.2 million in the first quarter of 2025. Exelixis cited higher Ipsen royalties and milestone-related revenue. R&D expense fell to $199.9 million from $212.2 million, and SG&A rose slightly to $139.6 million.
Exelixis kept its 2026 guidance unchanged: total revenue of $2.525 billion to $2.625 billion and net product revenue of $2.325 billion to $2.425 billion. The numbers excluded any zanzalintinib approval. Guidance was later cut in August, as covered in the second-quarter report.
The repurchase authorization adds to a long program. Since the first one was authorized in March 2023, the company has retired 93.3 million shares at an average price of $31.12, for a total of $2.9 billion as of the end of June. Repurchases can be made in the open market, in block trades, under Rule 10b5-1 plans or through accelerated repurchase transactions, and the company is not obligated to purchase any set amount.
Context
CEO Michael Morrissey said the R&D group was on track for several milestones in 2026, including data from STELLAR-303 and STELLAR-304, enrollment in STELLAR-311 and the start of STELLAR-316. The company said it had seven ongoing or soon-to-start phase 3 studies of zanzalintinib.
Two additions came with the quarter. Exelixis announced STELLAR-202, a planned phase 2 lung cancer trial, and a new cohort in STELLAR-002 testing zanzalintinib with docetaxel in castration-resistant prostate cancer. Merck had also started LITESPARK-034 in April, a phase 3 trial of zanzalintinib with Welireg in kidney cancer.
Cabozantinib pays for the buyback. Cabometyx and Cometriq together brought in $555.0 million of U.S. net product revenue in the first quarter.
What it means for investors
A second $750 million authorization in seven months shows management is putting cash toward repurchases. Buybacks have also lifted per-share earnings, since the company said lower share counts helped GAAP earnings per share.
The cost is a thinner cash cushion. Cash and marketable securities fell from $1.7 billion at the end of 2025 to $1.4 billion at June 30. If zanzalintinib needs more launch spending than planned, or an acquisition opportunity appears, there is less room.
Net product revenue grew about 8% from a year earlier in the first quarter, per the release, and the company later cut its full-year range.
What to watch
Exelixis expects STELLAR-304 topline results in the second half of 2026 and a zanzalintinib decision from the FDA, now set for March 3, 2027.