Gilead Q1 2026 Sales Rise 5% to $6.9B; Full-Year Revenue Guidance Raised by $400M

Gilead Sciences reported first-quarter 2026 total product sales of $6.9 billion, a 5% increase year over year, driven by growth across its HIV, oncology, and liver disease portfolios. Excluding Veklury, total product sales rose 8% year over year to $6.8 billion. The company raised its full-year 2026 base business revenue guidance by $400 million to a range of $29.4 billion to $29.8 billion, reflecting projected growth of 5%–6%, up from a prior outlook of 4%–5%.

HIV revenue reached $5.0 billion for the quarter, up 10% year over year. U.S. sales of Biktarvy grew 7% year over year to $3.4 billion, commanding more than 52% of the U.S. market share. U.S. PrEP sales surged 87% year over year, while Yes2Go U.S. sales hit $166 million, up 72% sequentially. Management raised its 2026 Yes2Go guidance to $1 billion, citing the potential for the product to achieve blockbuster status in its first full year. The company raised its 2026 HIV growth guidance to 8% from 6%, noting that a roughly 2% headwind from policy-related changes, including a drug pricing agreement announced in December 2025 and Affordable Care Act provisions, is factored into that forecast. Descovy sales were $807 million, up 38% year over year, driven by higher average realized price and demand growth.

In oncology, Trodelvy sales came in at $402 million, up 37% year over year and 5% sequentially. The product holds a Category 1 NCCN recommendation for first-line metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, and Phase 3 data signaled highly statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in progression-free survival. Cell therapy sales totaled $407 million, down 12% year over year and 11% sequentially, attributed to ongoing competition.

In liver disease, segment sales reached $767 million, up 1% year over year. Libdelzi sales more than tripled year over year to $133 million, led by second-line primary biliary cholangitis use, though sequential sales declined 11% due to inventory normalization.

The company posted a product gross margin of 87%, up two percentage points year over year, reflecting the expiration of a TAF-related royalty obligation and favorable product mix. Operating margin was 47%, reflecting continued focus on operating expense discipline. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $2.03, up 12% year over year, benefiting from higher product sales and lower in-process research and development expenses, partially offset by higher tax and SG&A expenses.

R&D expenses were $1.4 billion, relatively flat year over year, with increased virology investment offset by lower oncology spending. SG&A expenses rose 12% year over year, primarily driven by Yes2Go marketing and launch investments. Acquired IPR&D expense was $107 million in Q1, affected by a Genhouse licensing payment, with $11.8 billion expected for the full year largely due to the Arcellx, Oral Medicines, and Tubulis deals. The Arcellx acquisition closed April 28, while Oral Medicines and Tubulis are expected to close in Q2.

Total 2026 product sales guidance, including Veklury, was raised to $30.0 billion to $30.4 billion. Non-GAAP EPS guidance for 2026 reflects a loss of $1.05 to $0.65 per share due to $9.50 per share in upfront acquisition costs; excluding those items, guidance is $8.45 to $8.85 per share. The effective non-GAAP tax rate for Q1 was 18.3%, with full-year guidance of 140%–190% due to nondeductible acquisition expenses. Gilead returned over $1.4 billion to shareholders in Q1, including more than $400 million via share repurchases, representing roughly 60% of free cash flow.

The company's pipeline includes 47 clinical programs as of the Arcellx close, described by management as the strongest pipeline in Gilead's history. Pending regulatory decisions include Biclen in August, anitocel in December, and Hepcludex later in Q2, with up to four product launches and five Phase 3 data updates targeted for 2026.

Barclays initiated coverage on Gilead with an Equal-Weight rating and a price target of $155. Based on one-year price targets from 26 analysts, the average target price is $155.93, with a high estimate of $177.00 and a low of $118.00. The average recommendation from 31 brokerage firms is 1.9, indicating an "Outperform" consensus.