UK's biggest drugmakers see surprise profit bump, even as pharma grapples with U.S. policies

uk drugmakers astrazeneca and gsk both beat profit expectations in q1. astrazeneca's core eps was $2.58, beating the $2.53 forecast. gsk's core eps came in at £0.47, above the expected £0.43. the beat comes as pharma ceos warn that europe could see fewer new drug launches if the us ties prices to lower european rates under trump's most-favored-nation policy. novartis ceo vas narasimhan said the "reality of mfn" hasn't kicked in yet but will start hitting in 18 months. gsk ceo luke miels said there's no immediate change to launch plans, but the situation is complicated. astrazeneca ceo pascal soriot flagged a "catalyst-rich" period ahead. revenue hit $15.3 billion, up 8% and above the $14.9 billion estimate. the company reaffirmed its $80 billion revenue target by 2030. gsk posted £7.63 billion in revenue, up 5%, and reiterated its 2026 guidance. gsk shares are up 42% over the past year, astrazeneca up 30%, both far outpacing the stoxx 600 and ftse 100.