Shares of Pfizer Inc. PFE,
fell 0.6% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, after the drugmaker reported that fourth-quarter earnings did not meet expectations, but revenue exceeded forecasts and provided an optimistic outlook for the entire year. The company swung to a net profit of $ 594 million, or 10 cents per share, from a net loss of $ 337 million, or 6 cents per share, in the prior year period. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share rose from 36 cents to 42 cents, but did not reach FactSet’s consensus of 50 cents. Revenue increased 12% to $ 11.68 billion, exceeding the FactSet consensus of $ 11.48 billion. Vaccine revenue increased 17%, for oncology it increased 23% and for rare diseases it increased 26%, while revenue increased 1% for internal medicine and grew 8% for hospital. Pfizer increased its EPS guidance range for 2021 from $ 3.10 to $ 3.20 from $ 3.00 to $ 3.10, mainly due to further refinements to its COVID-19 vaccine revenue forecast. The company expects revenue in 2021 of $ 59.4 billion to $ 61.4 billion, above FactSet’s current consensus of $ 58.3 billion. The stock gained 4.3% in the last three months, while the S&P 500 SPX,
advanced 14.0%.
