Gilead Sciences stock (NASDAQ: GILD) is trading near the upper end of its 52‑week range as of early December 2025, supported by stronger guidance, big HIV and liver franchises, and a mixed but important year for its oncology pipeline. At the same time, new deals in cell therapy and targeted protein degradation show management leaning into long‑term cancer bets, even at the cost of a bit of near‑term EPS.
Here’s a detailed look at the latest price action, earnings, drug news, analyst forecasts and key risks that matter for GILD into 2026.
Gilead Sciences stock price and recent trading
As of the latest close on Friday, December 5, 2025, Gilead Sciences stock finished at $121.22, down about 1.14% on the day, with after‑hours trading nudging the price slightly higher to around $121.34. [1]
That leaves the shares roughly 6% below their 52‑week high of $128.70, set on November 20, 2025, and comfortably above the 52‑week low near $88.57, implying a market capitalization of roughly $156 billion. [2]
Valuation and risk metrics reinforce Gilead’s reputation as a relatively defensive biotech name: the stock trades at a mid‑20s trailing P/E, with a forward PEG ratio below 1 and a five‑year monthly beta around 0.3, meaning historically much lower volatility than the broader market. [3]
2025 earnings: HIV and liver disease drive a higher outlook
Q3 2025: modest top‑line growth, stronger EPS
Gilead’s third‑quarter 2025 report, released on October 30, marked another step in rebuilding growth after years of COVID and hepatitis C volatility.
- Total revenue grew about 3% year‑over‑year to $7.8 billion.
- Total product sales slipped 2% to $7.3 billion, weighed down by declining COVID antiviral Veklury and softer cell‑therapy revenue.
- Crucially, product sales excluding Veklury rose 4% to $7.1 billion, reflecting underlying growth in the core portfolio. [4]
On the bottom line, non‑GAAP diluted EPS climbed to roughly $2.47 versus $2.02 a year earlier, helped by higher royalty and other revenue, fewer R&D impairment charges and gains on equity investments. [5]
Segment performance: HIV still the engine
The quarter underscored just how dependent Gilead Sciences stock still is on HIV:
- Total HIV revenue grew about 4% to $5.3 billion.
- Flagship regimen Biktarvy delivered roughly $3.7 billion, up around 6% year‑on‑year.
- Descovy and other HIV products also grew, with Descovy alone rising about 20%.
- New liver‑disease therapy Livdelzi helped drive 12% growth in liver‑disease sales to roughly $819 million.
- Veklury revenue dropped sharply to about $277 million as COVID hospitalizations declined.
- Cell therapy revenue fell to about $432 million, while Trodelvy oncology sales increased to roughly $357 million. [6]
For the first nine months of 2025, Gilead generated about $8.9 billion in operating cash flow and $7.3 billion in free cash flow, while returning roughly $1.0 billion in dividends and $435 million via share repurchases in Q3 alone. [7]
Guidance: two raises in one year
Gilead has raised full‑year 2025 guidance twice:
- After Q2 2025, the company increased its adjusted EPS outlook to $7.95–$8.25 and nudged product‑sales guidance to $28.3–$28.7 billion. CFO Andrew Dickinson attributed the improved outlook to strong HIV sales and expense discipline. [8]
- With Q3 2025, management tightened guidance again, now expecting:
- Product sales:$28.4–$28.7 billion
- Product sales excluding Veklury:$27.4–$27.7 billion
- GAAP diluted EPS:$6.65–$6.85
- Non‑GAAP diluted EPS:$8.05–$8.25, raising the low end from $7.95. [9]
Independent models look broadly consistent. Forecasts compiled by StockAnalysis suggest revenue rising from about $28.8 billion in 2024 to roughly $29.8 billion in 2025 and $30.7 billion in 2026, with EPS projected around $8.3 this year and $8.9 next year—a profile of low‑single‑digit revenue growth and mid‑single‑digit EPS growth into 2026. [10]
HIV franchise, lenacapavir and extended Biktarvy patents
The HIV business remains the cornerstone of Gilead Sciences stock:
- The Biktarvy regimen continues to grow mid‑single digits.
- Descovy and other combinations provide incremental volume and diversification within HIV. [11]
In October, Gilead delivered a major intellectual‑property win:
- It announced settlement agreements with several generic manufacturers under which no full‑dose generics of Biktarvy can launch in the U.S. before April 1, 2036, subject to standard acceleration clauses.
