AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot (pictured) on Tuesday reaffirmed the company's strong US focus, fueling speculation about a potential move to shift its stock listing to the United States. While not confirming the change, he emphasized during the earnings call that the firm is "rapidly transferring manufacturing" across the Atlantic and expanding its US presence.
"We have lots of reasons to be here [US]," Soriot said, adding that the US "will represent, we hope, 50% of our revenue by 2030. We have thousands of employees … across the country." The company recently unveiled a $50 billion plan to boost US manufacturing and research, calling the market key to reaching its $80 billion revenue target by the decade’s end. "We are a global company but we are certainly, very much, present and rooted in the US," he added.
Earlier during the day, AstraZeneca posted a 12% annual rise in Q2 revenue to $14.5 billion, with EPS up 27% to $1.58.
