GSK vs. SNY: Which Europe-Based Pharma Stock Has More Potential?

Kinjel Shah September 29, 2026

REGN SNY GSK

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Key Takeaways

GSK's Specialty Medicines sales rose 14% in the first half of 2026, driven by growth across key therapy areas.
Sanofi's Dupixent sales surged 28.6% to 9.3 billion, while new and acquired drugs gained momentum.
Sanofi offers a lower forward P/E, a higher dividend yield and rising earnings estimates despite headwinds.

GSK (GSK - Free Report) and Sanofi (SNY - Free Report) are two major European drugmakers with diversified portfolios spanning vaccines, specialty medicines and other pharmaceutical products. GSK has a strong presence in specialty medicines, vaccines and general medicines, with key franchises across HIV, respiratory, immunology and inflammation, oncology and infectious diseases

Sanofi, in contrast, has a strong presence in immunology, vaccines and rare diseases, with Regeneron (REGN - Free Report) -partnered immunology drug, Dupixent, serving as its largest growth driver.

GSK is headquartered in London, U.K., while Sanofi is headquartered in Paris, France,

Both companies have extensive R&D pipelines, offering multiple opportunities to replenish their portfolios and support future growth. However, their growth drivers, financial profiles and risk factors differ. A closer look at their fundamentals, pipeline prospects, valuations and key challenges can help investors assess which stock currently offers the more attractive opportunity.

The Case for GSK Stock

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, Respiratory, Immunology & Inflammation (RI&I), as well as Oncology. Sales of the Specialty Medicines unit rose 14% at CER in the first half of 2026, driven by double-digit growth in all therapy areas — HIV, RI&I and Oncology.

In 2026, the company expects sales in the Specialty Medicines segment to rise by 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 recent launches and approvals are broadening its growth base, with Blenrep, Exdensur, Ojjaara, Apretude and Penmenvy among the key newer products. In 2026, approvals for Jideytro, Utebzi and Lynavoy added further growth opportunities.

GSK is increasing R&D investment in promising new long-acting and specialty medicines in RI&I, Oncology and HIV areas. The company claims it has more than doubled the number of phase II and phase III assets with blockbuster potential since 2022. GSK has significantly increased the number of phase III starts in 2026.

In 2025, GSK strengthened its pipeline, particularly in RI&I and oncology, through 10 M&A deals. The positive trend of M&A deals continued in 2026 with acquisitions like 35Pharma and Nuvalent.

Supported by its new product launches and robust pipeline progress, GSK expects sales to be more than £40 billion by 2031.

However, GSK faces its share of headwinds. 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. The company also faces continued declines in General Medicines segment. Pipeline setbacks also raise concerns, such as the recent discontinuation of camlipixant.

The Case for Sanofi Stock

Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent is approved in several countries in one or more indications, covering nine distinct diseases, driven partly by type II inflammation. Dupixent generated sales of €9.3 billion in the first half of 2026, up 28.6% year over year. Dupixent’s strong sales growth is being driven by demand across all geographies, newly approved indications and demographics. Sanofi expects Dupixent to achieve around €25 billion in sales in 2030. However, Sanofi expects Dupixent’s volume growth to moderate in the second half of 2026 as recent launches annualize and year-over-year comparisons become more challenging.

Sanofi is also seeing a good uptake of its new medicines like novel recombinant factor VIII therapy, Altuviiio and cancer drugs, Ayvakit and Sarclisa. Sales of its new and acquired drugs rose 48.3% to €1.3 billion in the quarter, led by Altuviiio, Ayvakit and Sarclisa. Sanofi expects its new and acquired products to generate approximately €10 billion in sales by 2030.

Sanofi has increased R&D investments and is achieving significant progress with its pipeline. It has also been active on the business development and M&A front.

However, Sanofi’s vaccine business is facing a weaker second half of 2026, mainly because of a tough comparison with unusually strong influenza vaccine sales in 2025. While newer products such as Beyfortus and Heplisav-B continue to perform well, Sanofi expects overall vaccine sales to decline slightly in 2026, with the weakness concentrated in the second half. In July, Sanofi also lowered its long-term vaccine sales expectations to around €9 billion by 2030 from prior expectations of €10 billion due to currency headwinds and unfavorable market dynamics.

Sanofi faces other headwinds like heavy reliance on one blockbuster drug, Dupixent and regulatory and pricing pressure. Importantly, Sanofi has discontinued or deprioritized several pipeline programs recently. Among some recent setbacks, Sanofi discontinued the development of amlitelimab in atopic dermatitis in July 2026 and also discontinued itepekimab and balinatunfib programs.

How Do Estimates Compare for GSK & SNY?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GSK’s 2026 sales and EPS implies a year-over-year increase of 5.4% and 6.0%, respectively. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings has declined from $4.89 per share to $4.81 per share, while that for 2027 has declined from $5.12 per share to $5.04 per share over the past 60 days.