London, May 15, 2026, 12:09 BST
GSK’s U.S.-listed American depositary shares go ex-dividend on Friday, putting the British drugmaker’s next payout into live market focus. The company’s calendar lists May 15 as the ADS ex-dividend and record date for its first-quarter dividend, with payment due July 9; a market notice this week also flagged GSK among stocks going ex-dividend on May 15.
Ex-dividend means new buyers after the cut-off no longer receive the next declared payout. That matters now because GSK is trying to keep its income case steady while asking investors to look harder at new drugs, not just the legacy strength of HIV medicines and vaccines.
GSK declared a 17 pence first-quarter dividend and said it still expected 70 pence for 2026. It also reported first-quarter sales of 7.63 billion pounds, up 5% at constant exchange rates, and core operating profit of 2.65 billion pounds, up 10%; Chief Executive Luke Miels said GSK had made “a strong start to 2026” and was focused on “execution and accelerating R&D.” GSK
The cash-return story does not stop at the dividend. In a May 11 U.S. filing, GSK said it had bought back 114.4 million ordinary shares for about 1.82 billion pounds and had launched a final buyback tranche of up to 180 million pounds, expected to run through June 26.
That gives investors a near-term support line: dividends plus a nearly finished 2 billion-pound buyback. It is not the full case for the stock, though. At GSK, the bigger question is whether the new pipeline can carry growth as older medicines mature.
But the risks are plain. Reuters reported after GSK’s first-quarter update that the shares fell more than 8% as investors questioned whether one-off factors had flattered the earnings beat; James Eugene, research analyst at Verso Investment Management, cited “quality concerns around the earnings beat” and softer trends in older medicines. Reuters
The main pipeline test is bepirovirsen, GSK’s experimental chronic hepatitis B treatment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted the drug for priority review and set an Oct. 26, 2026 target action date under PDUFA, the law that sets FDA review timelines; GSK says the drug aims for a “functional cure,” meaning key signs of the virus remain undetectable after treatment stops. GSK
GSK has also moved to line up China access before launch. It said this week that Sino Biopharmaceutical’s Chia Tai Tianqing unit would handle importation, distribution, hospital access and promotion for bepirovirsen in mainland China, while GSK would retain regulatory and medical oversight; Mike Crichton, GSK’s president international, said the aim was to “reach more patients” in a country where chronic hepatitis B affects 75 million people. GSK
Reuters reported that GSK expects bepirovirsen to launch in some markets later this year, with a China regulatory decision expected in 2027, and sees peak annual sales of more than 2 billion pounds for the drug. The therapy is designed to block viral DNA replication, lower hepatitis B surface antigen levels and boost the immune response.
The competitive backdrop is getting sharper. Bristol Myers Squibb this week signed collaboration and licensing deals with China’s Hengrui carrying potential milestone payments of up to $15.2 billion, another sign that global drugmakers are chasing Chinese research and commercial scale.
For GSK shareholders, Friday’s dividend date is the easy part. The harder call is whether payouts and buybacks can bridge the time until new medicines, led by bepirovirsen and oncology assets, start doing more of the work.
