Empty vials of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) kid’s vaccines are pictured at Skippack Pharmacy in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, U.S., May 19, 2022.Â
Hannah Beier | Reuters
The continued Covid-19 pandemic propelled pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s earnings to a record $100 billion last yr, almost $57 billion of which was driven by its vaccine and antiviral pill Paxlovid, the corporate reported Tuesday.
The vaccine accounted for $37.8 billion, up just 3% from 2021, of Pfizer’s total sales as demand for the shots slowed. But sales of its blockbuster antiviral treatment made up for that softening, surging to $18.9 billion in 2022, the primary full yr that Paxlovid was available on the market.
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Pfizer’s combined sales from its Covid vaccine and antiviral treatment generated more revenue last yr than it had in total sales in 2019, before the pandemic became a world crisis that killed greater than 6.8 million people and upended world markets. Those results won’t be repeated this yr.
Pfizer told investors to expect revenue to say no in 2023 by as much as 33% to between $67 billion and $71 billion because the world emerges from the pandemic and demand for its blockbuster Covid drugs slows.
Covid vaccines sales are projected to plummet by 64% this yr to $13.5 billion from $37.8 billion in 2022. Paxlovid sales are expected to drop 58% to $8 billion in 2023 from $18.9 billion in 2022.
Pfizer can be forecasting that its full-year earnings per share will drop by as much as 50%, to between $3.25 and $3.45, from a record EPS of $6.58 in 2022.
The corporate’s fourth-quarter results were largely in keeping with analysts’ expectations.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla last quarter laid out a 2030 growth plan for the corporate that appears beyond the pandemic. Bourla said he sees future revenue growth from RSV vaccines and medications for migraines and ulcerative colitis, amongst other drug products.
