Pfizer beats earnings estimates, raises outlook on cost cuts and smaller-than-feared drop in Covid drug sales

Pfizer
on
Wednesday

reported
first-quarter
revenue
and
adjusted
profit
that
beat
expectations
and
hiked
its
full-year
profit
outlook,
benefiting
from
its
broad

cost-cutting
program,
a
smaller-than-feared

drop
in
sales
of
its
Covid
antiviral
pill
Paxlovid
and
strong
non-Covid
product
sales.

The
company
now
expects
to
book
adjusted
earnings
of
$2.15
to
$2.35
per
share
for
the
fiscal
year,
up
from
its
prior
guidance
of
$2.05
to
$2.25
per
share.

Pfizer
reiterated
its
previous
revenue
forecast
of
$58.5
billion
and
$61.5
billion,
which
it
first
outlined
in
mid-December. That
guidance
includes
$5
billion
in
sales
from
its
Covid
vaccine
and
$3
billion
from
Paxlovid.

The
pharmaceutical
giant
said
its
new
profit
guidance
accounts
for
its “confidence”
in
its
business
and
its
ability
to
slash
costs.
Pfizer
said
it
is
on
track
to
deliver
at
least
$4
billion
in
savings
by
the
end
of
the
year.

“We
are
cautiously
optimistic
about
the
year,”
Pfizer
CEO
Albert
Bourla
said
during
an
earnings
call
on
Wednesday.

The
results
come
as
Pfizer
tries
to
regain
its
footing
after
the
rapid
decline
of
its
Covid
business.
Demand
for
those
products
has
plunged
to
new
lows,
and
they
transitioned
to
the
commercial
market
in
the
U.S.
last
year. 

As
revenue
suffers,
the
company
is
trying
to
improve
its
bottom
line
and
shore
up
investor
confidence
through
its
cost
cuts
and
a

renewed
focus
on
treating
cancer
after
its

$43
billion
acquisition
of
Seagen
last
year. 

Shares
of
Pfizer
closed
6%
higher
on
Wednesday.

Here’s
what
Pfizer
reported
for
the
first
quarter
compared
with
what
Wall
Street
was
expecting,
based
on
a
survey
of
analysts
by
LSEG: 

• 
  Earnings
  per
  share:
  82
  cents
  adjusted
  vs.
  52
  cents
  expected.
• 
  Revenue:
  $14.88
  billion
  vs.
  $14.01
  billion
  expected.

Pfizer
recorded
first-quarter
revenue
of
$14.88
billion,
down
20%
from
the
same
period
a
year
ago,
primarily
because
of
the
plunge
in
sales
of
its
Covid
products.

For
the
first
quarter,
Pfizer
booked
net
income
of
$3.12
billion,
or
55
cents
per
share.
That
compares
with
net
income
of
$5.54
billion,
or
97
cents
per
share,
during
the
same
period
a
year
ago. 

Excluding
certain
items,
the
company
posted
earnings
per
share
of
82
cents
for
the
quarter. 

Notably,
the
company
said
its
adjusted
and
nonadjusted
profit
got
an
11
cents
per
share
boost
from
a
$771
million
final
adjustment
to
the
estimated
$3.5
billion
revenue
reversal
recorded
in
the
fourth
quarter,
reflecting
5.1
million
courses
of
Paxlovid
returned
by
the
U.S.
government
by
Feb.
29. 

Paxlovid
booked
$2
billion
in
revenue
for
the
quarter,
down
50%
from
the
same
period
a
year
ago.
That
decline
was
mainly
because
of
lower
deliveries
around
the
world
as
the
product
transitioned
to
commercial
market
sales,
along
with
lower
demand
in
China. 

Meanwhile,
Pfizer’s
Covid
vaccine
generated
$354
million
in
sales,
down
88%
from
the
year-earlier
period.
That
drop
was
also
driven
by
lower
contract
deliveries
and
demand
in
international
markets,
as
well
as
lower
U.S.
volumes,
partly
reflecting
the
seasonality
of
demand
for
vaccinations.

