Gilead Tops Forecasts on Sales of Remdesivir Covid-19 Treatment

(Bloomberg) -- Gilead Sciences Inc. posted third quarter earnings that easily beat expectations as revenue from its Covid-19 treatment surged thanks to the highly infectious delta variant.

• The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.65 versus analyst expectations for $1.77 a share. Sales of Veklury, a drug for Covid-19 also known as remdesivir, were more than triple analyst expectations.
   
• Gilead raised its earnings guidance for the year to a range of $7.90 to $8.10 a share from a previous range of $6.90 to $7.25 a share.

Key Insights

• Sales of Veklury, for hospitalized patients with Covid-19, were $1.9 billion, far above the $631 million analysts had predicted. “Veklury is making a significant impact as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to evolve,” Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day said in a statement.
• Gilead’s new breast cancer and urothelial cancer drug, Trodelvy, produced $101 million in sales, slightly under analyst projections of $113 million. The company is awaiting data from a key trial that could expand use to a broader pool of breast cancer patients.
• Sales of the popular HIV drug Biktarvy rose 20% to $2.3 billion, beating analysts’ expectations for just over $2.2 billion, while overall HIV drug sales declined 8% on patent expirations for some drugs.

Market Performance

• Gilead shares have risen about 15.6% since the begining of the year through the close of market Thursday. In late trading, they were down about 2% as the company said two key cancer trials won’t have results as soon as investors had expected.

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