Key Highlights

  • First half Revenue reached JPY 2.407 trillion, up 8.4% at actual exchange rates but down 1% at constant exchange rates.
  • Core operating profit of JPY 710.6 billion rose 11.2% at actual rates and 0.7% at constant exchange rates.
  • Core EPS was JPY 308, down 1.2% at constant rates, while reported EPS reached JPY 193, up 169%.
  • Revenue guidance stays at a low single digit % decline, while revenue and core profit forecasts rose on currency effects.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK) reported fiscal 2026 first half revenue of JPY 2.407 trillion, up 8.4% at actual exchange rates after a JPY 210 billion boost from a weaker yen, and down 1% at constant exchange rates. Consensus estimates of USD 7.32 billion for revenue and USD 0.1478 for EPS cover a different period and currency basis from the six month yen results, so no beat or miss reading applies. Core operating profit was JPY 710.6 billion and core EPS was JPY 308.

Launches, Core Brands and Reported Earnings

New launches, defined as products introduced in the past five years, made up 4% of revenue and grew 17.3% at constant rates. Core in-line brands, including ENTYVIO, immunoglobulin and TAKHZYRO, represented 58% of revenue and grew 0.5%. Those gains only partly offset the loss of exclusivity for VYVANSE and a mature portfolio that includes hemophilia, which together produced the 1% constant rate decline.

Reported operating profit rose 60.4%, helped by the end of VYVANSE amortization in January 2026 and lower intangible impairments than a year earlier. Reported EPS of JPY 193 grew 169%, which management attributed to those items plus a very low first half tax rate tied partly to the timing of a Legal entity restructuring, which the company said normalizes in the second half. Operating Cash Flow was JPY 431.9 billion and adjusted free cash flow was JPY 325.7 billion, lower on reduced receivables factoring and a payment to Protagonist.

Outlook and Transformation Program

Chief Executive Officer Julie Kim said first half results are progressing against the fiscal year priorities. Management maintained revenue guidance at a low single digit % decline at constant rates, raised the revenue forecast by JPY 60 billion and the core operating profit forecast by JPY 30 billion, both mainly on Exchange Rate assumptions, and cited an operating profit forecast bridge from JPY 1.16 trillion to JPY 1.19 trillion. The albumin forecast was cut while VYVANSE and TRINTELLIX were increased.

The transformation program targets JPY 100 billion of gross savings with JPY 160 billion of restructuring costs in fiscal 2026, JPY 10 billion below the original figure. About 3,000 affected roles had been communicated as of September 30, and procurement actions have delivered about JPY 30 billion of annualized savings, which are being redirected to launches and late stage research.

Dates and Data Points Ahead

Several dated milestones are on the calendar. ORZEYFUL launched in Japan and China on October 15, and a U.S. launch is scheduled for early November after DEA scheduling is complete. MIMRYLO received FDA approval on August 28, and an FDA decision on zasocitinib in psoriasis, under priority review, is planned for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026.

Pipeline readouts include a Phase IIb Crohn's disease result for zasocitinib around the end of fiscal 2026 and TAK-360 results in the fourth quarter. A Capital Markets Day is planned later this year. The company also noted that 36.5% of patients on zasocitinib reached complete skin clearance at week 16 in a head-to-head trial, and the VERDICT study showed an approximate 70% reduction in ulcerative colitis complications.