Gilead (GILD) Q2 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Can you explain the growing delta between Yeztugo prescription trends (IQVIA) and reported sales, and what are the biggest growth drivers for Yeztugo through year-end?

Gilead will not comment on IQVIA data but is confident in its own reported data. Key growth drivers for Yeztugo include strong uptake in naive and switch markets, growing HCP confidence, the expanding PrEP market (14% YoY growth), and a high persistency rate of over 70% at 6 months. The company remains confident in its $1 billion full-year sales guidance for Yeztugo.

“For Yeztugo, as you think about the back half of this year, really building on a really strong first half. And I would say that we expect strong continued launch momentum because we're still in launch mode. And that's really driven by the strong uptake we've been seeing in both naive and switch market, the growing confidence that we're seeing with our health care professionals with access pathways, logistics, experience with Yeztugo.”

asked by Tyler Van Buren · answered by Johanna Mercier

Given Yeztugo's value proposition around eliminating daily pills, why invest in a once-weekly oral PrEP option? Are people less enthusiastic about twice-yearly injections, or is there another reason?

Nothing has changed; there's incredible excitement for long-acting options. While injectables are strong, 80-85% of the market is still daily orals. A once-weekly oral offers an opportunity to capture patients who prefer an oral option but want less frequent dosing than daily. It's seen as complementary, expanding market reach, especially among those on generics, and providing patient optionality alongside injectables.

“What we do know, however, is that you still have about 80%, 85% of the total market that are daily orals, both Descovy as well as generic TDF. And so there is still a huge opportunity. And with a weekly oral, so not having to think about it every single day and moving to once weekly is a really nice opportunity for us to make sure that we capture the market of folks that do want to be on an oral, maybe don't enjoy an injectable and want to make sure that they don't have to think about it every single day.”

asked by Evan Seigerman · answered by Johanna Mercier

Is lowering the concentration of HIV still an intentional long-term goal for Gilead, or has it become less of a priority given strong growth and cash flow?

Diversification remains a clear objective, both within virology and outside of it. Within HIV, the goal is to diversify across multiple options (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly) for treatment and PrEP, ensuring long-term durability. Outside virology, the focus is on oncology (Trodelvy, cell therapy, ADC platform) and inflammation, with more updates expected. The company believes it can achieve both continued HIV growth and diversification into other therapeutic areas.

“Clearly, our objective is still to diversify the business, but in 2 different ways, just to clarify. One is within virology and the second one is outside of virology.”

asked by Geoffrey Meacham · answered by Daniel O'Day

Given changes in FDA leadership and CAR T registrational requirements, what are the latest impressions of filing requirements for earlier second-line to fourth-line anito-cel patients, especially with the iMMagine-3 study enrolling quickly?

Gilead continues normal interactions with the FDA and has not seen major changes. For earlier lines of therapy, the iMMagine-3 study has a dual primary endpoint of minimal residual disease (MRD) and progression-free survival (PFS), and the company plans to file based on these dual primaries, with no indications from the FDA to suggest otherwise.

“I think the components that you're referencing on the earlier lines of therapy, again, we have a dual primary endpoint of both minimal residual disease and PFS and are continuing to progress those endpoints and would plan to file based on the dual primary with FDA and haven't had any conversations that would indicate differently.”

asked by Brian Abrahams · answered by Cindy Perettie

How should we understand the drivers of Biktarvy's strong performance, exceeding expectations, especially in the context of insurance coverage losses in the U.S. due to ACA changes?

The ACA tax subsidy elimination did lead to some patients losing or becoming underinsured, causing a softer HIV treatment market in Q2, which is expected to bounce back. Despite this, Biktarvy's strength, combined with the overall PrEP business, drove the raised HIV guidance. The impact was primarily on volume, but the overall franchise performance remains robust.

“What you're referring to, I believe, is what we've been watching very closely since January of this year is with the ACA tax subsidies being eliminated, there's some folks that have basically fallen out of insurance plans, right? So most of those are health exchange plans where the patients are actually either now become uninsured or underinsured, and they're kind of navigating the channels to understand where they go next. And so there's a little bit of a transition. And so we kind of saw that directly impact the HIV treatment market. So it was a little softer in Q2.”

asked by Courtney Breen · answered by Johanna Mercier

Will the year-over-year price benefit for Descovy continue, and will weekly Yeztugo cannibalize Descovy more significantly than injectables have?

Descovy's 60% YoY growth is due to favorable channel mix pricing and demand, with Yeztugo's market expansion also benefiting Descovy. This trend is expected to be maintained. Weekly oral Yeztugo is seen as complementary, targeting Descovy users comfortable with orals but wanting less frequent dosing, and also those on generics. It's expected to be a 'really nice opportunity' for both Descovy and generics to transition to the weekly option, rather than significant cannibalization.

“To your point about the opportunity with the Qweekly oral, we do believe the Qweekly oral for people that have been on Descovy and comfortable with the daily oral and not necessarily seeking to go for a longer-acting in an injectable setting, we do believe the Qweekly oral is going to be a really nice opportunity for both Descovy, but also for generics to move over to the Qweekly Yeztugo option.”

asked by Christopher Schott · answered by Johanna Mercier