By Deena Beasley
Aug 4 (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences on Tuesday reported second-quarter product sales rose 8%, led by double-digit gains for its HIV drugs, but it posted a quarterly loss due to costs related to a series of acquisitions.
The company's overall revenue rose 10% to $7.8 billion, beating Wall Street expectations of $7.4 billion, according to LSEG data. Gilead cited strong sales of HIV products, cancer drug Trodelvy and liver disease drug Livdelzi for the results.
"HIV sales grew 12%, reflecting
continued strength in treatment and the rapid expansion of our PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) business, supporting an increase in our base business revenue expectations for 2026,” Gilead CEO Daniel O'Day said in a statement.
For the full year, the California-based biotech company slightly raised the lower end of its revenue outlook and reduced its projected loss.
Gilead said it now expects a 2026 adjusted loss of 65 cents to 30 cents per share, compared with a previous range of $1.65 to 65 cents loss. It now sees sales of $30.1 billion to $30.4 billion versus a previous view of $30 billion to $30.4 billion.
For the second quarter, Gilead posted an adjusted loss per share of $6.75, while Wall Street analysts, on average, expected a loss of $7.24. The net loss for the quarter was $8.45 a share.
Gilead had previously flagged a $9.08 per share charge resulting from deals to acquire cell therapy company Arcellx, autoimmune drug developer Ouro Medicines and cancer drug developer Tubulis.
Sales for the quarter of HIV prevention drug Yeztugo, a twice-yearly injection launched in the U.S. last year, totaled $232 million, exceeding the $210 million forecast by Wall Street. Gilead said the sales reinforce its confidence that the drug will achieve $1 billion in full-year sales.
Quarterly sales of Descovy, an older HIV pill that is also used to prevent infection, jumped by a stronger-than-expected 48% to $967 million. Analysts had estimated Descovy sales of $801 million for the quarter.
Sales of HIV drug Biktarvy rose 7% to $3.8 billion, higher than analysts' estimates of $3.63 billion.
Gilead said sales in its liver disease portfolio rose 10% to $877 million, while cell therapy product sales fell 14% to $417 million, reflecting more competition.
Sales of cancer drug Trodelvy rose 26% to $457 million, while COVID drug Veklury saw sales plunge 81% to $23 million.
In a win for Gilead, California's highest court on Monday ordered the dismissal of negligence claims prompted by the company's decision more than 20 years ago to stop developing an HIV drug believed to have a safety advantage over other options available at that time.
(Reporting By Deena Beasley in Los Angeles; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
