Pfizer reported that earnings and sales more than doubled in the most recent quarter, and it raised its full-year outlook, owing largely to its Covid-19 vaccine.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $7.7 billion, a 133 percent increase over the previous year. Revenue increased by 134 percent to $24.1 billion. Analysts predicted both easily cleared results.
The vaccine business alone accounted for more than 60% of the company’s sales, with vaccine revenue increasing to $14.6 billion from $1.7 billion the previous year. According to the company, Covid vaccine sales accounted for $13 billion of that revenue. Outside of its Covid vaccine business, revenue increased by a much more modest 7%.
The Covid vaccine has generated $24.3 billion in revenue this year. Pfizer also stated that it expects the vaccine to generate $36 billion in revenue for the entire year of 2021, which is nearly $12 billion more than the previous quarter. It also stated that the Covid vaccine will generate $29 billion in revenue in 2022, based on contracts it has now signed. And that’s not the only thing it’ll bring in.
“We continue to engage with governments about potential additional orders for 2022,” the company said.
The company now expects full-year revenue of $81 billion to $82 billion in 2021, up $2 billion from its previous forecast. It also increased its earnings per share forecast by about 3% to 5% above what was previously expected.
“While we are proud of our financial performance, we are even more proud of what these financial results represent in terms of the positive impact we are having on human lives all over the world,” CEO Albert Bourla said in prepared remarks to investors.
According to Mayo Clinic data, approximately 67 percent of the total US population has received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, and 58 percent are fully vaccinated. So there are still significant vaccination doses available, particularly for children, many of whom are still not approved to receive the vaccine. The US Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 on Friday. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will make the final decision on the vaccine for children. The CDC’s vaccine advisory committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, and younger children could begin receiving the vaccine within days.
According to Pfizer, a clinical trial found that its vaccine provides more than 90% protection against symptomatic disease in children, even at one-third the dose that could be given to children. Another study found that booster doses of the vaccine for adults had a 95.6 percent efficacy rate. Booster doses have already been administered to older and at-risk adults since earlier this year.
Last week, Pfizer announced that the US government had exercised its final purchase option to purchase 50 million additional doses of its Covid vaccine. This brings the total number of pediatric vaccine doses to 115 million, which is enough to vaccinate every child in the United States. Under its supply agreement, the federal government has now purchased a total of 600 million doses for all age groups.
Outside Comirnaty, Pfizer products include several cancer treatments, other vaccines and internal medicine drugs like Eliquis, for preventing blood clots and strokes.
The company also is developing a potential oral COVID-19 drug that could be used to treat patients or as a preventive measure to keep a household from getting sick after a member catches the virus.
Pfizer shares were up 5% in midday trading as a result of the results.
