Biotechnology company United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) missed Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2026, with sales falling 1.6% year on year to $781.5 million. Its GAAP profit of $5.82 per share was 15.1% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
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United Therapeutics (UTHR) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $781.5 million vs analyst estimates of $796.5 million (1.6% year-on-year decline, 1.9% miss)
- EPS (GAAP): $5.82 vs analyst expectations of $6.86 (15.1% miss)
- Adjusted Operating Income: $359.7 million vs analyst estimates of $384.5 million (46% margin, 6.5% miss)
- Operating Margin: 41.7%, down from 48.2% in the same quarter last year
- Market Capitalization: $25.08 billion
Company Overview
Founded by a mother seeking treatment for her daughter's pulmonary arterial hypertension, United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) develops and commercializes medications for chronic lung diseases and other life-threatening conditions, with a focus on pulmonary hypertension treatments.
Revenue Growth
Examining a company’s long-term performance can provide clues about its quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years. Over the last five years, United Therapeutics grew its sales at a solid 16% compounded annual growth rate. Its growth surpassed the average healthcare company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a great starting point for our analysis.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within healthcare, a half-decade historical view may miss recent innovations or disruptive industry trends. United Therapeutics’s annualized revenue growth of 12.6% over the last two years is below its five-year trend, but we still think the results suggest healthy demand. 
This quarter, United Therapeutics missed Wall Street’s estimates and reported a rather uninspiring 1.6% year-on-year revenue decline, generating $781.5 million of revenue.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to decline by 3.8% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. This projection is underwhelming and implies its products and services will face some demand challenges. At least the company is tracking well in other measures of financial health.
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Adjusted Operating Margin
United Therapeutics has been a well-oiled machine over the last five years. It demonstrated elite profitability for a healthcare business, boasting an average adjusted operating margin of 53.5%.
Looking at the trend in its profitability, United Therapeutics’s adjusted operating margin decreased by 5 percentage points over the last five years. The company’s two-year trajectory also shows it failed to get its profitability back to the peak as its margin fell by 2.6 percentage points. This performance was poor no matter how you look at it - it shows its expenses were rising and it couldn’t pass those costs onto its customers.
In Q1, United Therapeutics generated an adjusted operating margin profit margin of 46%, down 6.2 percentage points year on year. This contraction shows it was less efficient because its expenses increased relative to its revenue.
Earnings Per Share
We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.
United Therapeutics’s EPS grew at 24.5% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years, higher than its 16% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became more profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.
In Q1, United Therapeutics reported EPS of $5.82, down from $6.63 in the same quarter last year. This print missed analysts’ estimates, but we care more about long-term EPS growth than short-term movements. We also like to analyze expected EPS growth based on Wall Street analysts’ consensus projections, but there is insufficient data.
Key Takeaways from United Therapeutics’s Q1 Results
We struggled to find many positives in these results. Its EPS missed and its revenue fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this quarter could have been better. The stock remained flat at $574.83 immediately after reporting.
So do we think United Therapeutics is an attractive buy at the current price? We think that the latest quarter is only one piece of the longer-term business quality puzzle. Quality, when combined with valuation, can help determine if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).