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GSK Stock Declines 9% in a Month: Time to Buy, Hold or Exit?
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Key Takeaways
GSK stock fell 8.8% after Q1 results despite earnings and sales beating estimates.
GSK's Specialty Medicines sales rose 14%, led by HIV, oncology and respiratory drugs.
GSK expects Specialty Medicines to exceed 50% of total revenues by 2031.
GSK (GSK - Free Report) shares have lost 8.8% in a month, mainly because investors were disappointed with the company maintaining guidance instead of raising it despite reporting strong first-quarter 2026 results. GSK beat estimates for both earnings and sales. The decline in sales of the General Medicines segment due to legacy drug sales declines probably made investors more cautious about the company’s long-term growth outlook. Despite the recent weakness, GSK still has strong fundamentals.
The recent pullback in GSK shares following its first-quarter results may leave investors wondering whether to exit the stock, hold their positions, or use the dip as an opportunity to accumulate more shares.
Let's discuss GSK’s strengths and weaknesses in detail to better understand how to play the stock in such a scenario.
GSK Specialty Medicines Unit Driving Top-Line Growth
GSK is witnessing increased sales growth of its Specialty Medicines unit, particularly reflecting successful new launches in Oncology and long-acting HIV medicines. Sales are rising in all areas, HIV, Immunology/Respiratory, as well as Oncology. Sales of the Specialty Medicines unit rose 14% at CER in the first quarter of 2026, driven by double-digit growth in all therapy areas — HIV, Respiratory, Immunology & Inflammation (RI&I) and Oncology.
In the segment, while products like Nucala and Dovato are key top-line drivers, new long-acting HIV medicines, Cabenuva and Apretude, as well as new oncology drugs Jemperli and Ojjaara, are also witnessing strong patient demand and contributing to top-line growth.
GSK’s long-acting injectable medicines (Cabenuva, Apretude) are seeing strong demand trends. Around 25-30% of GSK’s total HIV sales come from new long-acting injectables for treatment and prevention.
In 2026, the company expects sales in the Specialty Medicines segment to rise in a low double-digit percentage at CER. Specialty Medicines, which now accounts for more than 40% of GSK’s sales, is expected to be more than 50% of GSK’s total revenues by 2031.
GSK’s New Drugs & Promising Pipeline Key to Long-Term Growth
GSK is increasing R&D investment in promising new long-acting and specialty medicines in HIV, RI&I and Oncology areas.
Among some recent key drug approvals, Penmenvy, GSK’s pentavalent MenABCWY meningococcal vaccine, Blujepa/gepotidacin for two indications — uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) and uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhea — and Exdensur for severe asthma were approved in the United States in 2025. Exdensur was approved for both severe asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) in the EU, Japan and China in 2026, while it is under review in the United States for the CRSwNP indication. Blenrep combinations were approved for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma in the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom, Japan and some other countries in 2025. GSK expects Blenrep to be a key growth driver for the next 3-4 years. Its blockbuster drug Nucala was approved for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, its fifth indication, in 2025.
Regulatory applications seeking approval of bepirovirsen for chronic hepatitis B and tebipenem pivoxil for complicated UTIs are under review in the United States and some other countries. FDA decisions on these filings are expected in the next six months.
Some key pipeline candidates in late-stage development are efimosfermin for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis or MASH, velzatinib for second-line gastrointestinal stromal tumor and risvutatug rezetecan, aB7-H3 antibody drug conjugate for second-line extensive stage small cell lung cancer.
GSK is also developing innovative ultra-long-acting HIV regimens for treatment and prevention (also called PrEP), which can extend the dosing intervals of the injections. GSK expects to launch twice-yearly long-acting injectables for treatment and PrEP between 2028 and 2030. GSK is also conducting studies to evaluate the use of Blenrep combinations in early treatment lines through the DREAMM clinical program.
Four pivotal phase III readouts are expected this year, including Jemperli in rectal cancer, camlipixant in refractory chronic cough, Exdensur in eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis and its thrice yearly pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV.
In 2025, GSK also strengthened its pipeline, particularly in RI&I and oncology, through 10 M&A deals. In 2026 so far, it has acquired pipeline candidates, ozureprubart for food allergies from the RAPT Therapeutics acquisition, and HS235 for pulmonary hypertension from 35Pharma.
Supported by its new product launches and robust pipeline progress, GSK expects sales to be more than £40 billion by 2031.