- Previously, the company had modelled a loss of exclusivity around December 2033, so the settlements effectively extend the U.S. Biktarvy cash‑flow runway by more than two years. [12]
On the prevention side, injectable lenacapavir, branded Yeztugo for HIV PrEP, is emerging as a major new asset:
- New CDC guidelines now strongly recommend twice‑yearly lenacapavir as an option for HIV pre‑exposure prophylaxis.
- Gilead announced a partnership with the U.S. State Department and PEPFAR to deliver lenacapavir‑based PrEP to up to two million people over three years in countries funded by both PEPFAR and the Global Fund. [13]
For investors, that combination—extended Biktarvy exclusivity plus a potentially huge, long‑acting PrEP market for lenacapavir—strengthens the long‑term cash‑flow story underpinning Gilead Sciences stock. Management has explicitly pointed to this and the broader pipeline in arguing that Gilead currently has its strongest portfolio and clinical pipeline in company history, with no major loss of exclusivity expected before 2036. [14]
Oncology: Trodelvy’s ESMO spotlight and ASCENT‑07 setback
ASCENT‑03: a key win in first‑line TNBC
The biggest 2025 catalyst for Gilead’s oncology ambitions was Trodelvy in first‑line metastatic triple‑negative breast cancer (TNBC).
At ESMO 2025, Gilead presented full data from the Phase 3 ASCENT‑03 trial, testing Trodelvy versus chemotherapy in TNBC patients ineligible for PD‑1/PD‑L1 inhibitors. The study showed:
- A 38% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death versus chemo (hazard ratio 0.62).
- Median progression‑free survival (PFS) of 9.7 months on Trodelvy versus 6.9 months on chemotherapy. [15]
Those results, simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine, support Trodelvy’s potential as a new standard of care backbone for first‑line TNBC patients who lack immunotherapy options. [16]
Independent ESMO commentary from OncologyPipeline noted that both Trodelvy and Daiichi Sankyo/AstraZeneca’s datroway (another TROP2‑targeting ADC) could reset the TNBC treatment paradigm, but concluded that datroway appears to have a slight edge based on a somewhat larger absolute PFS gain, a clearer overall‑survival signal and a somewhat cleaner toxicity profile. [17] Even so, Trodelvy’s PFS benefit was considered numerically strong and clinically meaningful.
ASCENT‑07: disappointment in HR+/HER2‑negative disease
On November 7, 2025, Gilead announced that the Phase 3 ASCENT‑07 study—Trodelvy as first‑line treatment after endocrine therapy in HR‑positive/HER2‑negative metastatic breast cancer—did not meet its primary endpoint of PFS versus chemotherapy. [18]
Key details:
- PFS by blinded independent central review failed to show the prespecified improvement.
- Overall survival, a key secondary endpoint, was not mature at the time of analysis, though early trends numerically favoured Trodelvy.
- The safety profile was consistent with prior Trodelvy breast‑cancer studies, with no new safety signals. [19]
Importantly, Trodelvy remains an approved standard of care for pre‑treated HR+/HER2‑negative metastatic breast cancer based on the earlier TROPiCS‑02 study, and is recognised as a Category 1 preferred regimen in major oncology guidelines for its approved indications. [20]
Overall, 2025 leaves Gilead’s oncology franchise with:
- A stronger position in TNBC, especially first‑line patients lacking checkpoint inhibitors.
- A more complicated outlook in first‑line HR+/HER2‑negative disease after ASCENT‑07.
- Multiple ongoing Phase 3 studies of Trodelvy in early‑stage TNBC, lung and gynecologic cancers, which will generate new catalysts into 2026 and beyond. [21]
Cell therapy and next‑generation oncology deals: Interius and Kymera
Interius: in‑vivo CAR‑T for simpler cell therapy
In August 2025, Gilead’s CAR‑T unit Kite Pharma announced it will acquire privately held Interius BioTherapeutics for $350 million in cash. [22]
Why this matters for Gilead Sciences stock:
- Interius’ technology aims to deliver CAR‑T instructions directly into patients’ cells via intravenous infusion (“in‑vivo” CAR‑T), rather than extracting, modifying and reinfusing cells ex‑vivo.
