Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

The data reveals several notable trends in the financial performance and structure over the observed periods.

Return on Assets (ROA)

ROA begins showing values from March 31, 2021, initially at 0.18%, gradually increasing to a peak of approximately 11.02% by December 31, 2020, then slightly declining afterward. From March 31, 2022, to December 31, 2023, the ROA maintains a moderate level between 5.33% and 9.42%, indicating stable profitability relative to assets during this timeframe. However, a sharp decline occurs starting March 31, 2024, dropping to values as low as 0.23% on September 30, 2024. Subsequently, a recovery trend is noted towards December 31, 2025, where ROA rises again to 11.33%. This pattern suggests periods of fluctuating efficiency in asset utilization with intermittent troughs and recoveries.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage shows a gradual upward trend early on, increasing from 2.71 in March 31, 2020, to a peak of 3.76 by December 31, 2020. Afterward, a general decline is observed, with the ratio falling to a low of around 2.72 by June 30, 2024. Financial leverage then fluctuates slightly but remains within a relatively narrow band between 2.83 and 3.23 for the remaining periods. This indicates a reduction and stabilization in the use of debt relative to equity after the peak leverage period, reflecting a possible strategic shift towards lower leverage and potentially reduced financial risk.

Return on Equity (ROE)

ROE data begins from March 31, 2021, starting at 0.68% and surging dramatically to a peak of 34.44% by December 31, 2020. Following this peak, ROE declines gradually reaching its lowest point around 15.82% by December 31, 2022. Thereafter, ROE increases again, reaching roughly 26.33% by December 31, 2023. Similar to ROA, ROE exhibits a pronounced dip starting March 31, 2024, falling to as low as 0.69% by September 30, 2024, before rebounding strongly to 32.08% by December 31, 2025. This pattern indicates a volatile but overall strong capacity to generate returns on equity with intermittent stress periods.

In summary, the data points to phases of strong profitability and efficient use of assets and equity, particularly around late 2020 and early 2021, followed by moderate declines. These fluctuations are accompanied by variations in financial leverage, with an initial increase, subsequent reduction, and stabilization. The observed sharp downturns around 2024 in both ROA and ROE point to a potential external or internal impact affecting profitability temporarily, after which recovery trends are evident. The company appears to manage its leverage prudently while navigating these profitability cycles.

Net Profit Margin

The net profit margin shows a general upward trend from early 2021, starting at 0.51% in March 2021 and rising to a peak of 27.21% by December 2021. Subsequently, it declined steadily through 2022, reaching a low of 12.44% in December 2022. From early 2023 to late 2023, margins improved again, peaking around 21.6% in December 2023. However, during 2024, profitability experienced significant volatility, dropping as low as 0.45% in September 2024 before rebounding to 20.87% by March 2025. Overall, the net profit margin exhibits cycles of strong growth followed by contraction, with fluctuations becoming more pronounced in recent quarters.

Asset Turnover

Asset turnover demonstrates a steady and gradual increase over the observed periods. Beginning at 0.36 in March 2021, it rose consistently to around 0.44 by December 2023. The upward trend continues through 2024 and into early 2025, reaching a peak of 0.52 by September 2024 and maintaining near this level subsequently. This pattern indicates improving efficiency in generating revenue from assets with modest growth through the entire period.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage displays moderate fluctuation with an overall slight downward tendency. Starting relatively high at 3.76 at the end of 2020, the ratio decreased toward 2.95 by early 2023. Though some fluctuations occurred afterward, the leverage ratio mostly stayed within the range of 2.7 to 3.2, with a mild drop to 2.83 by June 2025. The data suggests a gradual reduction in reliance on debt financing or equity, stabilizing around a lower leverage level.

Return on Equity (ROE)

ROE follows a similar pattern to net profit margin but with more noticeable amplitude. From a low of 0.68% in March 2021, ROE surged sharply, peaking at 34.44% by December 2021. This was followed by a decline reaching 15.82% at the end of 2022. Between 2023 and early 2024, ROE recovered strongly, fluctuating between approximately 21% and 26%. A marked decline occurred again in mid-2024 with ROE dropping below 1% in September 2024 before rising back to above 30% in early 2025. These swings indicate periods of strong profitability alternated with phases of much weaker returns on shareholder equity, reflecting volatility in operational performance or earnings quality.

The financial data reveals several notable trends across the analyzed periods.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio shows an initial increase starting from 0.07 and rising substantially in the following quarters, stabilizing around the mid- to high 0.70s range for most of the periods. However, there is a marked decline in mid-2024 with values dropping to the 0.40s and 0.60s before recovering toward the end of 2024 and into 2025, reaching up to 0.88. This fluctuation suggests variability in the company’s effective tax rate or tax expense management during these intervals.

