Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ: VTRS) saw its shares move lower in premarket trading, down 3.6% to $15.5 on Thursday, after management published an adjusted profit forecast for 2026 that came in under Wall Street expectations.
The company put forward an adjusted profit outlook for 2026 in a range of $2.33 to $2.47 per share. That guidance compares to the average analyst projection of $2.49 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Despite the softer forward-looking profit range, Viatris delivered results that exceeded consensus for the fourth quarter. The firm reported revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, outpacing the $3.53 billion that analysts had expected. On an adjusted basis, Viatris posted earnings of $0.57 per share for the period, topping the $0.53 per share estimate.
In its earnings release, Viatris also noted that it expects regulatory decisions on six products during 2026. The company did not provide further detail in the announcement about the specific timing or likely outcomes of those regulatory reviews.
The combination of a quarterly beat and guidance that landed slightly below the consensus appears to have driven the market reaction in premarket trading. The stock move reflects investor focus on comparable metrics between near-term results and the companys longer-term earnings trajectory as expressed in the 2026 adjusted profit range.
Investors and market participants will likely weigh the companys reported fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings outperformance against the narrower-than-expected 2026 profit range when assessing Viatriss near-term valuation and outlook. The announced expectation of regulatory decisions for six products during 2026 adds a set of upcoming catalysts whose outcomes could influence the companys future performance, but the company did not attach further quantitative detail to those items in the release.
For now, the immediate market response to the guidance miss was a modest premarket decline, while the companys recent quarterly figures show revenue and adjusted EPS above consensus.