Gilead's $1.01B Volume in Top 500 as High-Traffic Strategy Outperforms S&P 500 by 137.53%

On August 7, 2025, Gilead Sciences (GILD) closed flat at $113.88, with a trading volume of $1.01 billion. The biopharmaceutical giant reported Q2 2025 results, posting $7.08 billion in revenue, a 1.8% year-on-year increase and exceeding analyst estimates by 1.1%. Non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) came in at $2.01, surpassing expectations by 2.7%. Despite the strong top-line performance, the company’s full-year revenue guidance of $28.5 billion (midpoint) fell 0.8% below analyst forecasts, while adjusted EPS guidance was raised to $8.10 (midpoint), reflecting a 2.5% increase. Operating margin dipped to 34.9% from 38% in the prior-year period, and free cash flow margin declined to 10.2% from 17.2%.

The results highlight resilience in core HIV drug sales, driven by products like Biktarvy and Descovy, but also underscore margin pressures. While Gilead’s five-year EPS growth of 7.1% aligns with revenue trends, recent performance shows a slowdown in annualized revenue growth to 2.7% over the past two years. Analysts project modest 2.3% revenue growth for the next 12 months, emphasizing the need for innovation to boost top-line momentum. The stock’s muted post-earnings reaction contrasts with its long-term outperformance against the S&P 500, which has gained 53.83% over three years compared to the index’s 52.95%.

The strategy of purchasing the top 500 stocks by daily trading volume and holding for one day returned 166.71% from 2022 to the present, outperforming the benchmark by 137.53%. This underscores liquidity concentration’s role in short-term gains, particularly in volatile markets, where high-volume stocks capitalize on investor behavior and macroeconomic shifts. However, such strategies carry risks, and investors must balance potential rewards with market conditions and personal risk tolerance.