GSK's Q4 Earnings & Sales Beat Estimates, Stock Up on '26 Outlook

GSK plc GSK reported fourth-quarter 2025 core earnings of 68 cents per American depositary share (ADS), which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 64 cents. Core earnings increased 10% year over year on a reported basis and 14% at a constant exchange rate (CER), driven by higher turnover, favorable product mix and higher royalty income during the quarter.

Quarterly revenues rose 6% on a reported basis and 8% at CER to $11.46 billion (£8.62 billion). This upside was attributed to the rising sales of its HIV, oncology and respiratory medicines. The top line also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.19 billion.

All growth rates mentioned below are on a year-over-year basis and at CER.

GSK’s Segmental Discussion

GSK reports under three segments — General Medicines, Specialty Medicines and Vaccines. While sales in the Specialty Medicines increased 18%, the Vaccine segment rose 4%. Sales in the General Medicines segment fell 1%.

GSK’s Specialty Medicines Drive Top Line

HIV sales rose 11% during the quarter, driven by an increase in patient demand for Dovato and long-acting medications like Apretude and Cabenuva. Sales in the quarter also benefited from favorable pricing due to channel mix, which offset the impact of the IRA Medicare Part D redesign.

GSK generates the majority of its HIV sales from its dolutegravir franchise, comprising two-drug regimens — Dovato and J&J JNJ-partnered with Juluca, and three-drug regimens — Triumeq and Tivicay.

Dovato sales rose 21%, while those of the J&J-partnered Juluca declined 1%.

Tivicay sales rose 2% during the quarter, while those of Triumeq fell 21%.

Sales of Apretude and Cabenuva rose 60% and 35%, respectively. These two long-acting medicines currently account for more than a quarter of HIV sales.

Oncology sales rose 42%, driven by strong demand for Jemperli and Ojjaara/Omjjara.

Jemperli sales rose 79% during the quarter, driven by increased patient uptake across the United States and Europe following the drug’s label expansion to treat all adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer.

Sales of the blood cancer drug Ojjaara/Omjjara rose 37%, primarily driven by continued uptake in the United States. Contributions in ex-U.S. markets are also increasing following recent launches in France, Spain, Italy, Australia and Canada.

Zejula sales fell 3% in the quarter due to increased competition across ex-U.S. territories.

Sales of the respiratory drug Nucala were up 19% during the quarter, mainly driven by strong performance across all markets, especially the United States, where the drug recently received label expansion in the COPD indication. This upside was partially offset by continued pricing pressures in the United States due to the IRA Medicare Part D redesign.

Sales of the immuno-inflammation drug Benlysta were up 26% in the quarter, reflecting strong product demand across all marketed territories.

GSK’s Vaccine Sales Rise

This growth was mainly driven by increased uptake of meningitis, RSV and shingles vaccines in ex-U.S. markets.

Sales of the company’s shingles vaccine, Shingrix, rose 20% during the quarter, driven by rising sales in ex-U.S. markets. This was partially offset by lower sales in the United States.

In Meningitis vaccines, sales of Bexsero rose 9%, while Menveo sales were up 8%. Sales of the RSV vaccine, Arexvy, rose 25% during the quarter, driven by uptake in ex-U.S. markets.

Sales of Established vaccines declined 13%, owing to the impact of divested brands, as well as lower sales for Rotarix and Synflorix vaccines.

GSK’s General Medicines Relatively Stable

GSK reported encouraging sales performance of its asthma inhaler, Trelegy Ellipta, which rose 14% during the quarter. This sales growth was mainly attributed to strong volume growth across all marketed regions, which more than offset the continued pricing pressures in the United States due to the IRA Medicare Part D redesign.

While Anoro Ellipta sales fell 10%, sales of Relvar/Breo Ellipta declined 16%. Ventolin sales rose 18%.

While Advair/Seretide sales declined 4%, sales of Flixotide/Flovent fell 19%.

Operating Expenses

Core selling, general and administration costs rose 2% to £2.68 billion, reflecting GSK’s continued disciplined investments to support new product launches.

Core research and development expenses rose 18% to £2.12 billion. This uptick highlights the company’s continued investment in pipeline advancement.

GSK’s Encouraging 2026 Guidance

GSK issued fresh guidance for the full year. It expects sales to increase 3-5% during the year.

The company expects sales of specialty medicines to increase by a low double-digit percentage at CER in 2026. However, management forecasts sales across the General Medicines and Vaccines franchises to either decline by a low single-digit percentage or remain broadly stable.

GSK expects both core operating profit and core EPS to grow in the range of 7-9%.

R&D is expected to increase at a rate slightly higher than sales growth, while SG&A is expected to grow at a low single-digit percentage. The adjusted tax rate is expected to be around 17.5%.

Our Take on GSK’s Results

GSK reported better-than-expected Q4 results, driven by strong demand for its Specialty Medicines products. This growth was further supported by growth in the Vaccine franchise, which helped more than offset the soft sales performance of the General Medicines segment. Although U.S. sales were partly impacted by pricing pressures from the Medicare Part D redesign and softer demand for the Arexvy and Shingrix vaccines, they were more than offset by increased demand for many products, including Dovato, Cabenuva, Apretude, Jemperli, Nucala and Trelegy.

Driven by the encouraging demand for its marketed drugs, GSK issued an encouraging outlook for the full year 2026. Alongside the results, GSK reiterated its outlook for 2031, expecting to generate sales of more than £40 billion. Shares of GSK were trading higher in pre-market today, likely attributed to these factors.

The stock has surged 53% year to date compared with the industry’s 6% growth.

To support its long-term targets, GSK has prioritized its focus on immunology/respiratory and oncology therapeutic areas. Overall, the company has a total of 58 assets in clinical development, including 17 candidates that are either in late-stage development or under regulatory review.

This year, GSK expects two major product approvals — Ionis Pharmaceuticals IONS-partnered bepirovirsen (for chronic hepatitis B) and Spero Therapeutics SPRO-partnered tebipenem (for complicated urinary tract infections). It also intends to start 10 pivotal studies, including two antibody drug conjugates — B7-H3 (ris-rez) and B7-H4 (mo-rez) — across multiple cancer indications.

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GSK’s Zacks Rank

GSK currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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