Pfizer has reported strong revenues in its latest earnings report, noting increased revenues over Q3 2023 largely due to sales from the company’s Covid-19 drugs Paxlovid and Comirnaty.
In the 29 October report, Pfizer stated overall revenues in Q3 2024 had risen by 31% compared to the same quarter in the previous year, amounting to an additional $4.3bn. Of the total $17.7bn in Q3 revenues, $2.7bn and $1.4bn were derived from sales of Paxlovid and Comirnaty, respectively, which together accounted for almost half of the company’s year-over-year growth.
The robust Q3 report did little to affect share price, although traded share volume rose to a level unseen since the company acquired Seagen in December 2023. Pfizer’s market cap is currently $161bn.
This month has also seen disruption to the company’s management, as activist hedge fund Starboard Value took a $1bn stake in Pfizer, equivalent to 0.6% of the company at the time of purchase. Aiming to steer a turnaround in Pfizer’s fortunes, Starboard accused company executives of “coercive conduct” against former CEO Ian Read and former CFO Frank D’Amelio who retracted support after initially supporting the fund’s plans.
In the Q3 conference call, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla stated: “While we agree with some of the points [Starboard] raised, we have vastly different views on many others.”
He noted common dissatisfaction with shareholder return, but disagreed with Starboard’s challenge of Pfizer’s capital deployment, saying the company’s deals with Seagen and BioNTech “have been transformational for Pfizer”.
Nonetheless, Bourla said some changes have been made at Pfizer this year to address Starboard’s such as separating US and international business and restructuring company management.
The 31% Q3 growth over Q3 2023 was in sharp contrast to the overall growth of 2% for the first nine months of 2024 compared to those of 2023. Consequently, Pfizer has adjusted its financial guidance, raising projected revenues for 2024 to between $61bn and $64bn, up $1.5bn from estimates made in the company’s Q2 statement. This includes estimated sales of $5bn and $5.5bn from Comirnaty and Paxlovid, respectively, bringing the full year’s expected growth to 9% to 11% over 2023.
Pfizer also attributed upticks in 2024 Q3 revenue to $854m in quarterly sales due to its acquisition of Seagen. Alongside this were increased operational revenues of 9% for Eliquis (apixaban), 28% for Xtandi (enzalutamide), 45% for Vydura (rimegepant sulfate), and 63% for Pfizer’s Vyndagel family (tafamidis) against equivalent quarterly revenues the previous year.
Some drug-specific revenues did see decreases. Namely, revenues for Xeljanz (tofacitinib citrate) were down 35% and decreased by 12% for Ibrance (palbociclib) compared to Q3 2023. Drops in sales were attributed to label changes, lowered US net price, and expiry of exclusivity in Canada for Xeljanz, as well as competitive pressure and international price decreases for Ibrance.
Bourla and Pfizer CFO David Denton gave statements attributing the company’s strong Q3 in part to ongoing cost reduction efforts and heightened demand for Paxlovid during the recent wave of Covid-19.
