Roche reported a 5% decline in first-quarter sales, although sales grew by 6% on a constant currency basis. The appreciation of the Swiss franc against most currencies, particularly the US dollar, significantly impacted the pharmaceutical company's Swiss franc-denominated performance. CEO Thomas Schinecker defended the quarterly results, telling CNBC that it was "just a matter of how you look at the financial reporting," as sales measured in US dollars increased by 9%.

Influenced by the strong Swiss franc and competition from generics for some established drugs, Roche's sales declined in the first three months of the year. The company's first-quarter sales reached 14.7 billion Swiss francs (equivalent to 18.7 billion US dollars), a year-on-year decrease of 5%, but a 6% increase when measured at constant exchange rates.

Roche stated that, compared to the constant currency measure, the appreciation of the Swiss franc against most currencies, especially the US dollar, had a notable effect on its reported performance in Swiss francs. The Swiss franc appreciated by 12% against the US dollar in 2025 and has gained an additional 1% so far this year.

CEO Thomas Schinecker defended the company's quarterly performance, describing it as "just a matter of perspective on the financial reports." He noted that despite the franc's strength, sales calculated in US dollars still grew by 9%. Speaking on the *European Financial Forum* program, he said, "The majority of our capital expenditure is in the US, most of our debt is in the US, and we recently acquired another company in the US. We will continue to invest in the US and do not see this as a major issue."

European pharmaceutical giants are under pressure, as the industry faces a wave of drug patent expirations towards the end of the 2020s, which will see many established medicines begin to encounter competition from generic drugs. Roche is making significant investments to enter the lucrative weight-loss drug market, aiming to rank among the top three players with its investigational drug CT-388, competing against current market leaders Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

In an interview with the German newspaper *Handelsblatt* earlier this week, Schinecker stated that Roche's goal is to capture a double-digit market share in the weight-loss drug market.