IQVIA Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

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IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) reported second-quarter results that exceeded the high end of its guidance, supported by accelerating organic revenue growth, higher R Solutions bookings and operational productivity gains. The company also raised its full-year outlook for revenue, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted diluted earnings per share.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ari Bousbib said revenue, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted diluted EPS all surpassed management’s expectations. “The momentum we saw in the first quarter continued with improving market conditions and strong operational execution,” Bousbib said.

Second-quarter revenue totaled $4.368 billion, up 8.7% on a reported basis and 8.5% at constant currency. Acquisitions accounted for about 2.5 percentage points of the quarter’s revenue growth, according to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mike Fedock.

Adjusted EBITDA rose 9.2% year over year to $994 million, while adjusted diluted EPS increased 12.1% to $3.15. On a GAAP basis, IQVIA reported net income of $256 million, or $1.53 per diluted share.

R Solutions bookings and backlog increase

R Solutions revenue was $2.575 billion in the second quarter, rising 8.8% on a reported basis and 8.6% at constant currency. The business recorded $3.15 billion in net new bookings, up 19.3% from a year earlier and 27% sequentially, producing a book-to-bill ratio of 1.22.

Fedock said cancellations remained within IQVIA’s historical range. The company’s R Solutions backlog stood at $34.2 billion as of June 30, with $9.23 billion expected to convert to revenue over the next 12 months, up 7.5% year over year.

Last-12-month net new bookings reached $11.25 billion, an increase of 12.9% year over year. Bousbib said that metric has increased in each of the past four quarters and reflects both an improving demand environment and higher win rates.

Management said bookings strength was broad-based rather than driven by unusually large contracts or changes in cancellation or pass-through trends. Bousbib said full-service outsourcing was strong, while functional service provider activity remained in the low- to mid-double-digit percentage range of total bookings.

The company also updated its customer classifications for benchmarking purposes. Under the new definitions, IQVIA said large pharmaceutical companies account for about 50% of R Solutions revenue, midsize pharmaceutical companies account for about 15%, and emerging biopharma companies account for roughly 35%.

Bousbib said emerging biopharma customers are a major source of industry innovation, noting that they account for about 70% of global clinical trial starts today, compared with about 45% a decade ago. He also said emerging biopharma research-and-development spending is expected to grow two to three times faster than large-pharma R spending.

Commercial Solutions growth accelerates

Commercial Solutions revenue rose 8.6% on a reported basis and 8.4% at constant currency to $1.793 billion. Organic revenue growth in the segment accelerated to 5%, Bousbib said, as clients launched new products and broadened their use of IQVIA services.

Analytics and consulting posted high-single-digit organic growth, its highest rate since 2022, according to management. Commercial engagement services and patient solutions continued to deliver double-digit year-over-year growth.

Bousbib said the commercial environment has been supported by a nearly 45% increase in new drug launches during the first half of 2026 compared with the first half of 2025. He added that IQVIA’s commercial pipeline has grown at a strong double-digit rate year to date, while customer decision timelines have shortened and win rates have increased.

AI investments and productivity efforts

Management highlighted artificial intelligence as a differentiator in both clinical and commercial offerings. Bousbib said IQVIA has deployed 294 AI agents across 90 use cases and that 19 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies have deployed IQVIA AI solutions in their workflows. Four of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies have contracted with IQVIA to co-develop AI solutions, he said.

The company said its AI-enabled capabilities have contributed to clinical-trial awards by supporting site startup, enrollment, patient recruitment and patient-reported outcomes. In Commercial Solutions, IQVIA said clients are increasingly moving from AI pilots and data-foundation projects toward broader deployment of AI agents.

Fedock said operational and productivity programs drove about 90 basis points of operational margin expansion during the second quarter. That improvement was partly offset by an approximately 80-basis-point margin drag from pass-through revenue growth, resulting in a 10-basis-point expansion in adjusted EBITDA margin.

Second-quarter cash flow from operations was $558 million, while capital expenditures were $198 million, resulting in free cash flow of $360 million, up 23% year over year. IQVIA repurchased $398 million of shares during the quarter and $950 million during the first half, leaving approximately $2.8 billion under its existing repurchase authorization.

Full-year outlook raised

IQVIA raised its 2026 revenue outlook to a range of $17.275 billion to $17.475 billion, representing reported growth of 5.9% to 7.1%. The new midpoint implies 6.5% growth, compared with the prior guidance midpoint of 5.8%.

• Adjusted EBITDA is now expected to be $4 billion to $4.05 billion, up 5.6% to 6.9% year over year.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to remain approximately flat year over year at about 23.2%.
• Adjusted diluted EPS is forecast at $12.80 to $13.00, up 7.4% to 9.1% from 2025.
• Third-quarter revenue is projected at $4.315 billion to $4.390 billion, with adjusted diluted EPS of $3.19 to $3.29.

The company said its revised full-year outlook assumes about 200 basis points of contribution from acquisitions and approximately 20 basis points of foreign-exchange tailwind. IQVIA plans to hold an investor day on Dec. 2, 2026.

About IQVIA (NYSE:IQV)

IQVIA (NYSE: IQV) is a global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions and contract research services to the life sciences industry. The company combines clinical research capabilities with large-scale health data and analytics to support drug development, regulatory reporting, commercial strategy and real‑world evidence generation. IQVIA traces its current form to the combination of Quintiles and IMS Health announced in 2016 and subsequently rebranded as IQVIA, bringing together long-established clinical research operations and extensive healthcare information assets.

IQVIA's principal activities include outsourced clinical development services (acting as a contract research organization for phases I–IV), real‑world evidence and observational research, regulatory and safety services, and a suite of technology platforms that enable data integration, analytics and operational management.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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