Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) stock fell over 1.4% on 29th October, 2020 (As of 11:08 am GMT-4; Source: Google finance) after the company posted lower than expected earnings for the third quarter of FY 20. The company posted 2% year-over-year rise in the product sales, excluding Veklury (remdesivir), to $5.6 billion for the third quarter 2020 mainly due to Gilead’s core HIV products on the back of higher volume as channel inventory continues to normalize in the United States as well as stronger patient demand. The increase was partially offset by lower sales volume of Truvada (emtricitabine (FTC) and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF))-based products and lower sales of hepatitis C virus (“HCV”) products. The company posted Veklury revenues of $873 million for the third quarter 2020.
Moreover, there has been 18% rise in total product sales to $6.5 billion for the third quarter 2020, compared to $5.5 billion for the same period in 2019, driven by sales of Veklury and Gilead’s core HIV products driven by higher volume and stronger patient demand. Geographically, for the third quarter 2020, product sales in the United States, Europe and other international locations were $5.1 billion, $877 million and $540 million, respectively. For the third quarter 2019, product sales in the United States, Europe and other international locations were $4.2 billion, $804 million and $513 million, respectively. HIV product sales grew 8% to $4.5 billion for the third quarter 2020, compared to $4.2 billion for the same period in 2019, mainly due to the underlying strength of the HIV franchise. Biktarvy share continues to rise in the United States. HCV product sales fell 31% to $464 million for the third quarter 2020, compared to $674 million for the same period in 2019. The HCV business continues to recover from the delayed patient starts driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cell Therapy product sales, which include Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) and TecartusTM (brexucabtagene autoleucel), rose 25% to $147 million for the third quarter 2020, compared to $118 million for the same period in 2019. The increase was mainly due to the continued uptake and expansion of Yescarta in Europe. Tecartus got approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration during the third quarter 2020.
GILD in the third quarter of FY 20 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $2.11, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $1.83, according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 17 percent to $6.58 billion in the third quarter of FY 20, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue by 6.07%.