BIG PHARMA EARNINGS WATCH: NOVARTIS & GSK

Oct 30, 2026

Big Pharma Giants Beat Wall Street Expectations Following Price Hikes, Novartis Bemoans Biosimilar Competition Exerting Pressure on High-Priced Brand Name Blockbuster

This week, pharmaceutical companies Novartis and GSK reported third quarter earnings that beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations, following price hikes on more than 90 prescription drugs across both companies’ portfolios so far this year.

On Novartis’ earnings call, in response to a question from an analyst about erosion of sales on the company’s blockbuster asthma medicine Xolair, Novartis’ chief financial officer outlined how biosimilar competition works to push down prices, and therefore sales figures for high-priced brand name blockbusters:

Richard Culpeper, Analyst, J.P. Morgan: [I] just wanted to go back to the Xolair erosion. I think your partner was suggesting that Xolair might not go down next year. So just wanted some clarification or clarity on the profit share agreement and how you are thinking about that going into 2027?

Mukul Verma, Chief Financial Officer, Novartis: I think we can work with the assumptions that we have right now in the market. We know that there is a biosimilar right now in the market. There is potential for further biosimilars to come. I think as we go into the next couple of years, as there will be more biosimilar activity, Xolair sales will go down. […]I think we would have to see how this pans out in terms of biosimilar activity. But what is very clear is that we would see pressure on the margin in the next couple of years as a result of Xolair biosimilars in the U.S.

Get a full recap of Novartis and GSK’s strong third quarter earnings, fueled by blocking competition and hiking prices, below:

Novartis

Novartis reported third quarter earnings that beat analysts’ expectations.
The company’s quarterly sales rose four percent to $14.52 billion, led by strong performance from breast cancer drug Kisqali and multiple sclerosis treatment Kesimpta.
The company’s anti-inflammatory treatment Cosentyx generated $1.9 billion in third quarter sales, up nine percent from the same period last year.

GSK

GSK reported third quarter earnings that surpassed Wall Street analysts’ expectations.
The company generated $11.83 billion in revenue during the third quarter, four percent higher than the same quarter last year.
GSK’s Specialty Medicines division saw sales increase to $5.2 billion, with HIV sales rising to $2.8 billion and respiratory, immunology and inflammation treatments generating $1.46 billion.
Sales of specialty medicines for HIV, ‌respiratory conditions ⁠and cancer jumped 15 percent in the third quarter, including a 35 percent increase in sales of HIV treatment Cabenuva.

These companies’ better-than-expected third quarter earnings come as they continue to hike prices across their prescription drug portfolios.

Novartis

So far in 2026, Novartis hiked the price of 61 prescription drugs, including an eight percent increase on multiple sclerosis treatment Kesimpta.
In 2025, Novartis increased prices on 63 prescription drugs, including heart treatment Entresto by 2.5 percent and multiple sclerosis treatment Kesimpta by seven percent.
Novartis increased prices on 67 prescription drugs in its portfolio in 2024, including arthritis treatment Cosentyx by four percent and heart treatment Entresto by three percent.
In 2023, Novartis hiked prices on more than 71 prescription drugs in its portfolio, including heart treament Entresto by five percent and multiple sclerosis Kesimpta by seven percent.

GSK

GSK has hiked the price of 35 prescription drugs by an average of three percent so far in 2026.
In 2025, GSK raised prices on 36 drugs, including an 8.9 percent increase on its shingles vaccine Shingrix.
In 2024, GSK hiked prices on more than 29 prescription drugs, including its blockbuster shingles vaccine Shingrix by 7.9 percent and asthma treatment Trelegy by three percent.
In 2023, GSK hiked prices on more than 39 drugs, and in 2022, it increased prices on more than 40 drugs.

Stay tuned as we continue to monitor third quarter earnings calls from brand name drug companies in the coming weeks.

Read more on third quarter earnings from Roche HERE.

Read more on third quarter earnings from Johnson & Johnson HERE.

Learn more about solutions to lower prescription drug prices and hold Big Pharma accountable HERE.