Accelerated backlog growth with further guidance raise in 3Q26
药明康德(603259)
WuXi AppTec (WXAT) delivered another strong quarter: 3Q26 revenue rose38.0% YoY, with continuing-operations revenue up 43.5% YoY, while adj. nonIFRS net profit increased 61.3% YoY. Notably, backlog as of end-3Q26 reachedRMB76.74bn, up 36.4% YoY, accelerating from 25.2% YoY as of end-2Q26. Permgmt., 9M26 new bookings increased over 60% YoY, providing furtherfundamental support for earnings outlook. Once again, mgmt. raised 2026revenue guidance to RMB61.0–61.9bn from RMB58.5–60.5bn and continuingoperations growth to 40–42% YoY from 35–39% YoY. Mgmt. maintained itsstable adj. non-IFRS net-margin outlook, and narrowed capex guidance toRMB8.0–8.5bn from RMB7.5–8.5bn.
Continuously exceptional growth and pipeline expansion within WuXiChemistry. WuXi Chemistry remained the principal growth engine for WXAT,with 3Q26 revenue up 48.6% YoY. Small-molecule D&M revenue grew 54.5%YoY, moderating from 72.7% in 1H26 but still benefiting from high-qualitymolecule inflows, pipeline progression into later stages and proactivecapacity deployment. Mgmt. expects Small-molecule D&M revenue to growover 50% YoY in 2026. TIDES revenue rose 51.6% YoY, accelerating from44.3% in 1H26 and leading mgmt. to guide up TIDES growth to ~47% in 2026.The segment added eight Phase III or commercial projects in 3Q26, bringing9M26 additions to 23, the highest in Company’s history. The start of the newChangzhou site underscores mgmt's confidence in sustained demand.Overall, WXAT now has 20 plants for small molecules and peptide projectsat various stages of design preparation, construction or launch readiness.
Broad-based acceleration of early-stage services. WuXi Testing's 3Q26revenue grew 32.7% YoY, versus 31.5% in 1H26, underpinned by robustsafety-assessment revenue growth of 40.6% in 9M26. WuXi Biology revenuerose 14.4% YoY in 3Q26, improving from 11.2% in 1H26. Small-moleculedrug discovery within Chemistry grew 16.8% YoY, sharply above 1H26's5.6% YoY. Together, these trends indicate improving early-stage R&Ddemand, with AIDD customers and new modalities providing incrementalopportunities for WXAT as global biotech funding continues to recover.
Normal volatility of quarterly margins. Although 3Q26 GPM and NPMdeclined sequentially from 2Q26, 9M26 GPM/ adj. NPM still expanded 7.6ppt/8.3ppt YoY, respectively. Quarterly fluctuations are normal in our view, giventhe project mix, delivery schedules of key projects, new-capacity ramp-up andFX movements. Mgmt. aims to share part of its efficiency gains withcustomers and employees rather than maximizing near-term margins. Wetherefore view the sequential margin moderation in 3Q26 as normal quarterlyvolatility, with profitability remaining resilient.
Maintain BUY. To factor in the strong momentum of Chemistry segment, weraise our earnings forecasts, expecting revenue to grow by 35.1%/ 18.7%/15.7% YoY (for continuing operations: 41.4%/ 18.7%/ 15.7% YoY) and adj.net profit to grow by 68.4%/ 18.8%/ 14.4% YoY in 2026E/ 27E/ 28E,respectively. Hence, we raise our DCF-based TP from RMB170.00 toRMB190.00 (WACC: 9.39%, terminal growth: 2.00%; both unchanged)
