Pfizer Reports Strong Third-Quarter 2024 Results And Raises 2024 Guidance

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) reported financial results for the third quarter of 2024 and raised its full-year 2024 guidance⁽¹⁾ for both Revenues and Adjusted⁽²⁾ diluted EPS.

The third-quarter 2024 earnings presentation and accompanying prepared remarks from management as well as the quarterly update to Pfizer’s R&D pipeline can be found at www.pfizer.com.

EXECUTIVE COMMENTARY

Dr. Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “We delivered another strong quarter of results as we continued to execute with discipline, strengthen our commercial position and advance our pipeline. I am pleased with the performance of our product portfolio in the third quarter as we continued to achieve exceptional growth with our Oncology products, including strong revenue growth contributions from Padcev, Xtandi, Lorbrena and Braftovi/Mektovi, and as we delivered on heightened demand for Paxlovid during the recent COVID-19 wave.

“Our performance through the first three quarters of the year is the result of our focus on our most important strategic priorities. I’m confident that we will deliver on our financial commitments in 2024 and that we are well positioned to continue advancing scientific breakthroughs meaningful to our patients and our company, as well as creating long-term shareholder value, in the years to come.”

David Denton, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, stated: “We are extremely pleased with the strong 14% operational revenue growth of Pfizer’s non-COVID products in the third quarter. This follows our strong first-half performance, which demonstrates our continued focus on commercial execution and confidence in our ability to deliver on our financial guidance this year. Importantly, we believe our ongoing cost reduction efforts set the company on a path toward future margin expansion.”

OVERALL RESULTS

In the first quarter of 2024, Pfizer reclassified royalty income (substantially all of which is related to our Biopharma segment) from Other (income)/deductions––net to revenues and began presenting Royalty revenues as a separate line item within Total revenues in our consolidated statements of operations. Prior-period amounts have been recast to conform to the current presentation.

Some amounts in this press release may not add due to rounding. All percentages have been calculated using unrounded amounts. References to operational variances pertain to period-over-period changes that exclude the impact of foreign exchange rates⁽⁶⁾.

Results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2024 and 2023⁽⁷⁾ are summarized below.

REVENUES

2024 FINANCIAL GUIDANCE⁽¹⁾

Pfizer raises full-year 2024 revenue guidance by $1.5 billion at the midpoint to a range of $61.0 to $64.0 billion and raises Adjusted⁽²⁾ diluted EPS guidance by $0.30 at the midpoint to $2.75 to $2.95. The company’s updated guidance for revenue includes approximately $10.5 billion in anticipated revenues for Comirnaty⁽³⁾ and Paxlovid, approximately $5 billion and $5.5 billion, respectively. Including the contribution from Seagen and excluding revenues from Comirnaty⁽³⁾ and Paxlovid, Pfizer continues to expect full-year 2024 operational revenue growth of 9% to 11% compared to 2023 revenues; and this growth guidance takes into consideration the reduction of sales associated with the previously announced global withdrawal of Oxbryta.

The updated 2024 Adjusted⁽²⁾ diluted EPS guidance takes into consideration our strong year-to-date performance as well as our continued confidence in our business.

Pfizer’s updated financial guidance⁽¹⁾ is presented below.

Changes in foreign exchange rates have had a minimal incremental impact since full-year 2024 guidance was updated on July 30, 2024. Please refer to Press Release Footnote (1) for additional information.

CAPITAL ALLOCATION

During the first nine months of 2024, Pfizer deployed its capital in a variety of ways, which primarily include the following two categories:

• Reinvesting capital into initiatives intended to enhance the future growth prospects of the company, including:
  • $7.8 billion invested in internal research and development projects, and
  • Approximately $200 million invested in business development transactions.
• Returning capital directly to shareholders through $7.1 billion of cash dividends, or $1.26 per share of common stock.

No share repurchases were completed to date in 2024. As of October 29, 2024, Pfizer’s remaining share repurchase authorization is $3.3 billion. Current financial guidance does not anticipate any share repurchases in 2024.

Third-quarter 2024 diluted weighted-average shares outstanding used to calculate Reported⁽⁴⁾ and Adjusted⁽²⁾ diluted EPS were 5,705 million shares. For the third quarter of 2023, basic weighted-average shares outstanding of 5,646 million were used to calculate Reported⁽⁴⁾ and Adjusted⁽²⁾ diluted LPS.

QUARTERLY FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (Third-Quarter 2024 vs. Third-Quarter 2023)

Third-quarter 2024 revenues totaled $17.7 billion, an increase of $4.2 billion, or 31%, compared to the prior-year quarter, reflecting an operational increase of $4.3 billion, or 32%, primarily due to growth contributions from Paxlovid as well as several of our acquired products, key in-line products, and recent commercial launches, partially offset by an unfavorable impact of foreign exchange of $133 million, or 1%. Excluding contributions from Paxlovid and Comirnaty⁽³⁾, revenues totaled $13.6 billion, an increase of $1.7 billion, or 14%, operationally compared with the prior-year quarter.

