Gilead Sciences (GILD) — 2026Q2 Earnings Preview

Timing clarification: Gilead is scheduled to release second-quarter results today, Tuesday, August 4, 2026, after the market closes, followed by its call at 4:30 p.m. ET—not tomorrow. (investors.gilead.com)

Investment view going into the print

This quarter is principally a test of whether Yeztugo can turn Gilead’s already-dominant HIV franchise into a faster-growing business. The secondary questions are whether Trodelvy can accelerate following its first-line breast-cancer approval and whether management can absorb a large wave of acquisitions without compromising underlying earnings growth.

The reported EPS figure will be unusually noisy because Gilead expects approximately $11.5 billion of acquired in-process R&D charges related to Arcellx, Tubulis and Ouro Medicines. Investors should therefore focus more on:

  1. Product revenue and full-year sales guidance
  2. Yeztugo prescriptions, repeat dosing and 2026 guidance
  3. Biktarvy and Descovy demand
  4. Trodelvy’s first-line launch outlook
  5. Underlying operating expenses and earnings before transaction charges
  6. Pipeline timelines, especially BIC/LEN and anito-cel

Published estimates point to approximately $7.4 billion of quarterly revenue and an EPS loss near $7.2, with the loss overwhelmingly reflecting acquisition accounting rather than deterioration in the commercial business. (benzinga.com)


Snapshot

Metric Reference point
Q2 2026 revenue consensus Approximately $7.4B
Q2 2025 revenue $7.08B
Q1 2026 revenue $6.96B
FY2026 product-sales guidance $30.0B–$30.4B
FY2026 product sales excluding Veklury $29.4B–$29.8B
FY2026 Yeztugo guidance Approximately $1.0B
FY2026 HIV growth guidance Approximately 8%
FY2026 underlying non-GAAP EPS before transaction impact $8.45–$8.85
FY2026 reported non-GAAP EPS guidance $(1.05)–$(0.65)
GILD close, August 3 $131.18
2026 performance through August 3 Approximately +8%
Decline from February’s 2026 high Approximately 16%

Gilead raised its annual product-sales guidance by $400 million after Q1, driven primarily by HIV and Yeztugo. First-quarter product sales excluding Veklury grew 8%, HIV grew 10%, and non-GAAP EPS was $2.03. (investors.gilead.com)


1. Yeztugo is the most important number

Yeztugo generated $166 million in Q1, up 72% sequentially, prompting Gilead to raise its 2026 forecast from $800 million to approximately $1 billion.

That forecast requires another $834 million over the final three quarters, or an average of approximately $278 million per quarter. Q2 does not necessarily need to reach that average because the launch should build over time, but investors will likely want to see a clear step up from Q1.

What to watch

The first cohort eligible for repeat injections makes Q2 an important early read on persistence, not merely prescription starts. Management said in May that repeat dosing was encouraging, but claims data were still immature.

Read-through

The longer-term lenacapavir franchise also continues to expand. In June, the FDA accepted a once-weekly oral Yeztugo PrEP application, with a February 2, 2027 action date. (investors.gilead.com)


2. HIV must remain the earnings engine

HIV produced $5.0 billion in Q1, representing more than 70% of product sales. The portfolio grew 10%, led by:

Gilead raised its full-year HIV growth expectation from 6% to approximately 8%, despite an estimated two-point policy headwind.

Key questions

Biktarvy

Biktarvy remains the foundation of Gilead’s cash flow. Q2 2025 sales were $3.53 billion, so investors will look for high-single-digit growth and continued U.S. market-share gains.

An unusually weak Biktarvy quarter would matter much more than modest upside or downside elsewhere in the portfolio.

Descovy versus Yeztugo

Yeztugo can both expand the PrEP market and cannibalize some Descovy use. Investors should distinguish between:

The best outcome is continued Descovy growth alongside rapid Yeztugo adoption, showing that Gilead is expanding the category rather than simply moving revenue between products.

Next-generation treatment franchise

The FDA decision for once-daily bictegravir/lenacapavir, or BIC/LEN, is due August 27, 2026. Management has described two initial opportunities: simplifying complex multi-pill regimens and retaining patients who would otherwise switch away from Biktarvy. (investors.gilead.com)

Separately, the Phase 3 ISLEND-1 and ISLEND-2 studies of once-weekly oral islatravir/lenacapavir met their Week 48 primary endpoints, with no new safety concerns identified. Regulatory filings are planned. That result meaningfully strengthens the durability of Gilead’s HIV franchise beyond its current daily regimens. (investors.gilead.com)


3. Trodelvy: Q2 sales matter, but the launch commentary matters more

Trodelvy generated $402 million in Q1, up 37% year over year. On June 24, the FDA approved it for first-line metastatic triple-negative breast cancer across PD-L1 status:

The approval was based on Phase 3 studies showing a 38% reduction in progression or death for Trodelvy monotherapy versus chemotherapy and a 35% reduction for Trodelvy plus Keytruda versus Keytruda plus chemotherapy. (investors.gilead.com)

Because approval came six days before quarter-end, Q2 sales will contain little benefit from the expanded label. Investors should instead listen for:

A credible first-line launch framework could be more important for the stock than a modest Q2 Trodelvy beat.

