Gilead Sciences, Inc. Smashes Earnings Estimates

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Shares of Gilead Sciences slipped by as much as 0.45% in after-hours trading, falling as low as $106.70 per share after tonight’s earnings report

Gilead Sciences released its latest earnings report after closing bell tonight, posting adjusted earnings of $2.43 per share on $7.32 billion in revenue, a 137% year over year increase. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $2.23 per share on $6.72 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter. In the same quarter last year, Gilead posted revenue of $3.12 billion.

Key metrics from Gilead Sciences’ earnings report

Net earnings were $2.18 per share or $3.5 billion, compared to last year’s 47 cents per share or $791 million for the same quarter. Net earnings include acquisition and restructuring costs, among other items.

For the full year, Gilead Sciences reported sales of $24.5 billion, a 127% year over year increase, and non-GAAP earnings of $8.09 per share, a 297% increase. Net income for the full year was $7.35 per share or $12.1 billion, compared to $3.1 billion or $1.81 per share in 2013.

Gilead Sciences rides high on hepatitis treatments

Gilead Sciences said its fourth quarter sales were driven by its two main hepatitis C drugs, Harvoni and Sovaldi. The drug maker said approximately $3.84 billion of its fourth quarter sales were of those two drugs alone.

Analysts had been concerned about the success of the drugs because of rising competition in the hepatitis C treatment space. They had been projecting sales of $1.5 billion for Harvoni and $2.04 billion for Solvadi, according to MarketWatch‘s Tess Stynes, who cites a note from analyst Mark Schoenebaum of Evercore ISI.

Other product sales amounted to $496 million in the fourth quarter, compared to last year’s $402 million. For the full year, other product sales were $1.7 billion, compared to 2013’s $1.5 billion.

Gilead Sciences provides guidance

For the full 2015 fiscal year, Gilead Sciences projects net product sales of between $26 billion and $27 billion. The drug maker expects a product gross margin of between 87% and 90% and diluted earnings impacts from acquisitions, restructuring and other items of between 82 cents and 87 cents per share.

The company expects to spend between $3 billion and $3.3 billion on research and development during the year.

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