Prime Highlights
- Pfizer reported second-quarter earnings and revenue above market estimates and raised the lower end of its full-year revenue forecast.
- Strong sales of non-Covid medicines helped offset weaker demand for the company’s Covid vaccine and Paxlovid.
Key Facts
- Pfizer expects full-year revenue of $60.5 billion to $62.5 billion and maintained its adjusted earnings forecast of $2.80 to $3 per share.
- The company is expanding its cost-cutting programme, targeting an additional $2.5 billion in savings through 2029.
Background
Pfizer reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised the lower end of its full-year revenue forecast, supported by strong sales of its non-Covid products. The company said higher demand for key medicines added about $1.5 billion to its revenue outlook.
The drugmaker now expects full-year revenue of $60.5 billion to $62.5 billion, compared with its earlier forecast of $59.5 billion to $62.5 billion. However, it lowered its expected revenue from Covid products, including its vaccine and antiviral pill Paxlovid, to $4 billion from about $5 billion earlier. Pfizer continued to project full-year adjusted earnings between $2.80 and $3 per share.
For the second quarter, the company reported adjusted earnings of 77 cents per share, above analysts’ estimate of 68 cents. Revenue exceeded the market estimate of $14.41 billion, rising 3% year over year to $15.03 billion..
The weaker demand for Covid products was partially mitigated by the strong sales of cancer treatment Padcev and blood thinner Eliquis. Eliquis generated $2.43 billion in revenue during the quarter, up 19% from a year earlier.
Pfizer reported a net loss of $248 million for the quarter, compared with net income of $2.91 billion a year ago. The company also announced the next phase of its cost-cutting programme, targeting an additional $1.5 billion in savings through 2029. It also plans to save another $1 billion under a separate programme between 2027 and 2029 while continuing to invest in new medicines to support long-term growth.