Third-quarter 2024 Paxlovid revenues of $2.7 billion increased $2.5 billion operationally compared with the prior-year quarter, primarily due to strong demand, particularly in the U.S., driven by higher utilization during a recent global COVID-19 wave; the one-time contractual delivery of one million treatment courses to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile in the third quarter of 2024 that accounted for $442 million in revenue; and no U.S. sales in the prior-year quarter in anticipation of the transition to commercial markets in November 2023.

Third-quarter 2024 Comirnaty⁽³⁾ revenues of $1.4 billion increased $119 million, or 9%, operationally compared with the prior-year quarter, driven primarily by timing of stocking as a result of earlier approval of the new variant vaccine in the U.S. in 2024 compared to 2023, partially offset by lower contractual deliveries and demand in international markets.

Excluding contributions from Comirnaty⁽³⁾ and Paxlovid, third-quarter 2024 operational revenue growth was driven primarily by:

• Global revenues of $854 million from legacy Seagen, which was acquired in December of 2023;
• Vyndaqel family (Vyndaqel, Vyndamax, Vynmac) globally, up 63% operationally, driven largely by continued strong demand, primarily in the U.S. and international developed markets;
• Eliquis globally, up 9% operationally, driven primarily by continued oral anti-coagulant adoption and market share gains in the non-valvular atrial fibrillation indication in the U.S. and certain markets in Europe, partially offset by declines due to loss of patent-based exclusivity and generic competition in certain international markets;
• Xtandi, up 28% operationally, driven primarily by strong demand due to uptake of the non-metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (nmCSPC) indication following approval in the fourth quarter of 2023; and
• Nurtec ODT/Vydura globally, up 45% operationally, driven primarily by strong demand in the U.S. and, to a much lesser extent, recent launches in international markets;

partially offset primarily by lower revenues for:

• Xeljanz globally, down 35% operationally, driven primarily by decreased prescription volumes globally resulting from ongoing shifts in prescribing patterns related to label changes, as well as lower net price in the U.S. and the impact of regulatory exclusivity expiry in Canada; and
• Ibrance globally, down 12% operationally, driven primarily by lower demand due to competitive pressure globally and price decreases in certain international developed markets, partially offset by increased clinical trial supply orders in certain international developed markets versus prior year.

GAAP Reported⁽⁴⁾ Statement of Operations Highlights

SELECTED REPORTED⁽⁴⁾ COSTS AND EXPENSES

Third-quarter 2024 Cost of Sales⁽⁴⁾ as a percentage of revenues decreased by 39.0 percentage points compared to the prior-year quarter, driven primarily by the non-recurrence of a non-cash charge of $5.6 billion recorded in the third quarter of 2023 for inventory write-offs and related charges ($4.7 billion for Paxlovid and $0.9 billion for Comirnaty⁽³⁾).

Third-quarter 2024 SI&A Expenses⁽⁴⁾ were relatively flat operationally compared with the prior-year quarter, reflecting a decrease due to lower U.S. healthcare reform fees primarily related to Paxlovid and Comirnaty⁽³⁾, largely offset by an increase in spending related to marketing and promotional expenses for recently launched and acquired products.

Third-quarter 2024 R&D Expenses⁽⁴⁾ decreased 4% operationally compared with the prior-year quarter, driven primarily by lower spending on certain ongoing vaccine programs and, to a lesser extent, lower spending as a result of our cost realignment program, partially offset by a net increase in spending mainly to develop certain product candidates acquired from Seagen.

The unfavorable period-over-period change in Other deductions—net⁽⁴⁾ of $62 million for the third quarter of 2024, compared with the prior-year quarter, was driven primarily by higher net interest expense and a charge in the third quarter of 2024 related to the expected sale of one of our facilities resulting from the discontinuation of our Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) program, partially offset by net gains on equity securities in the third quarter of 2024 versus net losses on equity securities in the prior-year quarter.

Pfizer’s effective tax rate on Reported⁽⁴⁾ income for the third quarter of 2024 is primarily a result of its jurisdictional mix of earnings. Pfizer’s positive effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2023 reflects a tax benefit on a pre-tax Reported⁽⁴⁾ loss.

Adjusted⁽²⁾ Statement of Operations Highlights

SELECTED ADJUSTED⁽²⁾ COSTS AND EXPENSES

See the reconciliations of certain Reported⁽⁴⁾ to non-GAAP Adjusted⁽²⁾ financial measures and associated footnotes in the financial tables section of this press release located at the hyperlink below.

RECENT NOTABLE DEVELOPMENTS (Since July 30, 2024)

Product Developments

Pipeline Developments

A comprehensive update of Pfizer’s development pipeline was published today and is now available at www.pfizer.com/science/drug-product-pipeline. It includes an overview of Pfizer’s research and a list of compounds in development with targeted indication and phase of development, as well as mechanism of action for some candidates in Phase 1 and all candidates from Phase 2 through registration.

Corporate Developments