- That approach could simplify cancer treatment logistics and reduce costs relative to traditional CAR‑T processes. [23]
- Kite expects the deal, pending regulatory approvals, to reduce Gilead’s 2025 EPS by about $0.23–$0.25 as it ramps R&D on the platform. [24]
Once closed, Interius’ operations will be folded into Kite’s research group in Philadelphia, signalling that Gilead sees in‑vivo CAR‑T as a core long‑term bet rather than a side project. [25]
Kymera: $750m molecular‑glue degrader partnership
Back in June 2025, Gilead signed an option and license agreement with Kymera Therapeutics worth up to $750 million, including up to $85 million upfront. [26]
Under the deal:
- Gilead can secure global rights to Kymera’s molecular glue degraders that target CDK2, a cell‑cycle protein implicated in breast and other solid tumours.
- Unlike traditional kinase inhibitors, these drugs are designed to eliminate the CDK2 protein rather than just blocking its activity. [27]
- Kymera will lead pre‑clinical research for now, and the companies expect the collaboration to reduce Gilead’s 2025 EPS by about $0.02–$0.03. [28]
Taken together, the Interius acquisition and Kymera collaboration show Gilead willing to accept modest near‑term EPS dilution to build a broader oncology platform beyond Trodelvy and its existing CAR‑T products.
Dividend, income profile and capital return
Higher dividend, attractive yield
Gilead Sciences stock is also a dividend story. On February 11, 2025, the board announced a 2.6% increase in the quarterly cash dividend to $0.79 per share, beginning with the first quarter of 2025. [29]
At the current share price, that translates into:
- Annualised dividend: roughly $3.16 per share
- Forward dividend yield: about 2.5%–2.7%, depending on the data source. [30]
Dividend‑focused research at Dividend.com pegs Gilead’s forward payout ratio around the high‑30% range and assigns the stock a high dividend‑safety score, citing strong free‑cash‑flow coverage and a robust balance sheet. [31]
Payout schedule and ex‑dates
Recent dividend calendars show:
- A $0.79 dividend with ex‑dividend date September 15, 2025 and payment on September 29, 2025.
- The next $0.79 dividend is expected to go ex‑dividend on December 15, 2025 and be paid on December 30, 2025. [32]
Combined with the low beta near 0.3, the result is a stock many investors treat as a defensive, income‑oriented healthcare holding rather than a speculative biotech trade. [33]
Wall Street view: Moderate‑to‑strong Buy with single‑digit to low‑double‑digit upside
Consensus ratings and price targets
According to MarketBeat, which aggregates 27 Wall Street analysts:
- Gilead Sciences stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating.
- The breakdown: 24 Buys, 3 Holds, 0 Sells.
- The average 12‑month price target is $130.65, implying about 7.8% upside from the recent $121.22 close.
- Individual targets range from $105 on the low end to $153 on the high end. [34]
Another aggregator, GrowthInvesting.net, reports:
- 25 analyst targets, with an average around $135, the same $153 high and $105 low, implying low‑double‑digit upside from current levels. [35]
StockAnalysis likewise categorises GILD as a “Buy”, with the revenue and EPS forecasts described earlier. [36]
Recent analyst moves
A late‑November note summarised by GuruFocus highlights a cluster of positive—but not euphoric—broker views: [37]
- Truist Securities: cut its target from $145 to $140 while maintaining a Buy rating (Nov 24, 2025).
- Scotiabank: initiated coverage at “Sector Outperform” with a $140 target (Nov 13, 2025).
- Needham: raised its target from $133 to $140 and reiterated Buy (Nov 13, 2025).
- Cantor Fitzgerald: reiterated Overweight with a $135 target (Oct 31, 2025).
These calls cluster in the $135–$140 range—above the current share price but not dramatically so, reflecting expectations of steady, not explosive, growth.
Not every framework is bullish, though. GuruFocus’ proprietary “GF Value” model, which extrapolates from historical valuation multiples and growth, pegs Gilead’s one‑year fair value around $91.50, implying meaningful downside from current levels and reminding investors that some valuation lenses see GILD as fully valued post‑rally. [38]
Key risks for Gilead Sciences stock
Even with a constructive consensus, investors in GILD need to keep several risks in view:
- Revenue concentration in HIV
- A large portion of Gilead’s revenue still comes from HIV treatments, which face ongoing pricing pressure, generics outside the U.S. and evolving treatment and prevention guidelines.
