GSK reported higher quarterly sales but lower earnings per share on 28 October 2026, showing why investors need to separate sales growth from profit and check the exchange-rate basis of each comparison. Third-quarter turnover reached £8.887 billion, up 4% at actual exchange rates.
Reported earnings per share fell 23% to 38.5 pence. Core EPS, GSK’s adjusted non-IFRS measure, fell 1% to 54.6 pence on the same actual-rate basis. Neither figure should be confused with the company’s constant-currency comparisons. The figures come from GSK’s official results announcement.
The quarterly figures, on a consistent basis
| Q3 2026 measure | Result | Year-on-year change at actual rates | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £8.887 billion | +4% | Results, page 1 |
| Reported operating profit | £2.127 billion | -18% | Results, page 1 |
| Core operating profit | £3.076 billion | +3% | Results, page 1 |
| Reported EPS | 38.5p | -23% | Results, page 1 |
| Core EPS | 54.6p | -1% | Results, page 1 |
Source observed on 28 October 2026 at 13:59 UTC (19:29 IST); the linked release covers the third quarter ended 30 September 2026. Amounts above are in pounds sterling; EPS is in pence per share.
Why the two earnings measures differ
GSK attributed the weaker reported performance to £328 million of major restructuring charges for its Accelerate Growth programme and lower other net operating income, partly offset by stronger core operating profit. That explanation does not make the excluded costs disappear.
Core results remove specified items from reported results. The full announcement defines the adjustments and provides reconciliations. GSK says these non-IFRS measures supplement, rather than replace or outrank, its IFRS results.
For a reader, the practical check is to compare reported with reported and core with core before calculating growth. A larger core EPS number is not a second cash payment to shareholders. It is another accounting view of the same reporting period.
Currency changes the growth comparison
At constant exchange rates, GSK reported sales growth of 5%, a 21% fall in reported EPS and a 1% rise in core EPS. Those percentages differ from the actual-rate figures in the table because the currency basis differs, not because they describe another quarter.
Mixing the actual-rate decline in reported EPS with constant-currency core growth would obscure that distinction. Keep both the earnings definition and the currency basis alongside any percentage used in a comparison.
What to watch next
GSK reaffirmed its full-year 2026 constant-currency guidance: turnover growth of 3% to 5%, core operating profit growth of 7% to 9% and core EPS growth of 7% to 9%. These remain management forecasts, not completed full-year results or guarantees.
Readers comparing this release with another company can use CapKet’s six-field earnings comparison worksheet to record the period, currency and reported or adjusted basis before drawing a conclusion.
AI-assisted financial reporting based on the linked official GSK documents. This is information, not a recommendation to buy or sell securities.
Official documents and observation times
These are source-check times, not market quotes or new issuer announcements. Both documents come from the same issuer; they are not independent corroboration.
Recorded source observation: . This is a source-check timestamp, not a market quote or a new article update.