IQVIA Lifts 2026 Financial Forecast as R&D Sales Climb 8.7%

IQVIA lifted its 2026 financial ranges after third-quarter revenue rose 8% to $4.428 billion, as Research & Development Solutions revenue grew 8.7% and the segment’s net new bookings increased 15%.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, revenue was up 8.0% from a year earlier, or 8.6% when adjusted for currency movements. Research & Development Solutions brought in $2.639 billion, an 8.7% reported increase and a 9.1% rise at constant currency. Commercial Solutions generated $1.789 billion, up 6.9% on a reported basis and 7.9% at constant currency.

Adjusted EBITDA reached $1.032 billion, a gain of 8.7%, and adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 11.3% to $3.34. On a generally accepted accounting principles basis, net income was $350 million, or $2.10 per diluted share.

Research & Development Solutions added $3.2 billion in net new bookings, 15% more than a year earlier, and recorded a 1.2x book-to-bill ratio, which compares new bookings with revenue. The segment had $32.6 billion in contracted backlog at Sept. 30. IQVIA expects about $9.4 billion of that work to become revenue over the next 12 months, a 10% increase from the year-earlier period.

IQVIA’s businesses provide clinical research, commercial insights and health care intelligence to life sciences and health care organizations. The company began reporting results in its current Commercial Solutions and Research & Development Solutions segments on Jan. 1, 2026, and recast earlier segment figures to align with the change.

A review of inactive trials led IQVIA to reduce its backlog estimate by about $2.1 billion. The adjustment did not change historical results, the 2026 outlook, the book-to-bill ratio or the estimate for backlog revenue over the coming year.

For 2026, IQVIA now projects revenue of $17.35 billion to $17.50 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $4.025 billion to $4.055 billion and adjusted diluted EPS of $12.90 to $13.00. In July, its ranges were $17.275 billion to $17.475 billion, $4 billion to $4.05 billion and $12.80 to $13.00, respectively. The new lower bound is higher for all three measures; the EPS upper bound is unchanged.

The revenue outlook assumes a 250-basis-point contribution from acquisitions, including transactions IQVIA expects to complete by year-end, and about 20 basis points from foreign exchange. The guidance uses exchange rates as of Oct. 26.

Chairman and CEO Ari Bousbib said, “IQVIA delivered another record quarter, with revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Diluted EPS all exceeding the high end of our expectations.”