GILD Stock Dives As Two Major Issues Dig Into Fourth-Quarter Earnings

Gilead Sciences (GILD) said Tuesday its Covid treatment dragged on fourth-quarter sales as two legal charges hammered earnings — and GILD stock tumbled.

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During the December quarter, sales of the Covid treatment called Veklury sank 30% to roughly $1.36 billion. Gilead expects the trend to continue this year and projects just $2 billion in Veklury sales for 2022. That would drop from $5.57 billion in sales last year and $2.81 billion in 2020 sales.

Excluding Veklury’s impact, total sales climbed 8%, Gilead said in a news release. But GILD stock fell late after two charges related to a legal settlement and Gilead’s deal with Arcus Biosciences (RCUS) dug into the company’s quarterly profits.

In after-hours trading on today’s stock market, GILD stock fell 3.1% near 66.30. Shares dipped less than 1% during the regular session, closing at 68.47.

GILD Stock: Earnings Widely Miss

Gilead earnings crashed 68% to 69 cents per share in the fourth quarter. That was well below GILD stock analysts’ projection for $1.59, according to FactSet. The company cited a $1.25 billion charge related to a legal settlement and a $625 million opt-in payment tied to its deal with Arcus in cancer.

Meanwhile, total revenue declined 2% to $7.24 billion. But that topped forecasts for $6.62 billion. Sales of Veklury and Gilead’s hepatitis C drugs both fell. But Gilead reported 7% growth for its suite of HIV treatments, which generated a collective $4.54 billion in sales.

Sales of Gilead’s cell therapies for cancer surged 47% to $239 million. And sales of its newest cancer drug, Trodelvy, were $118 million.

For the year ending in December, Gilead predicted adjusted earnings of $6.20-$6.70 a share. That was well below the GILD stock analyst forecast for $6.92 a share.

The sales outlook was also soft at the midpoint. Gilead called for $23.8 billion to $24.3 billion in product sales. The high end of Gilead’s outlook touched analysts’ estimate.

Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.

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