Interest Burden

The interest burden exhibits improvement starting in early 2020 quarters, increasing from 0.63 to levels consistently above 0.80 through most of 2021 and 2022, indicating better management of interest expenses relative to earnings before interest and taxes. However, a sharp decline occurs in mid to late 2024, with values falling to as low as 0.16, suggesting a significant increase in interest costs or a change in financial structure during this period. It then recovers near the end of 2024 and into 2025.

EBIT Margin

EBIT margins show a strong upward trend from early 2020, rising from around 11% to peak at over 38% at the end of 2020. Following this peak, margins generally decline through 2022 and 2023, stabilizing around 25-30%, before a sharp drop in 2024 where margins fall below 10%, reaching as low as 4.16% in the third quarter. Toward the end of 2024 and early 2025, margins recover significantly back to approximately 27-29%. This pattern suggests considerable volatility in operating profitability, potentially due to fluctuations in revenue or operating costs.

Asset Turnover

Asset turnover gradually improves over the period, increasing from 0.36 in early 2020 to stabilize around 0.43 to 0.44 through 2021 and 2022. In 2024, it shows a noticeable increase, peaking at 0.52 during mid to late 2024 and maintaining this higher efficiency into 2025. This trend indicates enhanced utilization of assets to generate revenue over time.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage ratios start at 2.71 in early 2020, increasing to about 3.7 at the end of 2020, then trending downward gradually to approximately 2.8 by early 2023. Thereafter, some fluctuations occur but the ratio stays mostly in the range of 2.8 to 3.2 through 2024 and 2025. This suggests a moderate level of leverage consistent with stable financing policies, with a slight tendency toward reduced leverage over the period.

Return on Equity (ROE)

ROE follows a pattern similar to EBIT margin and interest burden, with low values initially around 0.68% in early 2020, then surging to a peak of over 34% in late 2020, followed by a general decline through 2021 to early 2023 with values between 15% and 26%. The year 2024 witnesses a sharp deterioration in ROE, dropping below 3% in some quarters, correlating with declines in profitability and interest burden. ROE then rebounds impressively late in 2024 and into 2025, surpassing 30%, indicating a recovery in profitability and shareholder value generation.

Overall, the data depicts a period marked by strong operational performance and profitability peaks around the end of 2020, followed by volatility and deterioration in profitability and interest burden during 2023 and 2024. Efficiency in asset usage improved steadily, while leverage remained relatively stable with a modest decline. Toward the end of the period, key profitability metrics demonstrated notable recovery, suggesting improved financial conditions going forward.

The analysis of the quarterly financial ratios reveals noteworthy fluctuations over the observed periods, highlighting shifts in profitability, efficiency, and asset returns.

Net Profit Margin (%)

The net profit margin shows an overall upward trend from the initial recorded value of 0.51% in March 2021, reaching a peak of 27.21% in December 2021. Following this peak, the margin experiences a gradual decline through 2022, dipping to 12.44% in December 2022. Subsequently, it recovers to intermediate values around 20% through 2023, suggesting a period of stabilization. However, there is a significant drop noted in the first three quarters of 2024, with margins falling below 4%, before rebounding sharply to over 20% by June 2025. This pattern indicates periods of volatility interspersed with recovery phases in profitability.

Asset Turnover (ratio)

The asset turnover ratio demonstrates a steady improvement over time. Starting at 0.36 in March 2021, it gradually increases, generally staying within the 0.40 to 0.44 range through 2022 and 2023, and further advancing to peak values around 0.52 during the latter quarters of 2024 and mid-2025. This consistent increase signals enhanced efficiency in using assets to generate revenue over the analyzed quarters.

Return on Assets (ROA) (%)

Return on assets reflects a similar pattern to net profit margin, beginning with low values near 0.18% in March 2021 and escalating to a high of 11.02% by December 2021. This is followed by a decline over 2022, stabilizing between approximately 5% and 9% in 2023. A pronounced dip occurs again in early 2024, with ROA falling as low as 0.23%, before recovering strongly to exceed 11% by mid-2025. The ROA variations underscore fluctuations in overall asset profitability, closely paralleling trends observed in net profit margin though generally at lower magnitudes.

