[tonyarkles]

> During the quarter [2019 Q2], Gilead generated $2.2 billion in operating cash flow, repaid $500 million of debt, made dividend payout of $800 million and spent $588 million on share buybacks.

> Adjusted product gross margin was 87.3% compared with 84.2% in the year-ago period. Research & development (R&D) expenses were relatively flat at $916 million. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased 20.8% to $1.01 billion.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gilead-gild-q2-earnings-sales...

They’re doing OK, I think.

[malandrew]

You're basing your argument on cherrypicking one single pharmaceutical company that is doing exceptionally well recently because it had the second best selling drug of 2018, Harvoni, a drug to treat Hep C.

What about when you take all the pharma companies and average how well they do over several years? The average net profit margin for the industry is 14.05% according to a January 2018 study by New York University’s Stern School of Business.

14.05%, not great, not terrible.

In addition, the overwhelming majority of those dividends and share buybacks from one company are subsequently plowed back into the industry in different companies depending on which of those companies are working on the most profitable drugs.

source: I have several friends that control a lot of AUM that specialize in pharma investments.

[tonyarkles]

> You're basing your argument on cherrypicking one single pharmaceutical company that is doing exceptionally well recently because it had the second best selling drug of 2018

Well, the discussion was about the atrocious cost of HIV medication, and Gilead is the company that holds the patent on Truvada. You didn't provide a link, but http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/... suggests it's actually lower in 2019 at 10.94%.

From the linked Excel sheet there, there are 28 industries with higher net margins, and 65 with lower net margins. They're still doing just fine :).

[malandrew]

28 with higher net margins and 65 with lower net margins.

As I said, not great, not terrible. They're doing just fine, but they are also far from abusing their position. An industry abusing its position would be one with higher net margins than almost all other industries. The fact that 30% of industries have better net margins suggests that this industry is far from being abusive in its pursuit of profit while improving people's quality of life.

[rowanG077]

14.05% Is FUCKING GREAT considering they make their money over the misery of people. It's actually a disgrace that the profit margin is anything over 2%.

[malandrew]

14.05% is perfectly reasonable considering they are giving people hope for a better quality of life.

Profiting off someone's misery would be when you cause the problem and provide the solution. If you merely recognize an existing problem and provide a solution where there previously was none or where the previous solution was inadequate/inferior.

Attitudes like yours makes me not want to continue using my talent to create on solutions to problems that qualitatively and quantitatively improve people's lives. If people are going to look at it as profiting off misery and deny me the opportunity to increase my wealth, I and others will just take our talents elsewhere. There is no lack of other industries and problems where those capable of contributing solutions can make money and not be subject to your shitty attitude towards how they make a living.

Lastly, I say all this as someone who takes an orphan drug myself that would not exist at all if the US didn't have a legal framework that gives pharmaceutical companies the incentive to bring drugs to market. The drug I take is available in only one other country and only because a US pharmaceutical company brought it to market.

[rowanG077]

I don't agree at all. No profit should be had for developing medicine. You deserve a nice salary for your work but no profit should be made by the company.

[malandrew]

Likewise, people who think that no profit should be had for developing medicine don't deserve the medicines that have been developed for profit.

[rowanG077]

Don't hate the player hate the game.

The consumer didn't choose to have greedy companies that like to make a quick bug over someones suffering.