GSK Stock Near 52-Week Highs: Upgraded 2025 Guidance, Buybacks and Zantac Relief Fuel Re‑Rating

As of 9 December 2025, GSK plc (LSE: GSK; NYSE: GSK) stock is trading close to its 52‑week highs on both sides of the Atlantic, after a year in which the UK pharma group has upgraded guidance, accelerated buybacks and largely defused one of the biggest litigation overhangs in the sector.

On the NYSE, GSK ADRs change hands around $48–49, very near their 52‑week high of $49.31, and up roughly 37% over the past year, versus about 14% for the S&P 500 over the same period. ^[1] On the London Stock Exchange, GSK trades around £18.0, also just below its 52‑week high near £18.5 and well above the 52‑week low around £12.4. ^[2]

Below is a detailed look at the latest GSK stock news, earnings, guidance, analyst forecasts and key risks as of 9 December 2025.

Where GSK stock stands on 9 December 2025

London listing (LSE: GSK): ~£18.05, with a 52‑week range of £12.43–£18.54. ^[3]
US ADR (NYSE: GSK): ~$48.5, with a 52‑week range of $31.72–$49.31 and a trailing P/E ratio around 13.7x. ^[4]

Over the last 12 months, GSK’s London‑listed shares have gained about 34%, outperforming the FTSE 350 by nearly 20 percentage points. ^[5] GSK’s beta (a measure of volatility) is around 0.23, meaning the ADR tends to move less than the wider US equity market. ^[6]

Against a backdrop where the S&P 500’s forward P/E is in the low‑20s, GSK’s low‑teens earnings multiple leaves it trading at a noticeable valuation discount to the broader US market. ^[7]

Q3 2025: Earnings beat and upgraded guidance

The immediate catalyst for GSK stock’s late‑2025 strength was a strong third quarter (Q3 2025) and a significant upgrade to full‑year guidance.

In its Q3 2025 report, GSK delivered: ^[8]

Total Q3 sales: £8.5bn, up 7% at actual exchange rates and 8% at constant exchange rates.
Specialty Medicines: £3.4bn, up 16%, with:
- Oncology sales up 39% to £0.5bn.
- HIV sales up 12% to £1.9bn.
Vaccines: £2.7bn, up 2%, including:
- Shingrix (shingles vaccine) up 13% to £0.8bn.
- Arexvy (RSV vaccine) up 36% to about £0.3bn.
General Medicines: £2.5bn, up 4%.
Core EPS: 55p, up 14% year on year.
Cash from operations (YTD): £6.3bn. ^[9]

The strength came primarily from HIV and oncology drugs and from specialty respiratory and immunology treatments, which more than offset flattish vaccine sales.

Guidance raised across the board

Following Q3, GSK lifted its 2025 guidance for the second time this year. Management now expects for the full year: ^[10]

Turnover (sales) growth:6–7% (previously “towards the top end” of 3–5%).
Core operating profit growth:9–11% (previously 6–8%).
Core EPS growth:10–12% (previously 6–8%).

Reuters reported that the Q3 beat and guidance upgrade sent GSK shares up almost 7% on the day, to their highest level since May 2024, underlining a marked re‑rating by investors. ^[11]

Dividend and buybacks: A more assertive capital‑return story

2025 dividend: Around a mid‑3% yield

GSK declared a Q3 2025 dividend of 16p per share and reiterated guidance for a full‑year 2025 dividend of 64p per share. ^[12]

At a share price of roughly £18, that equates to a dividend yield of about 3.5%, in line with GSK’s stated policy of providing a “progressive” and sustainable distribution while still funding R&D and growth investments.

£2bn share buyback through 2026

In February 2025, alongside its full‑year 2024 results, GSK launched a £2bn share buyback programme, to be executed by the end of Q2 2026. ^[13]

By Q3 2025, the company had already deployed £1.1bn into buybacks. ^[14] The pace has remained brisk into Q4:

A recent 6‑K filing shows that 233,000 shares were repurchased on 4 December 2025 at an average price of 1,832p, bringing total purchases since 30 September to nearly 12 million shares. ^[15]
After these trades, GSK holds about 237 million shares in treasury, representing roughly 5.8% of voting rights. ^[16]

For current shareholders, the buyback both supports the share price and incrementally improves per‑share metrics such as EPS and dividend coverage.