- The Biktarvy patent settlement, pushing U.S. generic entry to 2036, reduces near‑term cliff risk but does not eliminate long‑term competitive pressures. [39]
- Oncology competition and clinical uncertainty
- Trodelvy’s success in ASCENT‑03 is promising, but datroway and other TROP2‑targeting ADCs may offer competitive efficacy or better tolerability, as ESMO commentators hinted. [40]
- The ASCENT‑07 miss in HR+/HER2‑negative disease underscores that not every expansion setting will succeed. Further trials in lung, gynecologic and early‑stage breast cancers could change expectations materially in either direction. [41]
- R&D and deal execution risk
- The Interius and Kymera deals introduce new scientific and execution risk in in‑vivo CAR‑T and molecular glue degraders, areas that are still early in clinical development. [42]
- These initiatives will suppress EPS by a few dozen cents in 2025, with no guarantee of long‑term commercial success.
- Policy and pricing environment
- Gilead is exposed to U.S. drug‑pricing reforms, including Medicare negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act, and to global changes in HIV funding and PrEP reimbursement.
- The company itself flags these as key uncertainties in its forward‑looking‑statement and risk‑factor disclosures. [43]
Bottom line: what to watch for Gilead Sciences stock into 2026
As of December 6, 2025, Gilead Sciences stock trades within striking distance of its 52‑week high after:
- Raising 2025 guidance twice,
- Delivering solid underlying growth in HIV and liver disease,
- Landing a pivotal win for Trodelvy in first‑line TNBC, and
- Making sizeable strategic bets on in‑vivo CAR‑T (Interius) and protein degradation (Kymera). [44]
For the next 12–18 months, key watch‑points for GILD include:
- Lenacapavir (Yeztugo) adoption in PrEP, following updated CDC guidelines and the multi‑year PEPFAR partnership. [45]
- Biktarvy and Descovy growth, and how payers and guidelines evolve now that U.S. Biktarvy exclusivity runs to 2036. [46]
- Regulatory decisions and guideline updates for Trodelvy in first‑line TNBC, plus new data from ongoing trials in early‑stage TNBC, lung and gynecologic cancers. [47]
- Early clinical readouts or platform updates from Interius’ in‑vivo CAR‑T programmes and Kymera’s CDK2 degraders. [48]
- Any further tweaks to financial guidance as Veklury continues to decline and newer assets scale. [49]
For readers following Gilead Sciences stock on Google News and Discover, the story going into 2026 is less about pandemic‑era COVID revenues and more about a steady HIV cash machine, expanding oncology and liver franchises, disciplined capital returns and measured R&D risk‑taking.
This article is informational only and does not constitute investment advice. Anyone considering buying or selling GILD should combine this overview with their own due diligence and, where appropriate, professional financial guidance.
References
1. www.marketbeat.com, 2. www.marketbeat.com, 3. www.dividend.com, 4. www.gilead.com, 5. www.gilead.com, 6. www.gilead.com, 7. www.gilead.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.gilead.com, 10. stockanalysis.com, 11. www.gilead.com, 12. www.gilead.com, 13. www.gilead.com, 14. www.gilead.com, 15. www.gilead.com, 16. www.gilead.com, 17. www.oncologypipeline.com, 18. www.gilead.com, 19. www.gilead.com, 20. www.gilead.com, 21. www.gilead.com, 22. www.reuters.com, 23. www.reuters.com, 24. www.reuters.com, 25. www.reuters.com, 26. www.reuters.com, 27. www.reuters.com, 28. www.reuters.com, 29. www.gilead.com, 30. www.dividend.com, 31. www.dividend.com, 32. www.dividendmax.com, 33. www.dividend.com, 34. www.marketbeat.com, 35. growthinvesting.net, 36. stockanalysis.com, 37. www.gurufocus.com, 38. www.gurufocus.com, 39. www.gilead.com, 40. www.oncologypipeline.com, 41. www.gilead.com, 42. www.reuters.com, 43. www.gilead.com, 44. www.gilead.com, 45. www.gilead.com, 46. www.gilead.com, 47. www.gilead.com, 48. www.reuters.com, 49. www.gilead.com