The offset: lung-cancer disappointment

The Phase 3 EVOKE-03 study in first-line PD-L1-high metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer was discontinued after its progression-free-survival improvement failed to reach statistical significance and the likelihood of achieving significant overall survival was deemed low. (investors.gilead.com)

Management will need to explain:

The breast-cancer approval supports near-term commercial growth, but EVOKE-03 lowers the probability that Trodelvy becomes a broad pan-tumor franchise.


4. Liver disease is becoming a credible growth contributor

Livdelzi

Livdelzi generated $133 million in Q1, more than tripling year over year, and held more than half of the U.S. second-line primary biliary cholangitis market according to management.

In June, the Phase 3 IDEAL trial met its primary endpoint, with significantly more patients achieving the composite alkaline-phosphatase normalization endpoint after 52 weeks. Longer-term ASSURE data also supported sustained biochemical responses. (investors.gilead.com)

Investors should watch:

Hepcludex

The FDA granted accelerated approval to Hepcludex on May 22, making it the first approved chronic hepatitis delta virus treatment in the United States. (investors.gilead.com)

Initial Q2 revenue is unlikely to be material, but management’s commentary on diagnosed patients, specialist access and the U.S. launch curve will help frame its longer-term potential.


5. Cell therapy remains the weakest commercial segment

Q1 cell-therapy sales fell 12% to $407 million:

Competitive pressure continues both within CAR-T and from alternative treatment classes. Investors should not assume an immediate return to growth.

What would constitute improvement?

Anito-cel is the strategic answer—but not a Q2 revenue driver

Gilead completed the Arcellx acquisition in April. Anito-cel’s FDA action date is December 23, 2026, and Gilead expects revenue to begin in early 2027. The company argues its efficacy and safety profile can differentiate it in multiple myeloma, with most treatment centers targeted for activation during Q1 2027.

The report should provide updates on:


6. Do not misread the EPS loss

Gilead’s acquisitions of Arcellx, Tubulis and Ouro closed during the second quarter. (investors.gilead.com)

Management previously estimated:

Notably, Gilead includes acquired IPR&D expense in its non-GAAP presentation. Consequently, both GAAP and headline non-GAAP results can show a large Q2 loss even if the operating business performs well.

Better measures of the quarter

Investors should reconstruct:

  1. Operating income before acquired IPR&D
  2. EPS before the three transaction charges
  3. Base-business gross margin
  4. Recurring R&D and SG&A
  5. Cash, debt and interest expense after acquisition financing

The key financial question is whether underlying EPS guidance can rise. In Q1, higher revenue effectively offset incremental acquisition-related operating and financing costs, but did not lift the pre-transaction EPS range.


Guidance: what could move the shares?

Current 2026 framework

Guidance item Current outlook
Product sales $30.0B–$30.4B
Product sales excluding Veklury $29.4B–$29.8B
Veklury Approximately $600M
HIV growth Approximately 8%
Yeztugo Approximately $1.0B
Underlying non-GAAP EPS before transaction impact $8.45–$8.85

Upside scenario

Mixed scenario

Downside scenario


Questions management should answer

  1. What percentage of eligible Yeztugo patients returned on time for their second injection?
  2. How much of Yeztugo’s uptake is from PrEP-naive people versus switches from Descovy or competing products?
  3. Is the $1 billion Yeztugo forecast still conservative after Q2?
  4. How quickly can Trodelvy’s first-line approval affect Q3 and Q4 sales?
  5. Following EVOKE-03, which Trodelvy lung-cancer programs remain strategically important?
  6. Can underlying 2026 EPS exceed the original $8.45–$8.85 range?
  7. What recurring annual expenses were added through Arcellx, Tubulis and Ouro?
  8. Is BIC/LEN still positioned for an immediate launch following the August 27 FDA decision?
  9. What are the principal remaining regulatory and manufacturing risks for anito-cel?
  10. When can investors reasonably expect cell-therapy revenue to return to growth?

Bottom line

The highest-quality outcome would be strong HIV growth led by accelerating Yeztugo sales, a sales-guidance raise and stable underlying operating margins. Trodelvy’s new first-line indication provides an additional H2 catalyst, while positive ISLEND and IDEAL results strengthen the longer-term pipeline.

The principal risks are that Yeztugo’s initial launch enthusiasm does not translate into repeat dosing, Trodelvy remains concentrated in breast cancer after the EVOKE-03 failure, and acquisition spending consumes more of the commercial upside than expected.

With the shares approximately 16% below their February high, expectations appear less demanding than earlier in the year. Still, the stock likely needs more than a routine revenue beat: investors will want evidence that Yeztugo can surpass $1 billion, Trodelvy is beginning a new growth phase and the recent acquisitions can be integrated without diluting the underlying earnings trajectory.