But
Pfizer
expects
Covid
products
to
continue
to
be “contributors
to
revenue
and
cash
flows
for
the
foreseeable
future,”
CFO
Dave
Denton
said
on
the
call.

Shares
of
Pfizer
fell
roughly
40%
in
2023
as
demand
for
Paxlovid
and
its
vaccine
against
the
virus
dried
up,
causing
the
company
to
dramatically

slash
its
full-year
revenue
forecast
and
record
multibillion-dollar
charges
related
to

inventory
write-offs. Pfizer
also
disappointed
the
Street
with
an
underwhelming
launch
of
a
new
RSV
shot
and
a
twice-daily
weight
loss
pill
that
fell
short
in
clinical
trials. 

Excluding
Covid
products,
Pfizer
said
revenue
for
the
first
quarter
rose
11%.

The
company
said
that
growth
was
partly
fueled
by
Seagen’s
four
approved
cancer
products,
which
brought
in
$742
million
in
revenue
for
the
quarter.
That
includes
a
targeted
treatment
for
bladder
cancer
called
Padcev,
which
took
in
$341
million
in
sales.

Another
drug
from
Seagen
that
treats
certain
lymphomas
generated
$257
million
in
revenue
for
the
first
quarter.

Pfizer
completed
its
acquisition
of
the
drugmaker
in
December. 

The
company
said
revenue
also
got
a
boost
from
strong
sales
of
Vyndaqel
drugs,
which
are
used
to
treat
a
certain
type
of
cardiomyopathy,
a
disease
of
the
heart
muscle.
Those
drugs
booked
$1.14
billion
in
sales,
up
66%
from
the
first
quarter
of
2024.

Analysts
surveyed
by
FactSet
had
expected
that
group
of
drugs
to
rake
in
$909.1
million
for
the
quarter. 

Pfizer
also
said
its
blood
thinner
Eliquis,
which
is
co-marketed
by
Bristol
Myers
Squibb,
helped
drive
revenue
growth.
The
drug
posted
$2.04 billion
in
revenue
for
the
quarter,
up
9%
from
the
same
period
a
year
ago. 

Analysts
had
expected
Eliquis
to
take
in
$1.95
billion
in
sales,
according
to
FactSet.

A
group
of
shots
to
protect
against
pneumococcal
pneumonia
brought
in
$1.69
billion
in
sales
for
the
first
quarter,
up
6%
from
the
year-ago
period.
That
growth
was
driven
by
uptake
among
children
in
the
U.S.
and
government
purchases,
among
other
factors. 

Analysts
had
expected
that
group
of
shots
to
book
$1.63
billion
in
sales
for
the
quarter,
FactSet
estimates
said.

Meanwhile,
Pfizer’s
new
vaccine
against
respiratory
syncytial
virus,
or
RSV,
saw
$145
million
in
revenue,
primarily
driven
by
uptake
among
older
adults.
The
shot,
known
as
Abrysvo,
entered
the
market
during
the
third
quarter
for
seniors
and
expectant
mothers
who
can
pass
on
protection
to
their
fetuses. 

The
vaccine
fell
short
of
analysts’
estimate
of
$360
million
in
revenue
for
the
first
quarter,
according
to
FactSet.

Still,
Pfizer
is
confident
it
can
increase
its
share
of
the
RSV
market,
which
it
shares
with
competitor
GSK,
Bourla
said.
The
company
hopes
U.S.
regulators
will
expand
Abrysvo’s
approval
later
this
year
to
adults
ages
18
to
59
who
are
at
increased
risk
of
severe
RSV,
following

positive
late-stage
trial
data
in
that
age
group.

Pfizer’s
medication
for
certain
breast
cancers,
Ibrance,
generated
$1.05
billion
in
revenue
for
the
period,
down
8%
from
the
same
period
a
year
ago.
The
decline
came
as
the
drug
faced
competitive
pressure
and
price
decreases
in
certain
international
markets.  

Revenue
from
that
drug
was
roughly
in
line
with
what
analysts
were
expecting.