GSK Plc (GSK (NYSE:GSK)) shares climbed Tuesday after the British drugmaker delivered second-quarter results that beat analyst expectations and unveiled a major cost-cutting plan to prepare for the loss of patent protection on its blockbuster HIV drug.

The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.35 per share (50.5 pence), topping the consensus estimate of $1.27. Revenue rose 5% year over year to $11.28 billion (8.41 billion pounds), exceeding the $10.79 billion analysts had forecast.

But the headline numbers were only part of the story. GSK also announced a new cost-savings program called Accelerate Growth, targeting £1.9 billion ($2.52 billion) in annual savings by 2029. The program will cost about £2.4 billion to implement, but the company says most of those savings will be reinvested into growth initiatives, with the rest used to shore up margins and profitability during the dolutegravir loss-of-exclusivity period from 2028 through 2030.

“We believe these plans, together with continued disciplined capital allocation, will drive strong operational performance and shareholder returns over the next five years, delivering our 2031 sales outlook and accelerated long-term growth,” CEO Luke Miels said.

The cost-cutting push is widely seen as an effort to reassure investors that GSK can handle the looming patent expiry of dolutegravir, the HIV drug that has been a major profit driver. Generic competition is expected to erode sales significantly starting in 2028.

In the second quarter, GSK’s specialty medicines revenue jumped 14% to £3.78 billion, with HIV sales up 11% to £2.08 billion (10% at constant currency). Vaccine sales grew 9% to £2.28 billion, driven by strong performances from Arexvy, meningitis vaccines, and Shingrix.

Shingrix revenue rose 4% to £888 million, supported by stronger demand in Europe that partly offset weaker international sales. U.S. sales were broadly unchanged as favorable pricing offset lower demand and channel inventory drawdowns. Meningitis vaccine sales climbed 22% to £462 million, while Arexvy generated £192 million in sales. General medicines revenue, however, declined 9% to £2.34 billion.

Looking ahead, GSK expects 2026 sales and core operating profit growth to land in the upper halves of its guidance ranges, though core earnings per share growth is expected to be in the lower half. The company continues to forecast overall sales growth of 3% to 5%, with core operating profit and core EPS growing 7% to 9%.

GSK reaffirmed its outlook for specialty medicines sales to grow at a low double-digit rate. It raised its vaccines outlook, now expecting sales to range from broadly stable to low single-digit growth, compared with its previous forecast of a low single-digit decline to broadly stable sales. However, the outlook for general medicines was lowered, with sales now expected to decline by a low- to mid-single-digit percentage, versus the prior view of a low single-digit decline to broadly stable sales.

GSK shares were up 3.81% at $53.96 at the time of publication Tuesday.