London, May 14, 2026, 15:27 BST
GSK plc’s London-listed shares traded ex-dividend on Thursday for the drugmaker’s first-quarter payout, putting a routine income date in front of investors while the company tries to keep attention on its drug pipeline. Ex-dividend means buyers from that date no longer qualify for the next dividend; GSK’s timetable sets the ordinary-share ex-dividend date at May 14, the record date at May 15 and payment at July 9.
The timing matters because GSK is asking shareholders to price two things at once: steady capital returns and a growth plan built around specialty medicines. The company declared a 17 pence first-quarter dividend, said it still expects 70 pence for 2026, and reaffirmed guidance for 2026 turnover growth of 3% to 5% and core earnings-per-share growth of 7% to 9%; Chief Executive Luke Miels said GSK had “made a strong start” and was focused on “accelerating R&D.” GSK
There is another return of capital running in the background. A U.S. filing showed GSK began the fifth and final tranche of its £2 billion share buyback on May 11, with up to about £180 million of purchases due to run through June 26; the filing said GSK had already bought back 114.4 million ordinary shares for about £1.82 billion.
The shares were down 0.48% at 1,877 pence at 3:21 p.m. London time, Google Finance data showed. The stock’s dividend yield was listed at 3.57%, with the ex-dividend date shown as May 14.
The larger swing factor is still bepirovirsen, GSK’s experimental chronic hepatitis B treatment. GSK said this week it had signed an exclusive collaboration with Sino Biopharmaceutical’s Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical unit in mainland China, where the drug is under priority regulatory review and where chronic hepatitis B affects about 75 million people.
Under that deal, CTTQ will handle importation, distribution, hospital access and promotional work in China. GSK stays the marketing authorisation holder and will book sales of bepirovirsen supplied to CTTQ. Mike Crichton, GSK’s president international, said the aim was to “reach more patients” and address one of China’s “pressing healthcare priorities.”
The China push comes as large drugmakers step up partnerships with Chinese groups. Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals said on May 12 it struck collaboration and licensing deals with Bristol Myers Squibb that include potential milestone payments of up to $15.2 billion; Reuters said Hengrui has also struck previous licensing deals with Merck and GSK.
But the risk is plain. Bepirovirsen is not approved anywhere in the world, and priority review is not approval. GSK said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has set Oct. 26, 2026 as the PDUFA goal date — the FDA’s target date for a review decision — for the drug’s application in adults with chronic hepatitis B.
A rejection, narrower label or slow launch would leave more pressure on GSK’s existing businesses and buyback support. That matters because the dividend story is already visible; the pipeline story still has to land.
For now, Thursday’s ex-dividend date gives income investors a clean marker. The harder test comes later: whether GSK can turn bepirovirsen and its broader specialty-medicines pipeline into the growth needed to justify its 2031 sales target of more than £40 billion.
