Pfizer Earnings: Revenue Booster from Covid-19 Vaccine?

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Before 2020, most people had never heard of Pfizer. Nowadays it’s a household name thanks to two years of vaccines and booster shots!

Pfizer, the US pharmaceutical company, is one of the major providers of Covid-19 vaccines, and on February 8th the company will report its latest quarterly results. The share price is up 44% in the last year, so what can you expect from the report?

• Pfizer is expected to make $36 billion revenue from its Covid-19 vaccine alone in 2021.
• The new antiviral Covid-19 pill could bring another huge revenue boost in 2022.
• Non-Covid treatments are also growing fast at Pfizer.
• Analysts expect fourth-quarter earnings of $7.76 per share on $217.95 billion of revenue.

Covid-19 vaccine gives Pfizer revenue a booster

The Pfizer vaccine continues to drive revenue to the company’s balance sheet. More than 118 million people in the US have had a dose of Pfizer. And that’s just America. Pfizer said that three-quarters of its vaccine revenue comes from outside the US.

In total, Pfizer is expected to report $36 billion in vaccine revenue for the full year of 2021.

The last quarter of the year is likely to be especially lucrative for Pfizer. The omicron wave triggered a rush to deploy booster shots across Europe and the US. The company is now producing an omicron-specific vaccine which could bring in another $31 billion in vaccine sales over the next year.

A new breakthrough: the Covid pill

Pfizer has another big product up its sleeve: an antiviral Covid-19 pill that can be taken at home. The treatment, called Paxlovid, helps prevent severe disease if taken early enough after catching the virus. Paxlovid was approved by US regulators on 31st December 2021 so it’s only just launched on the market.

The Pfizer factories have gone into overdrive, and they expect to produce 3.6 billion tablets in the coming year.

Analysts predict this could generate $24.2 billion in additional revenue in 2022. That’s almost as much as the vaccine sales. Pfizer will probably give more details on this during the upcoming earnings call.

Don’t forget Pfizer’s other products…

So far I’ve focused on Pfizer’s Covid-19 treatments, but that’s just one part of the business.

Revenue from Pfizer’s other treatments jumped 7% last quarter, reaching a total of $11 billion. The company is seeing strong growth for products like Eliquis (a blood thinner), as well as Ibrance and Inlyta (for the treatment of breast cancer).

What about the downsides?

We’ve covered the good parts of Pfizer’s business, but what about the bad? Well, some analysts are concerned about inflation and pricing pressures. For example, President Joe Biden is actively trying to lower drug prices through legislation. That could stop Pfizer’s ability to raise prices.

There’s also growing competition, especially for Covid-19 treatments. So far, the vaccine market has been dominated by a small group of players: Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and, recently, Johnson & Johnson.

Over the next year, we’re expecting more vaccines and treatments to get approval and hit the market, which could dilute Pfizer’s dominance.

The numbers to watch

Total revenue for the fourth quarter is expected to come in at $217.95 billion. Earnings-per-share is currently forecast at an average of $7.76.

It seems like all parts of the Pfizer business are growing rapidly. Indeed, analysts are still very optimistic about the company. 12 analysts currently have a ‘buy’ rating on the stock. Nine have a ‘hold’ rating and only one thinks you should ‘sell.’

The report is due on February 8th, before the market opens.

Did you know you can add Pfizer to your Watchlist on the BUX Zero app? Now you can keep track of price movements in the run-up to the big day. And don’t forget, you can see all the upcoming earnings dates with our Financial Calendar in the app.

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All views, opinions, and analyses in this article should not be read as personal investment advice and individual investors should make their own decisions or seek independent advice. This article has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and is considered a marketing communication.