Pfizer Inc (PFE) Edges Out Expectations, Shares Up Slightly

Updated on

Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) reported its fourth quarter and full-year earnings results this morning, edging out expectations. The company reported fourth quarter revenues of $13.6 billion and full-year revenues of $51.6 billion. Pfizer said fourth quarter adjusted earnings were 56 cents per share, while reported earnings were 39 cents per share. For the full year, adjusted earnings were $2.22 per share, while reported earnings were $3.19 per share.

Wall Street had been expecting the company to report earnings of 53 cents per share on revenue of $13.4 billion for the fourth quarter and $2.23 per share in earnings on $51.4 billion in revenue. Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) shares rose nearly 2% in premarket trading after the company announced its results.

Examining Pfizer’s results

Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) reported that its oncology segment was a key driver of its results, as revenues rose 29% operationally due to the “continued solid uptake of new products,” particularly their drugs Inlyta and Xalkori. Their drug Sutent faced increased competition, however, and was negatively impacted.

Primary care revenues fell 8%, mostly because of a shift in the reporting of revenues from the cholesterol drug Lipitor in some markets. Also Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) lost exclusivity in some of its primary care drugs in some markets, including the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra and the fibromyalgia drug Lyrica.

Specialty care revenues fell 5% after Pfizer terminated the collaboration agreement for the arthritis drug Enbrel. In emerging markets, the company reported a 9% growth in revenues because of volume growth in China, particularly for the cholesterol drug Lipitor. Revenues for established products rose 6%, driven by the shift in the reporting of some drugs in certain markets. Consumer healthcare revenue rose 2%, driven by strong growth in emerging markets, particularly for products like the company’s Centrum multi-vitamin.

Pfizer prepares for upcoming study results

In this morning’s report, Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) said it plans to report on a number of clinical studies for their mid- and late-stage pipeline compounds. In the near term, they’re expecting to report top-line results for phase two of the  study on their breast cancer drug palbociclib and the CAPiTA study for the pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar 13 for people ages 65 and up. They also expect to present more information on phase 2b for their cholesterol drug bococizumab and their staph vaccine.

During the June quarter, they’re expecting to have results for two phase three studies for their psoriasis drug Xeljanz.

Pfizer buys back shares, guides for 2014

Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) also provided financial guidance for 2014, saying they expect adjusted revenues to be between $49.2 billion and $51.2 billion. They project adjusted earnings per share will be between $2.20 and $2.30 per share for the full year. The company included expected negative impacts of about $3 billion because of expiring exclusivity on some of their drugs and also expiring and termination of some of the company’s collaborations which are still negatively impacting alliance revenue. They expect research and development costs to be between $6.4 billion and $6.9 billion for the year and plan to buy back $5 billion worth of the company’s shares this year.

During the fourth quarter, Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) also bought back $4.6 billion worth of its shares, while during the full year, the company bought back a total of $16.3 billion. The company returned about $23 billion to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks in all of 2013.

Leave a Comment