Public market performance in 2025 indicates that biologics CDMOs have moved beyond the broad valuation compression phase that followed the post-pandemic peak and into a period of more selective repricing. Valuation levels across platforms no longer move uniformly, and differences in scale and manufacturing scope remain clearly visible in public market pricing. Forward EV/EBITDA multiples continue to range from approximately 6× to above 30×, with larger biologics manufacturers maintaining valuation levels at the upper end of the range, while smaller and more specialized platforms trade within narrower bands.

In early April 2025, the VIX reached elevated levels rarely seen outside major market stress episodes, with a spike that placed it among the largest one-week moves relative to historical patterns. This spike coincided with a period of heightened uncertainty around economic policy and trade developments, including announcements of tariff actions by major economies, which contributed to broader risk repricing in equities and other asset classes. During this period, CDMO equities declined alongside broader healthcare and equity indices. As volatility declined during the second half of the year, healthcare equities recovered, and CDMO valuations stabilized in line with broader market conditions.

Public market activity during the year also included several biologics CDMOs’ IPOs, particularly across Asia, expanding the publicly traded peer group. Post-listing performance varied across issuers. Companies with established manufacturing capacity and visible revenue base showed relatively stable trading performance, while others experienced greater share price volatility following listing. Across the broader CDMO peer group, equity performance followed a similar pattern, with larger biologics manufacturing platforms maintaining more stable valuation levels, while smaller and earlier-stage platforms recorded wider share price movements.

Evidently, capital deployment across publicly listed CDMOs remained sustained. More than $5.5 billion in disclosed investments and financings were recorded during the year, primarily directed toward biologics manufacturing expansion, including upstream capacity and fill-finish infrastructure. These investment programs continued during periods of market volatility, indicating that publicly listed CDMOs remained active in expanding manufacturing capacity.

Entering 2026, valuation levels across platforms remain differentiated, and equity performance continues to vary across the peer group. Larger, scaled biologics platforms continue to trade at structural premiums, while smaller and earlier-stage platforms remain more sensitive to execution and market volatility. The April 2025 volatility episode tested sector resilience, yet capital deployment and expansion programs continued throughout the year. As a result, 2026 begins with a sector that is no longer priced on expansion narratives alone, but increasingly on operating delivery and manufacturing scale.