Pfizer's Quarterly Results Beat Expectations on Cancer, Heart Drugs

Dow Jones
Aug 04

Pfizer reported better-than-expected second-quarter results, as rising sales of drugs for cancer and heart disease helped offset steep declines for Covid-19 products.

The New York company also slightly raised the bottom end of its forecast range for full-year 2026 revenue.

Pfizer shares were largely unchanged in premarket trading.

Pfizer is trying to recover from a postpandemic hangover in which demand for its Covid-19 vaccine and treatment have plummeted. It is bracing for patent expirations on leading drugs that will pressure its revenue growth in coming years, and the company said Tuesday it is expanding ongoing cost-cutting programs.

The company is developing new medicines and has made acquisitions -- including a big bet on weight-loss drugs -- aimed at returning to solid growth, but it could take some time to see if those pay off.

As part of its strategy to beef up its pipeline, Pfizer agreed to acquire weight-loss drug startup Metsera last year in a deal that could be valued at more than $10 billion.

Pfizer said Tuesday it recorded a second-quarter loss of $248 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with a profit of $2.91 billion, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier.

The loss was largely due to a $3.8 billion charge to write down the value of an experimental drug after a study showed it didn't significantly prolong survival in lung-cancer patients. Pfizer had acquired the drug in its $43 billion purchase of Seagen in 2023.

Stripping out that write-down and certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were 77 cents, ahead of the 68 cents anticipated by analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 3% to $15.03 billion, topping the $14.40 billion mean estimate of analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Sales were driven by 2% growth in Pfizer's biopharma business and 7% growth in Pfizer CentreOne, the company's contract development and manufacturing organization.

The blood thinner Eliquis and heart-disease treatment Vyndaqel helped fuel revenue growth. Cancer treatments Padcev and Lorbrena both gained market share and posted higher sales.

Paxlovid and Comirnaty, two of its Covid products, saw sales drop 95% and 34%, respectively. The declines were driven by lower Covid infections and a narrower recommendation for who should get Covid shots.

Pfizer raised the low end of its full-year sales guidance to a range of $60.5 billion to $62.5 billion, from $59.5 billion to $62.5 billion previously.

The company reaffirmed its adjusted earnings per share guidance of $2.80 to $3.

For full-year 2026, analysts are expecting earnings of $2.94 a share on sales of $61.78 billion.

The new outlook reflects an expectation that Pfizer's non-Covid products will generate $1.5 billion more in sales than previously anticipated. Its Covid products are now projected to produce $4 billion in sales, down from $5 billion.

 

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