This increased from 3.27 times at Q4 2017 due mainly to the
decrease in 12 - month rolling EBITDA
caused by FX, lower periodic and other
revenue, IFRS 15 accounting change and the restructuring provision, as well as the higher proportion of capital expenditure and interest payments
in Q1 2018.
These risks and uncertainties include: Gilead's ability to achieve its anticipated full year 2018 financial results; Gilead's ability to sustain growth
in revenues for its antiviral and other programs; the risk that private and public payers may be reluctant to provide, or continue to provide, coverage or reimbursement for new products, including Vosevi, Yescarta, Epclusa, Harvoni, Genvoya, Odefsey, Descovy, Biktarvy and Vemlidy ®; austerity measures
in European countries that may increase the amount of discount required on Gilead's products; an increase
in discounts, chargebacks and rebates due to ongoing contracts and future negotiations with commercial and government payers; a larger than anticipated shift
in payer mix to more highly discounted payer segments and geographic regions and
decreases in treatment duration; availability of funding for state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs); continued fluctuations
in ADAP purchases driven by federal and state grant cycles which may not mirror patient demand and may
cause fluctuations
in Gilead's earnings; market share and price erosion
caused by the introduction of generic versions of Viread and Truvada, an uncertain global macroeconomic environment; and potential amendments to the Affordable Care Act or other government action that could have the effect of lowering prices or reducing the number of insured patients; the possibility of unfavorable results from clinical trials involving investigational compounds; Gilead's ability to initiate clinical trials
in its currently anticipated timeframes; the levels of inventory held by wholesalers and retailers which may
cause fluctuations
in Gilead's earnings; Kite's ability to develop and commercialize cell therapies utilizing the zinc finger nuclease technology platform and realize the benefits of the Sangamo partnership; Gilead's ability to submit new drug applications for new product candidates
in the timelines currently anticipated; Gilead's ability to receive regulatory approvals
in a timely manner or at all, for new and current products, including Biktarvy; Gilead's ability to successfully commercialize its products, including Biktarvy; the risk that physicians and patients may not see advantages of these products over other therapies and may therefore be reluctant to prescribe the products; Gilead's ability to successfully develop its hematology / oncology and inflammation / respiratory programs; safety and efficacy data from clinical studies may not warrant further development of Gilead's product candidates, including GS - 9620 and Yescarta
in combination with Pfizer's utomilumab; Gilead's ability to pay dividends or complete its share repurchase program due to changes
in its stock price, corporate or other market conditions; fluctuations
in the foreign exchange rate of the U.S. dollar that may
cause an unfavorable foreign currency exchange impact on Gilead's future
revenues and pre-tax earnings; and other risks identified from time to time
in Gilead's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC).
To a large extent, state fiscal policies have
caused great pressure on property taxes
in needy cities, counties and school districts, including decisions: to reduce
revenue sharing; to
decrease the share of local school budgets covered by state aid, to divide the non-federal share of Medicaid costs without considering ability to pay, and to allocate STAR benefits... (read more)
The
decreases from the prior quarter — or the
decrease from the prior quarter was due to the adoption of the
revenue - recognition standard, which
caused expenses to
decrease by $ 9 million and lower distribution expense of $ 1.7 million from two fewer days
in the quarter, offset by higher comp and related expense from incentive compensation and seasonally higher payroll taxes.