Pfizer (PFE) Q1 2024 earnings

Pfizer On Wednesday, it reported first-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that beat expectations and raised its full-year earnings outlook, benefiting from its broad cost-cutting program, a smaller-than-expected decline in sales of the antiviral Covid pill Baxlovid, and unexpected strength. Covid product sales.

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

Pfizer reiterated its previous revenue forecasts of $58.5 billion and $61.5 billion, which it first set in mid-December. This guidance includes sales of $5 billion from the Covid vaccine and $3 billion from Baxlovid.

The pharmaceutical giant said the new earnings guidance explains its “confidence” in its business and ability to cut costs. Pfizer said it is on track to achieve savings of at least $4 billion 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-related business. Demand for these products has fallen to new lows, and they moved to the commercial market in the United States last year.

With revenues suffering, the company is trying to improve its bottom line and boost investor confidence through cost cuts and a renewed focus on cancer treatment following its $43 billion acquisition of Seagen last year.

Pfizer shares rose more than 4% on Wednesday.

Here's what Pfizer reported for the first quarter compared to what Wall Street was expecting, based on a poll of analysts conducted by LSEG:

Earnings per share: 82 cents adjusted versus 52 cents expected. Revenues: $14.88 billion versus $14.01 billion expected.

Pfizer reported first-quarter revenue of $14.88 billion, down 20% from the same period last year, primarily due to lower sales of Covid products.

In the first quarter, Pfizer had net income of $3.12 billion, or 55 cents per share. This compares to net income of $5.54 billion, or 97 cents per share, during the same period last year.

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

Notably, the company said its adjusted and unadjusted earnings had an increase of 11 cents per share from a final adjustment of $771 million to reflect estimated revenue of $3.5 billion recorded in the fourth quarter, reflecting 5.1 million courses of Paxlovid returned by the US government by February. . 29.

Paxlovid had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, down 50% from the same period last year. This decrease was mainly due to lower deliveries worldwide as the product shifted to commercial market sales, coupled with lower demand in China.

Meanwhile, Pfizer's Covid vaccine generated sales of $354 million, down 88% from the same period a year earlier. The decline was also driven by lower contract deliveries and demand in international markets, as well as lower volumes in the United States, partly reflecting seasonality in vaccine demand.

But Pfizer expects its Covid products to “remain a contributor to revenue and cash flow for the foreseeable future,” CFO Dave Denton said on the call.

Shares of Pfizer fell nearly 40% in 2023 as demand for Baxlovid and its virus vaccine dried up, prompting the company to sharply cut full-year revenue forecasts and record multi-billion-dollar charges related to inventory write-downs. Pfizer also disappointed the Street with its disappointing launch of a new RSV shot and twice-daily weight loss pill that failed in clinical trials.

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

The company said the growth was driven in part by Seagen's four approved cancer products, which generated revenue of $742 million for the quarter. This includes a targeted treatment for bladder cancer called Badesafe, which has generated $341 million in sales.

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

Pfizer completed its acquisition of the pharmaceutical company in December.

The company said revenues also received a boost from strong sales of Vyndaqel, which is used to treat a certain type of cardiomyopathy, a disease that affects the heart muscle. These drugs achieved sales of $1.14 billion, an increase of 66% from the first quarter of 2024.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected this group of drugs to generate $909.1 million during the quarter.

Pfizer also said its blood thinner Eliquis, co-marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, helped drive revenue growth. The drug generated revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, up 9% from the same period last year.

Analysts had expected Eliquis to have sales of $1.95 billion, according to FactSet.

A group of shots to protect against pneumococcal pneumonia generated sales of $1.69 billion in the first quarter, up 6% from the same period last year. This growth was driven by demand from children in the United States and government procurement, among other factors.

Analysts expected the shots group to generate $1.63 billion in sales for the quarter, FactSet Estimates said.

Meanwhile, Pfizer's new vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, generated $145 million in revenue, driven primarily by demand among seniors. The shot, known as Apresvo, entered the market during the third quarter for elderly people and pregnant mothers who can transfer protection to their fetuses.

The vaccine fell short of analyst estimates of $360 million in revenue for the first quarter, according to FactSet.

However, Bourla said Pfizer is confident it can increase its share of the RSV market, which it shares with rival GSK. The company hopes US regulators will expand Apresvo's approval later this year to include adults ages 18 to 59 who are at higher risk of severe RSV infection, following positive late-stage trial data in that age group.

Pfizer's drug to treat certain types of breast cancer, Ibrance, generated revenue of $1.05 billion during the period, down 8% from the same period last year. This decline came as the drug faced competitive pressures and falling prices in some international markets.

Revenues from this drug were roughly in line with what analysts had expected.