Zantac litigation: Big cheque, bigger cloud lifted

For several years, GSK stock traded under a heavy cloud of uncertainty around Zantac (ranitidine) cancer lawsuits in the US. That overhang has largely been cleared.

Key milestones:

In October 2024, GSK agreed to resolve about 93% of US state‑court Zantac product liability cases (around 80,000 claims) for up to $2.2bn, plus a separate $70m settlement of a qui tam (whistle‑blower) complaint. ^[17]
GSK has emphasised that the costs will be funded from existing resources and that there is no change to its growth agenda or R&D investment plans. ^[18]
The company recognised a £1.8bn accounting charge related to these settlements in its 2024 results. ^[19]

In July 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court delivered another important boost for GSK and other drugmakers by ruling that expert testimony from plaintiffs’ scientists in a massive Zantac case was inadmissible due to unreliable methodology. ^[20] This ruling, combined with previous federal decisions and GSK’s settlements, significantly reduces the risk of a runaway damages scenario.

For equity investors, the Zantac saga transitions from an existential tail risk to a manageable, largely quantified cost that is already baked into the balance sheet and guidance.

Leadership transition: Luke Miels steps in as CEO

In late September 2025, GSK announced that long‑time CEO Emma Walmsley will step down at the end of the year. Luke Miels, currently the company’s Chief Commercial Officer, has been appointed CEO‑designate and will take over on 1 January 2026. ^[21]

Key points about the leadership change:

Miels joined GSK in 2017 and has overseen a global commercial portfolio with more than £20bn in annual sales across 100+ countries. ^[22]
He inherits a strategy targeting over £40bn in annual sales by 2031, an upgrade from the previous £38bn long‑term goal. ^[23]
At her final results presentation as CEO, Walmsley reaffirmed that GSK is tracking ahead of earlier revenue ambitions and highlighted the breadth of the pipeline, including around 15 assets each with potential peak‑year sales above £2bn. ^[24]

The transition is widely viewed as evolution rather than revolution, with continuity in strategy but scope for a stronger commercial focus under Miels.

Growth engines: HIV, oncology, RSV and COPD

HIV and oncology: Still the core growth drivers

Specialty Medicines remain at the heart of the GSK stock story:

HIV: Double‑digit growth in Q3, driven by long‑acting regimens and two‑drug combinations, kept HIV sales firmly above £1.9bn for the quarter. ^[25]
Oncology: Q3 oncology sales surged 39%, helped by blood‑cancer drugs such as Ojjaara and the re‑emergence of Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin). ^[26]

At the 2025 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting, GSK is presenting new data from multiple haematology programmes – including additional Blenrep studies – that it says could “redefine outcomes” for patients with difficult‑to‑treat blood cancers. ^[27]

Arexvy and vaccines: A more nuanced outlook

GSK’s Arexvy RSV vaccine remains a key asset:

Q3 2025 sales of £251m, up 36% year on year. ^[28]
Approved in 67 markets and launched in around 40, with GSK calling it the US market leader in older adults. ^[29]

However, RSV and broader vaccine growth are not without challenges. In Q2 2025, GSK flagged weaker US demand for Arexvy after a more limited recommendation from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and overall vaccines were guided to a low‑single‑digit decline to broadly flat for 2025. ^[30]

Nucala: First‑ever biologic for COPD

One of the more under‑the‑radar but strategically important approvals this year was for Nucala (mepolizumab):

The US FDA approved Nucala as the first biologic treatment for eosinophilic COPD, targeting over a million patients whose disease is driven by eosinophilic inflammation. ^[31]
Clinical data showed significant reductions in COPD exacerbations requiring hospitalisation, opening a new, large and relatively underserved market. ^[32]

This extension beyond severe asthma gives Nucala a second major growth leg and underscores GSK’s broader bet on immune‑driven respiratory disease.

Operations and geopolitics: Manufacturing and tariff risk

In the background, GSK has also been reshaping its manufacturing footprint:

The company is expanding production capacity in the US, partly to mitigate potential tariff risks and improve supply‑chain resilience amid shifting trade policies. ^[33]

Given the current political climate and periodic threats of healthcare‑related tariffs, this move is aimed at reducing future friction on key vaccines and biologics supplied into the US market.

