Gilead beats profit expectations on COVID-19 drug sales

Gilead Sciences Inc on Thursday posted higher-than-expected third-quarter earnings as strong demand for its COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Veklury, offset flagging sales of its HIV drugs. The biotechnology company reported adjusted quarterly earnings of $2.65 per share, soundly beating Wall Street estimates of $1.75 per share, as compiled by Refinitiv.

Gilead Sciences Inc on Thursday posted higher-than-expected third-quarter earnings as strong demand for its COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Veklury, offset flagging sales of its HIV drugs.

The biotechnology company reported adjusted quarterly earnings of $2.65 per share, soundly beating Wall Street estimates of $1.75 per share, as compiled by Refinitiv. Gilead's revenue for the quarter rose 13% from a year earlier to $7.4 billion, ahead of the average analyst estimate of $6.26 billion.

Sales of Veklury, also known as remdesivir, soared to $1.9 billion for the quarter, compared with analyst estimates of just $654 million. Gilead's sales of HIV medicines dropped 8% to 4.2 billion as some drugs lost a patent protection and the pandemic continued to limit visits to doctors. Sales of newer breast cancer drug Trodelvy came it at $101 million for the quarter, in line with analyst estimates.

For full-year 2021, Gilead raised its forecast for adjusted earnings per share to $7.90 to $8.10 from its prior projection of $6.90 to $7.25. The company said it now expects product sales for the year of $26 billion to $26.3 billion, compared with a previous estimate of $24.4 billion to $25 billion. (Reporting By Deena Beasley)

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