Earnings

Exelixis Spent $1 Billion On Buybacks In Nine Months, Far More Than Its $640.6 Million Profit

Per-share earnings are climbing as the share count shrinks, while cash fell and a rival cabozantinib product won full FDA approval.

Exelixis, which develops cancer medicines led by cabozantinib, spent $1,001,079 thousand repurchasing its own stock over the first nine months of 2026, well above its $640,612 thousand of net income. Cash and marketable securities fell to $1,399,777 thousand from $1,662,694 thousand at December 31, 2025, and a rival cabozantinib product won full FDA approval.

Buybacks outrun profit

In the third quarter alone, Exelixis bought back 4,481 thousand shares for $252.3 million. Net income rose to $218,095 thousand from $193,578 thousand a year earlier, and diluted earnings per share reached $0.85, against $0.69.

The share count did much of that work. Diluted shares fell to 255,754 thousand from 278,535 thousand, and the company's own earnings release said per-share profit was helped by the lower count. Revenue also grew: total revenues were $658.7 million against $597.8 million, and net product revenues were $604.9 million against $542.9 million.

Of the $750 million authorized in May 2026, $347.9 million remained as of September 30, down from $597.8 million at June 30, according to the prior quarter's filing. Under that program the company had bought $402.1 million of stock at an average $54.03 a share.

The accumulated deficit widened to $(258,802) thousand from $(76,830) thousand at year-end 2025. The program carries no obligation to buy and can be changed or stopped at any time, the filing says.

A cabozantinib franchise under pressure

Sales of cabozantinib, sold as Cabometyx tablets and Cometriq capsules, make up most of Exelixis's revenue. The company sells them itself in the US, and Ipsen and Takeda pay royalties on sales elsewhere.

The filing says the FDA granted full approval on September 3 to Handa's 505(b)(2) product, a cabozantinib capsule that reaches the FDA through a different application route. It did so on the same day it denied Exelixis's citizen petition. The prior quarter's filing had reported only tentative approval, granted July 29. Exelixis says it is evaluating all legal and strategic options.

The filing warns that Handa's launch, or that of other follow-on products, could significantly cut Cabometyx revenue. Other would-be competitors include generic filers MSN, Teva, Cipla, Biocon, Sun and Accord, and 505(b)(2) filers Azurity, Almatica and MSN.

On October 28, Exelixis settled with Azurity, granting a license to market its product in the US from December 1, 2030, if the FDA approves it.

Court dates and the next franchise

In August, the Federal Circuit upheld the validity of three Exelixis patents against MSN. Any final FDA approval of MSN's generic cannot take effect before January 15, 2030, subject to further appeals and a separate patent case.

MSN has until October 30 to seek rehearing, and the consolidated trial over the '039 patent is set for November 2.

The company's next potential franchise, zanzalintinib, now faces a later FDA decision. The colorectal cancer application's review was pushed back three months in September, because newly submitted data counted as a major amendment. The new target date is March 3, 2027.

The company says its cash and income will fund operations for at least 12 months, while the buyback program has $347.9 million left to run through the end of 2027.