Pfizer Earnings: What Happened with PFE

Key Takeaways

Pfizer earnings and revenue growth both outpaced analyst predictions.
The company has delivered over 1 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine developed with BioNTech.
Pfizer’s business excluding the COVID-19 vaccine has achieved 10% year-over-year operational revenue growth, indicating strength outside of that key area as well.

Pfizer Earnings Results
Metric	Beat/Miss/Match	Reported Value	Analysts’ Predictions
Adjusted Earnings Per Share	Beat	$1.07	$0.97
Revenue (billions)	Beat	$19.0	$18.7

^{Source: Predictions based on analysts’ consensus from Visible Alpha}

Pfizer Financial Results: Analysis

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) posted results for Q2 FY 2021 on the morning of July 28, 2021, which exceeded analyst predictions for both adjusted earnings per share (EPS) and revenue. Adjusted EPS climbed by 72.6% to $1.07, surpassing expectations. Revenue nearly doubled year over year (YOY), climbing by 92.4% to $19.0 billion, also beating predictions. Just under half of this revenue was from vaccine sales, including sales of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine, developed with BioNTech SE (BNTX).

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has been distributed around the world as countries have attempted to scale up efforts to combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The company reported that more than 1 billion doses of this vaccine have now been delivered on a global basis. The COVID-19 vaccine contributed $7.8 billion in direct sales and alliance revenues for the quarter.

One of the major questions regarding Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is whether emerging variants of the pandemic or waning protection may make a third booster dose necessary. The addition of a third dose could dramatically increase the number of doses of the vaccine that Pfizer sells. The company reported that its ongoing Phase 1/2/3 booster trial for a third dose of its vaccine has a “consistent tolerability profile while eliciting high neutralization titers” against the Beta and Delta variants of COVID-19. The company expects to publish additional information in the coming weeks.

Pfizer also reported that its non-COVID-vaccine business has grown substantially. This portion of the company’s business achieved 10% YOY operational revenue growth, accelerating over 6% YOY growth for Q2 FY 2020.

Pfizer’s Guidance and Stock Performance

Pfizer announced that it was raising its FY 2021 guidance ranges, reflecting higher expected revenues for its COVID-19 vaccine and from business excluding this vaccine. The company raised adjusted EPS guidance from $3.55-$3.65 up to $3.95-$4.05 for the year. Revenue is now expected to be $78.0-$80.0 billion, whereas the company previously anticipated $70.5-$72.5 billion.

Pfizer shares fell immediately following the earnings release, dropping by about 1% in pre-market trading. The company’s stock has underperformed the broader market over the past year, providing one-year trailing total returns of 23.2% as compared with 35.9% for the S&P 500.