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Pfizer on Thursday reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates and hiked its full-year profit guidance, as cost cuts helped to outweigh declining sales for the period.
The pharmaceutical giant now expects its full-year adjusted profit to come in between $3 and $3.15 per share, up from a previous guidance of $2.90 to $3.10 per share. Pfizer said that reflects its “solid” performance for the year, “continued confidence in our business” and progress with reducing costs, among other factors.
Pfizer said it also includes a one-time $1.35 billion charge tied to its licensing agreement with Chinese biotech 3SBio, which hit earnings by roughly 20 cents per share. The company said its 2025 guidance also accounts for President Donald Trump’s current tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico. It does not reflect Trump’s threatened pharmaceutical-specific tariffs, as the company is exempt from those levies under a new drug pricing deal with the president.
Pfizer maintained it full-year revenue guidance of $61 billion to $64 billion.
Here’s what the company reported for the third quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 87 cents adjusted vs. 63 cents expected
- Revenue: $16.65 billion vs. $16.58 billion expected
Pfizer reported revenue of $16.65 billion for the second quarter, down 6% from the same period a year ago, largely due to lower demand for its Covid vaccine and Paxlovid, an antiviral pill for the virus.
The company booked net income of $3.54 billion, or 62 cents per share. That compares with net income of $4.47 billion, or 78 cents per share, during the same period a year ago.
Excluding certain items, including restructuring charges and costs associated with intangible assets, the company posted earnings per share of 87 cents for the quarter.
Also on Tuesday, Pfizer said it’s on track to cut costs by about $7.7 billion by the end of 2027 as part of two separate initiatives. As part of that, the company said it will slash costs by $4.5 billion by the end of 2025.
The results come weeks after Pfizer became the first drugmaker to strike a deal with Trump to voluntarily sell its medications for less, as his administration pushes to link U.S. drug prices to cheaper ones abroad.
Under the deal, Pfizer has agreed to a three-year grace period during which the company’s products won’t face Trump’s threatened pharmaceutical-specific tariffs – as long as the drugmaker further invests in U.S. manufacturing. The company plans to invest $70 billion to reshore domestic drug manufacturing and research facilities.
The results also come as Pfizer escalates a bidding war with Novo Nordisk for the obesity biotech Metsera. Pfizer on Monday filed its second lawsuit against the two companies, alleging that Novo Nordisk’s attempt to outbid Pfizer to acquire Metsera is anticompetitive.
