On Wednesday, Pfizer has released its second quarter results and said that its Covid shots brought in $7.8 billion. It has also raised its sales forecast for the vaccines from $26 billion to $33.5 billion in 2021. It has exceeded Wall Street’s expectations on both earnings and revenue. The company said that it estimates its adjusted pretax profit for the vaccine to be 20 percent. The company’s shares increased by 2.5 percent, intraday trading.
According to average expectations by analysts and compiled by Refintiv:
- The adjusted earnings per share were $1.07 while the projected earnings were 97 cents.
- The revenue stood at $18.98 billion while the estimated revenue was 18.74.
Pfizer has also changed its estimates of its full year earnings. It is now looking at earnings of $3.95 to $4.05 per share from its earlier forecast of $3.55 to $3.65 per share. It has also raised its revenue estimates from $78 billion to $80 billion from previous forecasts of $70.5 billion to $72.5 billion.
Other units of Pfizer also saw a rise in sales. The oncology unit revenue increased by 19 percent year over year and stood at $3.1 billion. Its hospital unit soared 21 percent when compared with last year and brought in a revenue of $2.2 billion, while its internal medicine unit grew by a modest 5 percent from last year and generated $2.4 billion.
As the delta variant spreads across the nation, Pfizer has been peddling its booster shot to the government, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not taken a decision on such shots though it may consider it for vulnerable people.
In his post-earnings conference call on Wednesday, Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla said that some people might need a third shot “earlier” than a year to maintain the highest possible protection against the virus. The company is looking emergency use authorization for its booster shot from the Food and Drug Administration as early as August. By early next year Pfizer is also expecting to get full approval for its two dose COVID-19 vaccine manufactured in collaboration with BioNTech, in Germany.
Image Marco Verch Professional
