Pfizer on Tuesday, May 2, announced its first quarter results, which exceeded Wall Street's expectations, despite a sharp decline in sales of its flagship COVID-19 vaccine. In the first three months of 2021, revenue from Pfizer's Comirnaty vaccine plummeted by 77 percent, generating only $3 billion in sales, compared to over $13 billion in the same period last year.
The drugmaker saw a significant decline in net income in the first quarter, with a 30 percent decrease amounting to $5.54 billion, with adjusted results totalling $1.23 per share. The company's total revenue also decreased by 29 percent to $18.3 billion.
According to FactSet, a financial data and software company, analysts predicted that Pfizer would report earnings of 98 cents per share on $16.61 billion in sales.
Many industry experts anticipated the decline in sales of Pfizer, as the company transitions from supplying governments through large contracts to selling the vaccine in the commercial market this year. As a result of this shift, Pfizer has forecast a 64 percent drop in Comirnaty sales this year and a 58 percent decline in revenue from its leading COVID-19 treatment, Paxlovid.
In the first quarter, sales for Paxlovid surpassed $4 billion, primarily due to the timing of a final delivery for Pfizer’s US government contract.
Pfizer expects commercial sales for both to kick in later this year, after leftover government inventory is absorbed.
Over the past several quarters, both the vaccine and treatment for COVID-19 have generated substantial revenue for Pfizer. However, in addition to these products, Pfizer also produces cancer treatments and other vaccines.
In the first quarter, revenue for Pfizer's Prevnar vaccine, which helps prevent pneumonia and related bacterial diseases, grew by 4 percent to reach $1.6 billion.
Pfizer reaffirmed its estimate for full-year earnings to be between $3.25-3.45 per share.
In January, when Pfizer first released this forecast, it was initially below what Wall Street had anticipated.
As per FactSet, analysts have revised their earnings estimate for Pfizer to $3.39 per share.
As a result, shares of Pfizer, which is headquartered in New York, started to rise in early-morning trading.
With inputs from agency