How analysts see GSK stock now

Price targets and ratings

Analysts remain mixed but gradually more constructive on GSK shares after the Zantac settlement and the 2025 guidance upgrades.

For the London listing, MarketBeat aggregates five 12‑month price targets with an average target of 1,762p, vs a current price around 1,820p, implying modest downside in the near term. Targets range from 1,450p to 2,100p. ^[34]
StockAnalysis, looking at US coverage, currently shows one “Strong Buy” rating and no “Hold” or “Sell” recommendations, reflecting a bullish outlier rather than a broad consensus. ^[35]

A detailed roundup from Capital.com in August 2025 highlighted that: ^[36]

TipRanks’ then‑consensus for the LSE listing was “Hold”, with a 12‑month target near 1,580p, based on 14 analysts.
TradingView’s aggregated view showed a “Neutral” rating with an average target around 1,610p.
Morningstar’s analyst assigned GSK a five‑star rating, with a fair value estimate of 2,200p per share and $58 per ADR, arguing that the shares were “deeply undervalued” relative to the long‑term pipeline and recent launch momentum.

Short‑term, a quant‑driven forecast from Intellectia suggests around a 2–3% expected move over the next month, reinforcing the view that most of the recent good news is already reflected in the current price, at least near term. ^[37]

Valuation in context

With a trailing P/E around 13–14x and a dividend yield in the mid‑3% range, GSK trades: ^[38]

Below the S&P 500’s forward earnings multiple, which is in the low‑20s. ^[39]
Somewhat below the long‑run average multiple for large‑cap pharma and biotech, though peers differ widely depending on growth and patent exposure.

This valuation gap is a core plank in the “re‑rating” thesis advanced by bullish commentators who argue that litigation risk has fallen faster than the share price has risen.

Key risks investors should still watch

Despite the strong run in GSK stock through 2025, the story is not risk‑free. Key issues include:

Drug pricing and reimbursement pressure
- US pricing reforms, including elements of the Inflation Reduction Act and Medicare Part D redesign, remain a structural headwind for branded drugs. GSK has acknowledged ongoing pricing pressure, especially in general medicines and in parts of its vaccine portfolio. ^[40]
Vaccine demand and competition
- Arexvy has rebounded after the Q2 wobble, but RSV remains a competitive and politically sensitive space, with rival products and changing ACIP recommendations potentially affecting long‑term uptake. ^[41]
Pipeline execution risk
- The multi‑billion‑pound sales aspirations through 2031 rely on flawless execution in late‑stage trials and regulatory reviews. Failures or safety signals in oncology or specialty respiratory programmes would damage the growth narrative. ^[42]
Residual litigation and legal uncertainty
- While Zantac risk is dramatically lower, some federal and state cases continue, and pharmaceutical companies remain frequent targets for mass‑tort and patent suits. The Delaware Supreme Court ruling helps, but further legal twists are still possible. ^[43]
FX and macroeconomic sensitivity
- With the majority of revenue earned outside the UK, GSK’s reported numbers are exposed to swings in sterling, especially against the US dollar and euro. Management routinely highlights FX as a key variable in guidance. ^[44]

Bottom line: How GSK stock looks on 9 December 2025

Putting it all together, GSK plc in late 2025 looks very different from the company that was wrestling with Zantac headlines and vaccine uncertainty just a couple of years ago:

Growth is now firmly driven by specialty medicines in HIV, oncology and respiratory, with vaccines contributing more selectively.
Guidance for 2025 has been upgraded across sales, profit and EPS, and management insists it is on track for >£40bn in 2031 sales. ^[45]
Capital returns are more robust, with a mid‑3% yield and a sizeable buyback likely to retire several percentage points of the share count by mid‑2026. ^[46]
Litigation risk from Zantac has been substantially de‑risked, replaced by a one‑off hit that investors can model, rather than an open‑ended liability. ^[47]

At the same time, the stock’s valuation still sits at a discount to the broader US market and to some high‑growth biopharma peers, reflecting ongoing concerns about pricing, vaccines and the usual uncertainties of drug development.