In summary, the financial data reflects a period of volatile profitability and returns concentrated around late 2021, followed by a phase of recovery and stabilization. Asset utilization efficiency steadily improves throughout the timeline, contributing positively to the company’s capacity to generate income from its resources. The dips in early 2024 suggest temporary challenges, possibly indicating external or internal factors impacting margins and returns, but these are subsequently mitigated as financial performance rebounds by mid-2025.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio shows a marked increase from the earliest recorded quarter in 2020, rising from 0.07 to a range between 0.73 and 0.82 across most quarters of 2021 through early 2023. In mid-2024, there is a noticeable dip to values around 0.44 to 0.68, followed by a recovery to above 0.7 in late 2024 and into 2025, ending near 0.87 to 0.88. This pattern suggests fluctuations in tax expense relative to pre-tax income, with a general trend toward higher effective tax rates interspersed with periods of reduced tax burden.

Interest Burden

The interest burden ratio initially improves from 0.63 in early 2020 to values close to 0.9 through late 2021 and early 2023, indicating reduced interest expense relative to earnings before interest and taxes. However, a sharp decline occurs starting in mid-2023, reaching lows around 0.16 in late 2024, implying a significant increase in interest expense during this period. The ratio then recovers towards the end of 2024 and into 2025, returning near previous higher levels around 0.87 to 0.88. This volatility may reflect changes in debt structure or interest rates affecting interest expenses.

EBIT Margin

The EBIT margin exhibits substantial growth from 11.03% in early 2020 to a peak of 38.22% in December 2020. After this peak, the margin declines steadily to a range between 20.57% and 30.79% across 2021 and early 2023. A significant contraction occurs in 2024, dropping to a low near 4.16% by the third quarter, before rebounding sharply to around 27% to 29% in late 2024 and early 2025. This trend suggests initial operational improvements followed by mid-term pressures reducing profitability, with a recent recovery in operating efficiency.

Asset Turnover

The asset turnover ratio shows a gradual upward trend, rising from 0.36 in early 2020 to approximately 0.48 to 0.52 in the 2024–2025 period. This steady increase indicates enhanced efficiency in generating revenue from existing assets over time, with relatively stable performance and slight variations within the 0.4 to 0.5 range.

Return on Assets (ROA)

Return on assets increases sharply from 0.18% in early 2020 to a peak of 11.02% in the fourth quarter of 2020. Following this peak, ROA declines to more moderate levels around 5.33% to 9.42% through early 2023. The year 2024 sees a marked drop to as low as 0.23%, indicating significantly reduced profitability relative to assets. A recovery trend is observed towards the end of 2024 and early 2025, with ROA climbing back to around 10.57% and 11.33%. The fluctuations in ROA align with the patterns observed in EBIT margin, reflecting the combined effects of operational performance and asset utilization.

The analysis of the financial ratios over the reviewed periods reveals several notable trends and fluctuations.

Tax Burden Ratio

This ratio shows a marked increase starting from the first available data point at 0.07, rising sharply to around 0.75-0.82 during 2021 and early 2023, indicating a higher proportion of earnings retained after tax over this timeframe. However, there is significant variability in the later periods, with notable dips to 0.44 and 0.67 before increasing again towards 0.87-0.88 in the final reported quarters, suggesting some volatility in tax impact on earnings.

Interest Burden Ratio

The interest burden ratio exhibits an upward trend from lower values around 0.63-0.66 in early 2020 to stable, higher levels near 0.85-0.9 throughout much of 2021 and 2023, reflecting improved earnings retention after interest expenses. Nonetheless, there is considerable fluctuation in the most recent periods, with values dropping sharply to 0.16 and 0.41 before rebounding again to the high 0.80s, indicating episodic variations in interest costs or financing expenses.

EBIT Margin (%)

There is a pronounced increase in EBIT margin starting at approximately 11% in early 2020, peaking around 38% in late 2020. Afterward, the margin fluctuates but generally remains robust, mostly between 20% and 30% through 2022 and 2023. Interestingly, a sharp decline is registered in the most recent quarters to values as low as approximately 4% to 9%, before a recovery back above 27% in the latest period, suggesting periods of operational challenges or restructuring affecting earnings before interest and taxes.

Net Profit Margin (%)

Starting from very low margins below 2% in early 2020, the net profit margin shows significant growth, reaching above 27% by the end of 2020. This strong profitability remains relatively stable through 2021 and early 2023, with typical values between 15% and 22%. However, corresponding with the EBIT margin decline, the net profit margin experiences severe drops down to less than 2% during some recent quarters, indicating a considerable impact on bottom-line profitability. Late period data shows a recovery above 20%, consistent with operational improvements noted.

Overall, the financial ratios depict a company that achieved strong profitability and efficiency through 2020 and 2021, followed by a period of substantial volatility in tax, interest burden, and profit margins in the last observed intervals. The fluctuations suggest episodic challenges potentially related to cost management, tax planning, or financing structure. The recent quarter improvements indicate a possible stabilization or turnaround in financial performance.