GSK’s Vaccine Sales Slowing Down in the United States
GSK’s total vaccine sales declined 12% at CER in the United States in 2025 due to lower sales of the RSV vaccine, Arexvy and the shingles vaccine, Shingrix. While sales of Arexvy and Shingrix rose in Europe, their sales declined 39% and 17%, respectively, in the United States in 2025. Shingrix sales declined due to lower demand following a slowdown in immunization rates, due to hard-to-reach patients. Arexvy sales declined due to harder-to-activate consumers and lower market share following increased competitive pressure.
In 2026, Vaccine sales are expected to be broadly stable to down in the low single digits. Though Shingrix sales rose in the first quarter, GSK expects growth to become harder in Europe and Japan in the remaining quarters of 2026 due to tough comparison with strong sales from large vaccination programs launched last year. Arexvy sales continued to decline in the first quarter.
GSK’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimate Movement
GSK stock has risen 30.5% in the past year compared with the industry’s growthof 24.6%.
GSK Stock Outperforms Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
GSK stock is trading at an attractive valuation relative to the industry. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 10.24 on a forward 12-month basis, lower than 16.98 for the industry. The stock, however, trades above its 5-year mean of 9.93. The stock is much cheaper than several other large drugmakers like Eli Lilly (LLY - Free Report) , Novo Nordisk (NVO - Free Report) , AbbVie (ABBV - Free Report) , J&J, AstraZeneca and others.
GSK Stock Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has declined from $4.85 to $4.84 per share for 2026, while that for 2027 has risen from $5.12 to $5.13 per share over the past 30 days.
GSK’s Estimates
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Stay Invested in GSK Stock
GSK has its share of problems. Competitive pressure on HIV and respiratory drugs has risen. Patents protecting dolutegravir, which is the backbone of several of GSK’s leading HIV medicines, including Tivicay, Triumeq and Dovato, are expected to begin expiring in major markets around 2028-2029, opening the door for generic competition. Pricing and generic pressures are hurting sales of some older and established products, raising concerns that if newer drugs and pipeline fail to deliver, GSK may struggle to offset erosion from dolutegravir’s patent expiration.
However, the company still has several strengths. It is consistently growing its sales and profits, mainly driven by its fast-growing Specialty Medicines segment. The HIV business is seeing strong momentum while oncology continues to grow. Shingrix sales improved in the first quarter after its sales declined in the United States last year. Its pipeline depth is another key strength with several late-stage programs across vaccines, respiratory diseases, infectious diseases, oncology and immunology.
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Image: Bigstock
GSK Stock Declines 9% in a Month: Time to Buy, Hold or Exit?
Key Takeaways
GSK (GSK - Free Report) shares have lost 8.8% in a month, mainly because investors were disappointed with the company maintaining guidance instead of raising it despite reporting strong first-quarter 2026 results. GSK beat estimates for both earnings and sales. The decline in sales of the General Medicines segment due to legacy drug sales declines probably made investors more cautious about the company’s long-term growth outlook. Despite the recent weakness, GSK still has strong fundamentals.
The recent pullback in GSK shares following its first-quarter results may leave investors wondering whether to exit the stock, hold their positions, or use the dip as an opportunity to accumulate more shares.
Let's discuss GSK’s strengths and weaknesses in detail to better understand how to play the stock in such a scenario.
GSK Specialty Medicines Unit Driving Top-Line Growth
GSK is witnessing increased sales growth of its Specialty Medicines unit, particularly reflecting successful new launches in Oncology and long-acting HIV medicines. Sales are rising in all areas, HIV, Immunology/Respiratory, as well as Oncology. Sales of the Specialty Medicines unit rose 14% at CER in the first quarter of 2026, driven by double-digit growth in all therapy areas — HIV, Respiratory, Immunology & Inflammation (RI&I) and Oncology.
In the segment, while products like Nucala and Dovato are key top-line drivers, new long-acting HIV medicines, Cabenuva and Apretude, as well as new oncology drugs Jemperli and Ojjaara, are also witnessing strong patient demand and contributing to top-line growth.
GSK’s long-acting injectable medicines (Cabenuva, Apretude) are seeing strong demand trends. Around 25-30% of GSK’s total HIV sales come from new long-acting injectables for treatment and prevention.
In 2026, the company expects sales in the Specialty Medicines segment to rise in a low double-digit percentage at CER. Specialty Medicines, which now accounts for more than 40% of GSK’s sales, is expected to be more than 50% of GSK’s total revenues by 2031.
GSK’s New Drugs & Promising Pipeline Key to Long-Term Growth
GSK is increasing R&D investment in promising new long-acting and specialty medicines in HIV, RI&I and Oncology areas.
