Gilead provides upbeat 2025 forecast, shares rise 4%

By Deena Beasley

(Reuters) -Gilead Sciences posted fourth-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations and forecast 2025 earnings above analyst estimates on Tuesday, sending the biotech company's shares up 4%.

The quarterly results were driven by a 16% jump in HIV drug sales and lower acquisition-related costs.

For 2025, the company said it expects adjusted earnings of $7.70 to $8.10 per share on product sales of $28.2 billion to $28.6 billion. The low end of the company earnings range is above analysts' projections of $7.58 per share, according to LSEG data. They are estimating 2025 revenue of $28.42 billion.

Gilead shares rose to $100.07 in after-hours trading.

The California-based drugmaker's adjusted profit rose to $1.90 per share from $1.72 a year earlier, handily beating analysts' estimates of $1.70 per share.

Revenue for the quarter rose 6% to $7.57 billion, also exceeding Wall Street estimates of $7.14 billion.

The results show "another really exceptional quarter... reflecting the growing uptake of our therapies across HIV, cancer, and liver disease," Gilead CEO Daniel O'Day said in an interview.

He said Gilead expects to capitalize on its recent momentum with the expected launch this summer of lenacapavir for protecting against HIV infection.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide by mid-year whether to approve the drug as a twice-yearly injection for HIV prevention.

Gilead's "continued strong quarterly performance and margin expansion are likely to keep investors interested," Citi analyst Geoff Meacham said in a research note.

Gilead said its fourth-quarter HIV product sales rose to $5.45 billion from $4.69 billion a year earlier, due to higher demand, higher prices and favorable inventory dynamics. Biktarvy sales rose 21% to $3.8 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $3.48 billion.

The company has previously said its HIV revenue would be largely flat in 2025 due to changes in the federal government's Medicare health plan for people age 65 and over aimed at reducing out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries. Gilead on Tuesday said the reforms will reduce its 2025 revenue by about $1.1 billion, including $900 million in HIV sales.

Quarterly sales of COVID-19 drug Veklury fell 53% to $337 million, which was short of Wall Street expectations of $397 million.

Oncology sales rose 10% to $843 million and sales of liver disease drugs rose 4% to $719 million.

Gilead also raised its quarterly dividend by 2.6%.

(Reporting by Deena Beasley; Editing by Bill Berkrot)