Gilead shrugs off falling HCV drug sales in first quarter

Boosted by a strong sales result from its HIV treatments and from novel cancer med Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel), California’s Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD) beat analysts’ expectations to take in $5.3 billionsales in the first quarter of 2019.

Net income was $2 billion, which equates to an earnings per share (EPS) figure of $1.54. In the comparable period last year, the company took in $1.5 billion, or $1.17 per share.

The bulk of Gilead's revenues are from its domestic market, with sales in the first quarter topping $3.8 billion in the USA, compared with $882 million in Europe and $522 million in the rest of the world.