Amgen Stock’s Gross Margin Story in Q1 2026: What the Numbers Say About a $468 Target

Key Takeaways for Amgen Stock

• Amgen’s six key growth drivers generated $5.6 billion in Q1 2026 sales, growing 24% year-over-year to represent nearly 70% of total product sales.
• Operating income reached $2.91 billion in Q1 2026, up 24% year-over-year, as operating margin recovered to 34% from 29% a year prior while R&D spending grew 16% year-over-year in Q1 2026, with the increase directed at late-stage MariTide, IMDELLTRA, and Olpasiran programs.
• TIKR’s model values Amgen at approximately $468 by December 2030, implying around 33% total return from the current price.

The income statement shows operating margin recovering toward 34% even as Amgen accelerates pipeline investment. See the full financial picture on TIKR and explore whether AMGN stock is priced for what comes next→

Amgen Stock’s Growth Drivers Delivered 24% Sales Growth Even as Prolia Erodes

Amgen (AMGN) reported Q1 2026 total revenues of $8.62 billion, up 6% year-over-year, as a diversified growth portfolio absorbed accelerating losses from its denosumab franchise.

Amgen is one of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies, developing medicines for cancer, cardiovascular disease, rare conditions, and obesity.

The headline number understates the internal momentum: six designated growth drivers (Repatha, EVENITY, TEZSPIRE, innovative oncology, rare disease, and biosimilars) collectively grew 24% year-over-year.

Repatha, Amgen’s PCSK9 inhibitor for cardiovascular risk reduction, led the group with $876 million in quarterly sales, up 34% year-over-year, driven by new prescribing data from the VESALIUS-CV trial published in JAMA.

Prolia and XGEVA combined fell 32% year-over-year to $1.1 billion as biosimilar competition accelerated following loss of exclusivity.

CFO Peter Griffith described this dynamic as exactly what management had modeled: “Our strong first quarter performance reinforces that outlook,” referring to the company’s stated goal of growing through patent expirations via newer assets.

UPLIZNA, Amgen’s antibody therapy for rare autoimmune conditions, delivered $262 million in quarterly sales, up 188% year-over-year, reflecting new indications in generalized myasthenia gravis and IgG4-related disease approved in late 2025.

MariTide, Amgen’s obesity antibody-peptide conjugate designed for monthly or less frequent dosing, remains in Phase III development with multiple ongoing studies, including a newly announced SWITCH trial evaluating patients transitioning from weekly GLP-1 therapies.

Amgen raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $37.1 billion to $38.5 billion and non-GAAP EPS guidance to a range of $21.70 to $23.10.

The transcript tells a story of operating leverage building underneath LOE headwinds. The income statement shows whether that leverage is showing up yet→

Operating Leverage Building as R&D Investment Climbs and Gross Margin Stabilizes

Amgen’s gross margin came in at 71% in Q1 2026, holding within the range established over the prior four quarters despite mix pressure from higher profit-share and royalty expenses flagged by management.

Total revenues grew 6% year-over-year to $8.62 billion, while total operating expenses contracted to $3.21 billion from $3.20 billion in the year-ago quarter.

That near-flat opex against a revenue increase drove operating income to $2.91 billion, a 24% year-over-year increase.

Operating margin recovered to 34% in Q1 2026, up from 29% in Q1 2025, reversing the compression that had weighed on the income statement through 2024.

R&D spending rose to $1.72 billion in the quarter, up 16% year-over-year, as Amgen accelerated investment behind MariTide’s Phase III program and late-stage assets including Olpasiran and IMDELLTRA.

The tension in the income statement is clear: gross margin has stabilized while R&D is expanding, meaning operating margin gains are being funded by SG&A discipline rather than gross profit expansion.

SG&A declined to $1.60 billion in Q1 2026, the lowest quarterly figure in the eight-quarter window, creating the cost room that allowed R&D to expand without compressing operating income.

The question the income statement poses is whether Amgen can sustain this balance as LOE headwinds accelerate through the remainder of 2026 and MariTide manufacturing investment intensifies.

Gilead Leads Amgen and AbbVie on Operating Margins, But AMGN’s Q1 Recovery Narrows the Gap

Gilead Sciences (GILD) posted a 39% operating margin in Q1 2026, holding its structural lead over both Amgen and AbbVie across every quarter in the trailing eight-quarter window.

Amgen’s operating margin recovered to 34% in Q1 2026, up from 29% in the year-ago quarter, closing roughly half the gap it had opened against Gilead through the 2024 trough.

Meanwhile, AbbVie’s (ABBV) operating margin came in at 32% in Q1 2026, its lowest reading in the eight-quarter window, as post-Humira reinvestment costs continued to weigh on the income statement.

The spread between Gilead at 39% and Amgen at 34% in the most recent quarter is narrower than at any point since mid-2024, when Amgen’s margin trough of 29% left it 9 points behind Gilead.

Amgen’s recovery is the most directionally significant in the peer group: its operating margin has expanded 5 points year-over-year while AbbVie’s has compressed 2 points over the same period.

TIKR’s $468 Target on Amgen Stock Requires the Margin Recovery to Hold Through the Pipeline Build

TIKR’s model values Amgen at approximately $468 by December 2030, implying around 33% total return from the current price of $351, or roughly 7% per year.

The income statement case for that target rests on the operating leverage pattern already visible in Q1 2026: SG&A holding flat or declining as revenue scales, creating margin room to absorb the R&D step-up without degrading operating income.

If Amgen’s growth drivers sustain their 24% collective growth rate while opex discipline holds, the operating margin trajectory already underway supports the model’s assumptions before any MariTide contribution.

The TIKR model quantifies what has to hold in Amgen’s income statement for the target to be reachable. Explore TIKR’s full valuation model for AMGN stock for free →

Should You Invest in Amgen Inc.?

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Pull up Amgen Inc. stock and you’ll see years of historical financials, what Wall Street analysts expect for revenue and earnings in the quarters ahead, how valuation multiples have moved over time, and whether price targets are trending up or down.

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What did Amgen say about MariTide at the Q1 2026 earnings call?

Amgen announced new Phase III extension studies evaluating less frequent MariTide dosing for maintenance and a new SWITCH trial for patients transitioning from weekly GLP-1 therapies, with potential dosing as infrequent as 4 to 6 injections per year.