By Deena Beasley
LOS ANGELES, May 7 (Reuters) – Gilead Sciences on Thursday posted a higher-than-expected first-quarter profit and raised its outlook for 2026 sales, but said it now expects a loss for the year due to charges and financing costs related to recent acquisitions.
The drugmaker raised its estimate for 2026 sales of HIV prevention drug Yeztugo, which was launched in the U.S. last year, to $1 billion from a previous $800 million. First-quarter sales of the drug totaled $166 million, beating the $143 million forecast by Wall Street, according to LSEG data.
Gilead raised its overall 2026 sales outlook by $400 million to a range of $30 billion to $30.4 billion. It now expects an adjusted loss for the year of $1.05 to $0.65 a share, compared with a previous profit estimate of $8.45 to $8.85, due to deals to acquire cell therapy company Arcellx, autoimmune drug developer Ouro Medicines and cancer drug developer Tubulis.
Excluding an $11.5 billion charge that will be taken in the second quarter for those deals, Gilead’s earnings forecast would be unchanged, Chief Financial Officer Andrew Dickinson said in an interview.
For the first quarter, Gilead posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.03, beating the average analyst estimate of $1.91, according to LSEG data.
Revenue rose 4% to $6.96 billion, ahead of Wall Street expectations of $6.91 billion.
“We had another really strong quarter with demand-driven growth across all of our business areas,” CEO Daniel O’Day said.
Quarterly sales of HIV drug Biktarvy rose 7% to $3.36 billion, slightly higher than analysts’ estimates of $3.32 billion.
Gilead said sales in its liver disease portfolio rose 1% to $767 million, while sales of cell therapy products fell 12% to $407 million, reflecting more competition. Sales of cancer drug Trodelvy rose 37% to $402 million.
Net income for the quarter rose to $1.61 per share from $1.04 per share a year earlier.
(Reporting By Deena Beasley in Los Angeles; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Comments