By Deena Beasley
LOS ANGELES, May 7 (Reuters) – Gilead Sciences posted a higher-than-expected first-quarter profit on Thursday and raised its outlook for 2026 sales, but projected an annual loss 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 injected drug totaled $166 million, beating the $143 million forecast by Wall Street, according to LSEG-compiled data.
Quarterly sales of Descovy, an older HIV pill that is also used to prevent the infection, jumped by a stronger-than-expected 38% to $807 million.
Gilead’s “solid quarter and guidance raise should provide reassurance in their confidence in the core HIV/PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) business, though some might be slightly disappointed that the beat was driven by Descovy rather than Yeztugo” RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams said in a research note.
The launch of Yeztugo, a twice-yearly injection with a U.S. list price of over $28,000, is going well as clinics work through adopting processes to administer the shots, CEO Daniel O’Day said.
PATCHY UPTAKE, COVERAGE GAPS
U.S. health providers have said that not all patients are interested in the new option and those who want to try it can face insurance coverage gaps. Gilead said its once-yearly, still experimental version of Yeztugo could be on the market as soon as 2028.
Johanna Mercier, Gilead’s chief commercial officer, said most patients prescribed Yeztugo so far are switching from other long-acting injections, Descovy or generic pills, with the greatest uptake seen in large cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York that already have robust PrEP markets.
Mercier expects a new advertising campaign, as well as outreach by Gilead and others, to help bring awareness in areas such as the southern U.S. where PrEP usage has lagged.
Shares of Gilead, which closed 1.6% lower in regular trading, fell a further 1.5% to $132 after hours.
Gilead raised its overall 2026 sales outlook by $400 million to a range of $30 billion to $30.4 billion. It now expects annual adjusted loss of $0.65 to $1.05 a share, a turnaround from 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 to be taken in the second quarter for those deals, Gilead’s earnings forecast would be unchanged, Chief Financial Officer Andrew Dickinson said.
For the first quarter, Gilead posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.03, beating the average analyst estimate by 12 cents, according to LSEG-compiled data.
Revenue rose 4% to $6.96 billion, ahead of Wall Street expectations of $6.91 billion.
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.
(Reporting By Deena Beasley in Los Angeles; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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