Genmab Earnings Call Highlights Pipeline-Fueled Growth

Genmab (Otc) ((GMAB)) has held its Q4 earnings call. Read on for the main highlights of the call.

Genmab’s latest earnings call struck a notably upbeat tone, with management emphasizing broad-based revenue growth, stronger profitability, and accelerating momentum in its proprietary oncology portfolio. Executives balanced this optimism with a sober discussion of clinical and financing risks, but conveyed confidence that a richer late-stage pipeline and disciplined capital strategy can support durable value creation through 2027 and beyond.

Strong Revenue Growth

Genmab reported 2025 total revenue of $3.7 billion, up 19% year-over-year, driven by both royalty streams and its own marketed medicines. Management underlined that this growth came despite rising competition in key oncology markets, reinforcing the durability of the company’s partnered and proprietary franchises.

Rapid Growth of Proprietary Medicines

Proprietary medicines delivered $632 million in sales in 2025, a 54% jump versus the prior year and a key driver of the top line. These products accounted for roughly 28% of total revenue growth, signaling a meaningful shift in Genmab’s mix toward higher-value, company-owned assets.

EPKINLY Commercial Momentum

EPKINLY remained the standout growth engine, generating $468 million in 2025 sales, up 67% year-over-year. Now approved in more than 65 countries and positioned for dual use in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma, the drug is emerging as a core bispecific franchise for Genmab.

TIVDAK Market Traction

TIVDAK added further proprietary momentum with 2025 sales of $164 million, a 26% increase from the prior year. With approvals in the EU, U.K., Japan and ongoing adoption in the U.S. for recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer, management framed TIVDAK as consolidating its role as a standard of care.

Improved Profitability

Despite significant investment in launches and development, operating profit climbed to $1.26 billion in 2025, underscoring operating leverage as revenues scale. Executives highlighted this expansion as evidence that the business can fund growth initiatives while still delivering robust earnings.

Bolt-on Acquisition Strengthening Pipeline

The acquisition of Merus brought petosemtamab into Genmab’s late-stage portfolio, broadening its roster of high-impact oncology assets. Management described the deal as a classic bolt-on, designed to enhance future launch optionality alongside EPKINLY and Rina-S and deepen the company’s long-term growth runway.

Compelling Early Data for Petosemtamab

Early clinical results for petosemtamab in first-line head and neck cancer were a focal point, with the drug plus pembrolizumab showing a 63% response rate versus about 19% for standard of care. Executives argued this magnitude of benefit supports multibillion-dollar commercial potential if confirmed in larger, registrational trials.

Robust Late-Stage Pipeline and Recognition

Genmab now counts three late-stage programs—EPKINLY, Rina-S and petosemtamab—with five combined breakthrough therapy designations, signaling significant regulatory interest. The company expects up to six potentially registrational data readouts in 2026, paving the way for multiple launch opportunities starting in 2027.

Guidance and Capital Allocation Discipline

For 2026, Genmab’s midpoint guidance calls for around 14% revenue growth and operating profit of $1.15 billion, reflecting higher investment but preserved profitability. Management reiterated capital allocation priorities focused on pipeline advancement and committed to reducing gross leverage to below three times by the end of 2027.

Debt Financing Completed

To fund the Merus acquisition, Genmab completed a $5.5 billion debt offering split between $2.5 billion fixed and $3.0 billion floating, with about $1.6 billion of the latter hedged to fixed. This leaves roughly $4.1 billion effectively fixed-rate and a weighted average cost near 6.6%, framing clear incentives for timely deleveraging.

EPCORE DLBCL-1: Mixed Phase III Outcome

On the risk side, the Phase III EPCORE DLBCL-1 trial showed EPKINLY monotherapy improved progression-free survival and response metrics but failed to reach statistical significance on overall survival. Management acknowledged that this introduces regulatory uncertainty and makes upcoming agency interactions critical for the drug’s long-term label and positioning.

Clinical Confounders and Regulatory Risk

Executives pointed to confounding factors such as the Omicron COVID wave and evolving access to other bispecifics as contributors to the overall survival result. These dynamics complicate regulatory discussions and design of confirmatory studies, adding an extra layer of risk around timing and breadth of future approvals.

Increased Operating Expenses

Operating expenses rose about 13% in 2025, reflecting deliberate investments in commercial infrastructure and late-stage development. Management signaled another step-up in 2026 OpEx to support petosemtamab and Rina-S, arguing that near-term margin pressure is justified by the scale of potential future revenues.

Near-Term Profit Guidance Below 2025

The 2026 operating profit midpoint of $1.15 billion is below the $1.26 billion earned in 2025, underscoring the reinvestment phase Genmab is entering. Even so, executives stressed that profitability discipline remains intact, with the company still generating substantial earnings while funding multiple pivotal programs.

Leverage and Financing Costs

Post-acquisition, Genmab’s gross leverage rises in the near term, and the roughly 6.6% weighted average interest rate makes debt service a non-trivial headwind. This elevates the importance of meeting growth targets and executing on the stated plan to reduce gross leverage below three times by the end of 2027.

Regulatory Paths Tied to Future Readouts

The regulatory trajectories for several assets, particularly Rina-S, hinge on upcoming data sets, including a pivotal Phase II focused on response rates and durability. Multiple pivotal programs are slated to read out in 2026, but management noted that exact timelines and event accrual details remain fluid, keeping some uncertainty around the launch calendar.

Competitive and Execution Risks

Genmab also faces escalating competition from other bispecifics, antibody-drug conjugates and PD-1 combinations, including recent pembrolizumab advances. Integration of Merus adds execution risk, as management must align teams and development plans while preserving differentiation and ensuring strong uptake and labeling strategies.

Forward-Looking Guidance and Outlook

Looking ahead, Genmab’s guidance rests on sustained commercial momentum and a wave of potential 2026 registrational readouts that could significantly expand its addressable patient pool. With DARZALEX, EPKINLY and TIVDAK providing a solid base and investments ramping in petosemtamab and Rina-S, the company is betting that near-term margin dilution will translate into a broader, more durable growth platform.

Genmab’s earnings call portrayed a company in transition from royalty-heavy biotech to a more balanced, product-driven oncology player with multiple late-stage bets. While clinical, competitive and financing risks are rising, management’s confidence in its pipeline, commercial execution and deleveraging plan suggests that investors willing to tolerate volatility may be rewarded if 2026 data deliver as hoped.