Will Gilead Sciences’ Q4 2018 Revenues Impress Markets?

In the third quarter of 2018, Gilead Sciences (GILD) reported revenues of $5.60 billion, which is a YoY decline of 14.07%. The company also reported diluted GAAP EPS of $1.60 and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $1.84 in the third quarter of 2018. Gilead Sciences managed to beat the consensus revenue estimate by $230 million and consensus non-GAAP EPS estimate by $0.21 in the third quarter of 2018.

In the first nine months of 2018, Gilead Sciences reported total revenues of $16.33 billion, a YoY decline of 18.98%. The company reported diluted GAAP EPS of $4.15 and diluted non-GAAP EPS of $5.22 for the first nine months of 2018.

Wall Street analysts expect Gilead Sciences to report revenues of $5.49 billion for the fourth quarter of 2018, a YoY decline of 7.67%. The company is also expected to report revenues of $21.81 billion for fiscal 2018, a YoY decline of 16.45%.

According to Gilead Sciences’ third-quarter earnings conference call, the company expects to report net product sales in the range of $20.8 billion to $21.3 billion for fiscal 2018, significantly higher than the previous projection of $20.0 billion to $21.0 billion.

Gilead Sciences is expected to report revenues of $21.74 billion and $22.28 billion in fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2020, respectively. These estimates imply a YoY revenue change of -0.32% and 2.44% in fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2020, respectively.

Gilead Sciences’ HIV franchise continues to be a major growth driver for the company in fiscal 2018. In the third quarter of 2018, the company reported HIV product sales of $3.7 billion, a YoY rise of 12% and a sequential rise of 2%. According to Gilead Sciences’ third-quarter earnings conference call, this performance was mainly driven by robust demand for the company’s TAF-based drugs such as Genvoya, Odefsey, and Biktarvy.

Gilead Sciences also reported stabilization of its hepatitis C (or HCV) sales in the third quarter of 2018.

In the next article, we will discuss earnings and margin estimates for Gilead Sciences in Q4 2018 and fiscal 2018 in greater detail.