Vaccines pushes Pfizer beyond expectations in final quarter

COVID-19 vaccine sales boosted Pfizer earnings well past fourth-quarter expectations, but the drugmaker has set a lower-than-expected bar for 2022.

Pfizer debuted on Tuesday annual forecasts for both earnings and revenue that fell short of analyst expectations, even as the drugmaker expects another robust year of sales from its vaccine, Comirnaty, and its new coronavirus treatment, Paxlovid.

Its stock slid in early trading.

Pfizer expects Comirnaty to bring in another US$32 billion in sales in 2022, while Wall Street is looking for more than US$34 billion. Both the company and the Street expect another US$22 billion in sales from Paxlovid, which received authorisation from US regulators shortly before Christmas.

European Union regulators then recommended its authorisation late last month.

Overall, Pfizer forecasts adjusted earnings in the new year to range from US$6.35 to US$6.55 per share on US$98 billion to US$102 billion in revenue.

Industry analysts forecast earnings of US$6.71 per share on US$103.18 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

Sales estimates for both Comirnaty and Paxlovid will likely rise as Pfizer finalises more contracts to provide the vaccine and treatment, Mizuho Securities USA analyst Dr Vamil Divan said in a research note. He added that the drugmaker “remains in a strong position,” with a key question being how long both the coronavirus vaccine and treatment can keep up their sales.

Analysts expect revenue from both to wane in the coming years, depending on how the pandemic plays out.

Pfizer’s two-shot coronavirus vaccine brought in US$36.78 billion in revenue in 2021, its first full year on the market.

The US$12.5 billion in sales it recorded in the fourth quarter helped Pfizer’s top line double, compared to the last quarter of 2020.

The COVID-19 vaccine became Pfizer’s top-selling product by last year’s second quarter, before children started receiving the preventive shots and adults began receiving booster doses.

The New York drugmaker books the vast majority of revenue from Comirnaty and splits profit, as well as the cost to make and distribute the vaccine, with development partner BioNTech.

Vaccines have quickly become Pfizer’s biggest-selling business. They pulled in US$42.6 billion in sales last year, or more than three times the revenue brought in through the next largest segment, oncology.

CRITICISM

That success has brought criticism. The advocacy group Global Justice Now criticised the drugmaker on Tuesday for “ripping off public health systems” and reporting revenue higher than the gross domestic product of several countries.

A Pfizer spokeswoman said the company is committed to “equitable and affordable access” of its vaccine. The drugmaker has said it sells the vaccine at a not-for-profit price to lower-income countries.

Outside Comirnaty and Paxlovid, Pfizer also produces other vaccines and internal medicine drugs like Eliquis, for preventing blood clots and strokes.

Overall, Pfizer earned US$3.39 billion in the fourth quarter and nearly US$22 billion last year. Adjusted earnings totalled US$1.08 per share in the quarter on US$23.84 billion in revenue.

Analysts expected earnings of 87 cents per share on US$24.16 billion in sales for the fourth quarter.

AP