Ligand Q3 Royalty Revenue Jumps 51% to $70.3 Million, Adjusted EPS $2.67 as Full-Year Guidance Is Raised to $9.50-$9.75
Royalty aggregator Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: LGND) on October 29 reported results for the third quarter of 2026. Royalty revenue rose 51% year over year to $70.3 million, from $46.6 million, and accounted for 89% of total revenues and income in the quarter.
Growth was driven by the newly acquired XOMA assets and continued momentum across the company's key commercial portfolio, including Travere Therapeutics' Filspari and Merck's Ohtuvayre. Total revenues and income were $78.7 million, compared with $115.5 million a year earlier, a period that included $53.1 million of Pelthos divestiture-related income; excluding that income, total revenues and income increased 26%. Captisol sales were $7.9 million, compared with $10.7 million a year earlier.
On a GAAP basis, the company posted a net loss of $28.5 million, or $1.43 per share, compared with net income of $117.3 million a year earlier. Adjusted net income was $57.5 million, or $2.67 per diluted share, compared with $63.8 million, or $3.09, a year earlier.
Chief Executive Officer Todd Davis said Ligand delivered another strong quarter, with royalty revenue growing 51% year over year, and that the company continued to put capital to work in differentiated assets, acquiring a royalty interest in Santen's Ryjunea and entering a structured financing agreement with AvenCell Therapeutics to advance its next-generation CAR-T pipeline.
As of September 30, Ligand held cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $447.4 million, with approximately $750 million of deployable capital including equity investments and credit facility availability. The company raised its full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance to $9.50 to $9.75, from $9.00 to $9.50, and reaffirmed total revenue guidance of $270 million to $310 million. Headquartered in Jupiter, Florida, Ligand completed its acquisition of XOMA Royalty in July, more than doubling its portfolio to over 200 commercial, clinical and preclinical royalty assets.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：实验室工作台上的移液器与样本管（资料图）。Goldmund100 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Pipettes and sample tubes on a laboratory bench (file photo). Photo by Goldmund100, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
