Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY Quick QuoteBMY - Free Report) and Gilead Sciences (GILD Quick QuoteGILD - Free Report) are two leading biotech players with diversified portfolios and a strong global presence.

Bristol Myers has built a robust lineup spanning oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular, neuroscience and other therapeutic areas.

In contrast, Gilead Sciences is best known for its leadership in HIV treatment, while also maintaining a broad portfolio across liver diseases, hematology/oncology and inflammation/respiratory conditions.

Both companies hold dominant positions in their core markets and boast a strong track record of delivering shareholder returns, making the choice between the two stocks far from straightforward. A closer look at their fundamentals, growth outlook, risks and valuation can help investors make a more informed decision.

The Case for BMY

Bristol Myers Squibb’s growth portfolio remains the cornerstone of its revenue trajectory, led by key therapies such as Opdivo, Opdivo Qvantig, Orencia, Yervoy, Reblozyl, Camzyos, Breyanzi, Opdualag, Zeposia, Abecma, Sotyktu, Krazati and Cobenfy.

This franchise accounted for roughly 55% of total revenues in 2025, highlighting its critical role in driving the company’s expansion.

Performance is largely fueled by the immuno-oncology (IO) franchise, supported by strong momentum from newer products like Camzyos, Breyanzi and Reblozyl. Opdivo continues to be the top revenue generator, aided by ongoing label expansions and sustained market share gains in first-line non-small cell lung cancer.

The rollout of Opdivo Qvantig, a subcutaneous version, is further strengthening the IO platform, with encouraging early adoption in the United States. Opdualag is delivering solid growth and has emerged as a standard-of-care option in first-line melanoma.

Reblozyl, partnered with Merck, has exceeded $2 billion in annualized sales, driven by robust uptake in both first- and second-line MDS-related anemia. Breyanzi has also surpassed a $1 billion run rate, benefiting from strong demand in large B-cell lymphoma and additional label expansions, with further upside expected in 2026.

Camzyos continues to see healthy demand in its cardiovascular indication, while Cobenfy has posted a promising launch, generating $155 million in 2025 as access broadens across care settings. As the first novel pharmacological approach to schizophrenia in decades, Cobenfy could become a meaningful long-term growth driver, especially with future label expansion opportunities.

Despite these gains, legacy products, accounting for about 45% of revenues, face mounting generic competition, which is expected to weigh on near-term top-line growth.

To offset this pressure, Bristol Myers is actively pursuing acquisitions and collaborations to strengthen its portfolio. The acquisition of Orbital Therapeutics adds OTX-201, a preclinical RNA CAR-T candidate targeting autoimmune diseases, along with a broader RNA platform.

In 2025, the company also partnered with BioNTech to co-develop pumitamig (BNT327), a bispecific antibody targeting PD-L1 and VEGF-A for solid tumors, with early phase II data in triple-negative breast cancer showing encouraging efficacy and manageable safety.

Bristol Myers is focusing on cost optimization to support margins. However, its aggressive deal-making strategy has significantly increased leverage. As of Dec. 31, 2025, the company reported a debt-to-capital ratio of 70.9%, with $10.2 billion in cash and equivalents versus $42.8 billion in long-term debt, highlighting a key financial risk alongside its growth ambitions.

The Case for GILD

Gilead has a market-leading HIV franchise, led by flagship HIV therapies — Biktarvy for treatment and Descovy for prevention.

HIV product sales were up 6% in 2025, driven by 7% growth in Biktarvy and a 47% surge in its prevention portfolio. This performance was delivered despite an estimated $900 million headwind from the Medicare Part D redesign. Excluding this impact, HIV sales grew 10%.

Biktarvy continues to be a dominant player in the HIV treatment market, holding more than 52% market share and retaining its position as the most prescribed therapy for both treatment-naïve and switch patients across major markets.

Descovy’s performance was robust with sales increasing 31% year over year to $2.8 billion, primarily driven by higher demand and average realized price.

