Are Gilead Earnings Enough for Investors?

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By Chris Lange Updated Published

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Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) reported its third-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Tuesday. The company had $3.22 in earnings per share (EPS) on $8.3 billion in revenue, which compares to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of $2.87 in EPS on $7.82 billion in revenue. The same period from the previous year had $1.84 in EPS on $6.04 billion in revenue.

Perhaps the number that most investors were watching in this report was the worldwide hepatitis C vaccine sales of $4.798 billion versus analysts’ estimates of $4.5 billion.

Product sales in the U.S. totaled $5.6 billion compared to $4.2 billion last year. In Europe, product sales rang in at $1.7 billion compared to $1.4 billion for the same period in 2014. Sales in other international locations increased to $1.0 billion compared to $327 million primarily as a result of the launch of HCV products in Japan.

On the books, Gilead had $25.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities compared to $14.7 billion as of June 30, 2015. This increase was primarily driven by the issuance of senior unsecured notes in September 2015 for a total aggregate principal amount of $10.0 billion. During the third quarter, the company generated $4.1 billion in operating cash flow, utilized $3.1 billion to repurchase 28 million shares and paid a cash dividend of $0.43 per share, totaling $627 million.

Separately, the company announced that the board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.43 per share of common stock for the fourth quarter. The dividend will be payable on December 30, to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 16.

Shares of Gilead closed Tuesday up 2.1% at $110.96, with a consensus analyst price target of $124.25 and a 52-week trading range of $85.95 to $123.37. Following the release of the earnings report, shares were initially down 1.5% at $10.25 in the after-hours trading session.

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Photo of Chris Lange
About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

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