Gilead Sciences announced on Mar. 24 that Chief Executive Officer Daniel O’Day received total compensation of $28.44 million for the year 2025, reflecting a 20% increase from the previous year.
O’Day’s pay package included a base salary of $1.795 million, with most of his earnings coming from stock and option awards totaling nearly $19.74 million, as outlined in the company’s proxy statement released Monday. He also received more than $6.9 million in incentives and other benefits.
The filing indicated that Gilead’s median employee compensation last year was $238,979, making O’Day’s total compensation about 119 times higher than that of the median employee.
O’Day has led Gilead since March 2019 after over three decades at Roche, including three years as head of its pharmaceutical division. During his tenure at Gilead, shares have increased by approximately 117%. In June last year, Gilead secured approval for its twice-yearly HIV prevention pill Yeztugo, which BMO Capital Markets said “marks a major win for Gilead in driving meaningful growth in its PrEP business.” Mizuho Securities noted that Yeztugo “has the potential to ‘redefine’ the PrEP market.”
In addition to progress in HIV treatments, Gilead strengthened its cell therapy portfolio during 2025 and acquired Arcellx for $7.8 billion earlier this year following positive mid-stage data on their CAR T therapy anitocabtagene autoleucel (anito-cel). The companies have filed for accelerated approval with a target action date set by the Food and Drug Administration for Dec. 23, 2026.
Other leading pharmaceutical executives also saw significant increases in their compensation packages last year. AbbVie CEO Robert Michael received a raise bringing his total to $32.5 million according to recent filings; Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato earned $32.76 million; and Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks was paid $36.7 million.