Descovy accounts for more than 45% of the U.S. market share in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), reinforcing Gilead’s leadership in prevention.

The FDA approval of injectable lenacapavir, a first-in-class capsid inhibitor (under the brand name Yeztugo), solidifies GILD’s HIV portfolio. With a twice-yearly dosing schedule, the therapy offers meaningful adherence advantages over daily oral regimens and targets a broad patient population.

Management projects Yeztugo revenues of approximately $800 million in 2026, positioning it as a key incremental growth driver.

Looking forward, Gilead expects total HIV sales, including both treatment and prevention, to grow approximately 6% year over year.

The company is advancing multiple long-acting integrase inhibitor programs and prioritizing GS-3242 (in combination with lenacapavir) as a potential twice-yearly treatment. Approval of additional treatments should strengthen its dominant HIV franchise.

The Liver Disease portfolio includes treatments for HCV, chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and chronic hepatitis delta virus (HDV). The FDA approval of seladelpar, under the brand name Livdelzi, for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis has strengthened the liver disease portfolio.

Livdelzi’s momentum was supported by strong commercial execution and several new launches outside the country. According to GILD, Livdelzi is now the market leader in second-line PBC in the United States.

Gilead’s oncology portfolio, comprising the Cell Therapy franchise and breast cancer drug Trodelvy, has diversified its overall business. The breast cancer drug Trodelvy has performed well since its approval.  GILD has multiple ongoing studies looking to expand Trodelvy’s label further.

The Cell Therapy franchise, comprising Yescarta and Tecartus, is currently under pressure due to competitive headwinds in the United States and Europe that are expected to continue.

As of Dec. 31, 2025, Gilead’s total debt-to-total-capital ratio was 0.52, which compares unfavorably with 0.42 for its peer group. A higher ratio indicates higher financial risk and vice versa.

A Look at Estimates: BMY versus GILD

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BMY’s 2025 sales implies a year-over-year decrease of 2.40%, while that for earnings per share (EPS) suggests a year-over-year increase of 2.11%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 EPS has moved north to $6.28 from $6.19 in the past 60 days, while that for 2027 has inched up to $6.08 from $5.98 in the same time frame.

BMY’s Estimate Movement

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GILD’s 2025 sales implies a year-over-year increase of 2.39%, while that for EPS suggests a year-over-year improvement of 5.89%.  EPS estimates for both 2026 and 2027 have moved south in the past 30 days. 

GILD Estimate Movement

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Price Performance and Valuation of BMY and GILD

From a price-performance perspective, GILD has fetched better returns than BMY so far in the year. Shares of GILD have gained 10.7%, while those of BMY have lost 9.6%. The industry has gained 3.5% in the said period.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, as the biotech industry has very few players with approved drugs, we use the P/E ratio of the large-cap pharma industry to compare these companies. Going by the same, GILD is more expensive than BMY. GILD’s shares currently trade at 15.21X forward earnings, higher than 9.51X for BMY.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

GILD and BMY’s attractive dividend yield is a strong positive for investors. However, GILD’s dividend yield of 3.28% is higher than BMY’s 2.52%.

Which Stock Is a Better Pick for Now?

Since both GILD and BMY currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), choosing one stock over the other is a complex affair. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Gilead’s efforts to constantly innovate its HIV portfolio should enable it to maintain growth. Approval of better HIV treatments should strengthen the HIV franchise.

BMY’s efforts to revive the top line in the face of generic challenges for key drugs are commendable. The company’s growth portfolio is performing impressively as well.

From a financial and market perspective, GILD has outperformed BMY in share price year to date and offers a higher dividend yield. It trades at a premium valuation. BMY, despite recent stock underperformance, appears more attractively valued and has seen positive upward revisions in earnings estimates.

Hence, BMY stands out as the more compelling pick at present due to its cheaper valuation, diversified growth portfolio and improving earnings visibility, even as it navigates near-term generic headwinds.