Investing.com -- Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD) has reported third-quarter results that beat analyst estimates, driven in part by strong sales of its cancer drug and a fall in taxes.
The California-based company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) excluding items of $2.29 on revenue of $7.10 billion, topping estimates of $1.91 on revenue of $6.81B.
The beat on the top and bottom line was driven by oncology sales of $769M, up 33% year-over-year in the three months ended on Sept. 30.
Sales of Gilead's HIV treatment Biktarvy also jumped by 12% to $3.1B, meeting estimates. Meanwhile, sales of its COVID drug Veklury slipped by just under a third to $636M, but still beat forecasts.
“Our clinical momentum [...] remains strong," Chief Executive Officer Daniel O'Day said in a statement.
The group noted that its effective quarterly tax rate dropped to 6.3%, down from 26.6% in the corresponding timeframe last year, due to an agreement with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service over its previous tax years.
"We think Gilead's third-quarter was a low quality beat as top-line beat was driven by Veklury while bottom-line was helped by one-time tax benefit. While Gilead has catalysts in 2024, we do not see them meaningful enough to get excited here," analysts at Wells Fargo said in a note.
For the full year, the company now expects adjusted EPS of between $6.65 and $6.85, compared with $6.45 to $6.80 previously, while total product sales were seen at $26.7B to $26.9B, up from its prior guidance of $26.3B to $26.7B.
Shares in Gilead were slightly lower in premarket U.S. trading on Wednesday.
Yasin Ebrahim contributed to this report.