Among some recent key drug approvals, Penmenvy, GSK’s pentavalent MenABCWY meningococcal vaccine, Blujepa/gepotidacin for two indications — uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) and uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhea — and Exdensur for severe asthma were approved in the United States in 2025. Exdensur was approved for both severe asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) in the EU, Japan and China in 2026, while it is under review in the United States for the CRSwNP indication. Blenrep combinations were approved for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma in the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom, Japan and some other countries in 2025. GSK expects Blenrep to be a key growth driver for the next 3-4 years. Its blockbuster drug Nucala was approved for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, its fifth indication, in 2025.
Regulatory applications seeking approval of bepirovirsen for chronic hepatitis B and tebipenem pivoxil for complicated UTIs are under review in the United States and some other countries. FDA decisions on these filings are expected in the next six months.
Some key pipeline candidates in late-stage development are efimosfermin for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis or MASH, velzatinib for second-line gastrointestinal stromal tumor and risvutatug rezetecan, aB7-H3 antibody drug conjugate for second-line extensive stage small cell lung cancer.
GSK is also developing innovative ultra-long-acting HIV regimens for treatment and prevention (also called PrEP), which can extend the dosing intervals of the injections. GSK expects to launch twice-yearly long-acting injectables for treatment and PrEP between 2028 and 2030. GSK is also conducting studies to evaluate the use of Blenrep combinations in early treatment lines through the DREAMM clinical program.
Four pivotal phase III readouts are expected this year, including Jemperli in rectal cancer, camlipixant in refractory chronic cough, Exdensur in eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis and its thrice yearly pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV.
In 2025, GSK also strengthened its pipeline, particularly in RI&I and oncology, through 10 M&A deals. In 2026 so far, it has acquired pipeline candidates, ozureprubart for food allergies from the RAPT Therapeutics acquisition, and HS235 for pulmonary hypertension from 35Pharma.
Supported by its new product launches and robust pipeline progress, GSK expects sales to be more than £40 billion by 2031.
GSK’s Vaccine Sales Slowing Down in the United States
GSK’s total vaccine sales declined 12% at CER in the United States in 2025 due to lower sales of the RSV vaccine, Arexvy and the shingles vaccine, Shingrix. While sales of Arexvy and Shingrix rose in Europe, their sales declined 39% and 17%, respectively, in the United States in 2025. Shingrix sales declined due to lower demand following a slowdown in immunization rates, due to hard-to-reach patients. Arexvy sales declined due to harder-to-activate consumers and lower market share following increased competitive pressure.
In 2026, Vaccine sales are expected to be broadly stable to down in the low single digits. Though Shingrix sales rose in the first quarter, GSK expects growth to become harder in Europe and Japan in the remaining quarters of 2026 due to tough comparison with strong sales from large vaccination programs launched last year. Arexvy sales continued to decline in the first quarter.
GSK’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimate Movement
GSK stock has risen 30.5% in the past year compared with the industry’s growthof 24.6%.
GSK Stock Outperforms Industry
GSK stock is trading at an attractive valuation relative to the industry. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 10.24 on a forward 12-month basis, lower than 16.98 for the industry. The stock, however, trades above its 5-year mean of 9.93. The stock is much cheaper than several other large drugmakers like Eli Lilly (LLY - Free Report) , Novo Nordisk (NVO - Free Report) , AbbVie (ABBV - Free Report) , J&J, AstraZeneca and others.
GSK Stock Valuation
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has declined from $4.85 to $4.84 per share for 2026, while that for 2027 has risen from $5.12 to $5.13 per share over the past 30 days.
GSK’s Estimates
Stay Invested in GSK Stock
GSK has its share of problems. Competitive pressure on HIV and respiratory drugs has risen. Patents protecting dolutegravir, which is the backbone of several of GSK’s leading HIV medicines, including Tivicay, Triumeq and Dovato, are expected to begin expiring in major markets around 2028-2029, opening the door for generic competition. Pricing and generic pressures are hurting sales of some older and established products, raising concerns that if newer drugs and pipeline fail to deliver, GSK may struggle to offset erosion from dolutegravir’s patent expiration.
However, the company still has several strengths. It is consistently growing its sales and profits, mainly driven by its fast-growing Specialty Medicines segment. The HIV business is seeing strong momentum while oncology continues to grow. Shingrix sales improved in the first quarter after its sales declined in the United States last year. Its pipeline depth is another key strength with several late-stage programs across vaccines, respiratory diseases, infectious diseases, oncology and immunology.
We suggest investors who own this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock stay invested for now, considering the potential for steady sales and profit improvement in the coming years. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.