GSK Q3: Core EPS +1% CER, Guidance Reaffirmed, New £2.4bn Accelerate Growth Restructuring
GSK is trading near its 52-week low of $42.885 (14% above the low).
Summary
GSK reaffirmed 2026 guidance as Q3 Specialty Medicines grew 15% CER and Core EPS rose 1% CER, while £328m of new Accelerate Growth restructuring charges pushed Total EPS down 21% CER.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · GSK
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Q3 Sales £8.9bn, Specialty Up 15%
Turnover rose 4% AER / 5% CER to £8,887m, led by Specialty Medicines at £3,877m (+15% CER) with HIV £2,116m (+10%), RI&I £1,139m (+21%) and Oncology £622m (+23%). Vaccines fell 2% CER to £2,583m as Arexvy dropped 24% and Shingrix 5%.
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Core EPS +1% CER, Total EPS -21%
Core operating profit rose 5% CER to £3,076m and Core EPS to 54.6p (+1% CER). Total operating profit fell 16% CER to £2,127m and Total EPS to 38.5p (-21% CER) on £328m of Accelerate Growth restructuring charges and lower other operating income.
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New £2.4bn Accelerate Growth Programme
A three-year programme targeting £1.9bn of annual savings fully realised by 2029, for expected total costs of £2.4bn of which £2.1bn is cash. Savings are primarily reinvested in R&D, with a portion supporting margin through the dolutegravir loss of exclusivity in 2028-2030.
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2026 Guidance Reaffirmed at CER
Turnover +3-5% (upper half), Core operating profit +7-9% (upper half), Core EPS +7-9% (lower half), the latter reflecting interest charges of around £700-750m including Nuvalent and a tax rate rising to around 17.5%.
Analysis · GSK · Life Sciences
The split personality of GSK's current story is on full display in Q3: Specialty Medicines grew 15% CER to £3.9bn on HIV, immunology and oncology, but Vaccines fell 2% CER as Arexvy dropped 24% and Shingrix slipped 5%. Total operating profit fell 16% CER and Total EPS 21% CER because of £328m of Accelerate Growth restructuring charges, while Core operating profit rose 5% CER and Core EPS only 1% CER — the gap between the two lines is the cost of the new three-year programme targeting £1.9bn of annual savings by 2029 against £2.4bn of total cost. Full-year 2026 guidance was reaffirmed (turnover +3-5%, Core OP +7-9%, Core EPS +7-9% at CER), with Core EPS at the lower half of the range on higher interest costs from the Nuvalent deal and a 17.5% tax rate. Cash is the bright spot: £2.1bn free cash flow in the quarter and £4.9bn year to date, though net debt has climbed to £20.7bn from £14.5bn at year-end after roughly £9.2bn of net acquisition spend.
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At the time of this filing, GSK was trading at $49.08 on NYSE in the Life Sciences sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $102.5B. The 52-week trading range was $42.89 to $61.70. This filing was assessed with neutral market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10.