Exelixis delivered exactly what the most informed expectations demanded and little more. Third-quarter non-GAAP earnings of $0.94 per share matched the Earnings Whisper number and topped the $0.89 consensus. Revenue of $658.7 million beat consensus by 0.9%. Earnings grew 23.7% year over year and revenue rose 10.2%. The core Cabometyx franchise is gaining speed, but the next leg of the story, zanzalintinib, slipped again on two fronts, and management held full-year revenue guidance rather than raising it. That is the central tension: a strengthening base business paired with a pipeline timeline that keeps moving to the right.
The quality of the beat holds up better than the per-share math alone suggests, though the per-share math deserves scrutiny. U.S. cabozantinib net product revenue reached $604.9 million, up 11% from a year ago, which management attributed to both higher volume and higher average net selling price. Year-over-year growth has now risen for three straight quarters, from 6% in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 8%, 10% and now 11%. Trade inventory fell to 1.8 weeks from 2.1, so the quarter was not padded by channel stocking. Still, earnings growth outpaced revenue largely because of the buyback. Diluted shares fell to 255.8 million from 278.5 million, while GAAP net income rose to $218.1 million from $193.6 million. The year-ago quarter also carried a $19.8 million restructuring charge. Meanwhile, SG&A jumped to $154.6 million from $123.7 million on personnel, marketing, and legal and advisory costs, and collaboration revenue slipped slightly on lower milestones.
The call reinforced the commercial momentum. Cabometyx's share of total prescriptions in the oral TKI basket climbed to 49% from 47%. Its share of new oral patients in second-line-plus neuroendocrine tumors topped 50%, up from above 45% last quarter, with more than 1,000 NET prescribers now activated. Management improved its full-year gross-to-net estimate to roughly 30%, from 30-31% in August and 31-32% at the start of the year. Not everything accelerated, however. Global cabozantinib growth eased to about 11% from 13%, and prescription volume growth of 13% was roughly steady. Guidance changes were confined to a tighter cost-of-goods range and a much lower tax rate of 16%-18%, down from 21%-23%. The lower tax rate should help fourth-quarter earnings but says nothing about demand. Revenue guidance was left at $2.50 billion to $2.55 billion after a $50 million midpoint cut last quarter. Against nine-month revenue of $1.898 billion, that range leaves room for a fourth quarter below the third-quarter run rate. The CFO again cited a gradual NET ramp, a conservative stance that sits awkwardly beside roughly 6% sequential franchise growth.
The pipeline is where bears have legitimate ammunition. The FDA extended its review of zanzalintinib plus atezolizumab in previously treated colorectal cancer by three months, to March 3, 2027, after Exelixis submitted updated data in response to an information request. That pushes the first zanzalintinib launch into 2027. Topline results from STELLAR-304 in non-clear cell kidney cancer slipped for a third time. Guidance has moved from mid-2026 to the second half of 2026 and now to the first quarter of 2027, and management declined to address questions on dropouts, event rates and overall-survival censoring. Execution elsewhere was solid. STELLAR-316 and STELLAR-202 are enrolling, a new oral SSTR2 agonist (XL558) was nominated, and a second wave of zanzalintinib pivotal trials, including a potential bladder study, is being planned. Intellectual property also firmed up. The MSN appeal win blocks that generic before January 15, 2030, pending a November trial on a separate patent. The Azurity settlement permits entry on December 1, 2030, only a month ahead of the January 2031 generic date.
The market had already moved well ahead of this report. Shares rose 25.2% from the $52.92 open after the August report to $66.28. They entered earnings just below a 52-week high of $66.38 set on October 28, at the top of the inter-earnings range and nearly 31% above the 200-day moving average. Investor sentiment remained negative but improved meaningfully, rising from -0.37 to -0.13. The Earnings Whispers price, sequential-growth and AVWAP trend readings are positive. One notable detail is that buybacks slowed to $250 million at an average of $55.77, well below current prices, with $348 million left on the authorization.
The bottom line is that Exelixis' base business is in better shape than it has been in a year, with accelerating franchise growth, improving pricing and clean inventory. Yet a whisper-matching quarter, unchanged revenue guidance and repeated zanzalintinib delays give a stock priced at its highs little new fuel. The next real tests are the November patent trial, the STELLAR-304 readout and the March PDUFA date.