Pfizer raises guidance as COVID franchise drives Q3 beat

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) shares perked up in the premarket on Tuesday as the New York-based pharma giant beat Street forecasts with its Q3 financials and increased its full-year outlook thanks to outperformance in its COVID-19 products.

The company, recently targeted by activist investor Starboard Value, generated $17.7B in revenue for Q3, reporting ~31% YoY growth and ~32% YoY growth operationally.

Its Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine developed with BioNTech (BNTX) added $1.4B in sales, exceeding the $1.2B projected by analysts, according to Bloomberg data. Meanwhile, COVID-19 antiviral Paxlovid brought $2.7B, indicating an increase of $2.5B from the prior-year period.

The company said that strong demand in the U.S., primarily attributed to a higher uptake during a recent COVID wave, helped drive Paxlovid sales. Excluding Comirnaty and Paxlovid, sales grew ~14% operationally, while the company’s recent Seagen acquisition added $854M to the top line.

Meanwhile, sales from Pfizer’s (NYSE:PFE) JAK inhibitor Xeljanz fell ~36% YoY to $321M, missing analysts’ forecasts of $354.2M. Blood thinner Eliquis and Prevnar franchise of pneumococcal vaccine beat Street estimates, adding $1.6B and $1.8B, respectively.

The company increased its full-year revenue and per share adjusted diluted earnings guidance to $61.0B-$64.0B and $2.75-$2.95 from $59.5B-$62.5B and $2.45 – $2.65 compared to $61.06B and $2.66 in the consensus, respectively.

However, excluding Comirnaty as well as Paxlovid and including the impact from the recent withdrawal of the sickle cell disease drug Oxbryta, PFE continues to expect its 2024 operational revenue growth to grow 9%-11% from last year.

“I’m confident that we will deliver on our financial commitments in 2024 and that we are well positioned to continue advancing scientific breakthroughs meaningful to our patients and our company, as well as creating long-term shareholder value, in the years to come,” CEO Albert Bourla said.

Seeking Alpha Investing Group Leader for Growth Stock Forum, “ONeil Trader” welcomed Pfizer’s (NYSE:PFE) decision to increase guidance given the ongoing pressure from Starboard Value.

“While the revenue beat is largely driven by better-than-expected COVID-19 revenues, the diverse set of other products and the recently added oncology portfolio from Seagen generated 14% Y/Y operational growth,” ONeil Trader added.