Pfizer Jumps After Q2 Profit Drops Less Than Feared

Investing.com - Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) stock rose 3.0% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the pharma giant said its revenue and profit fell by less than expected in the second quarter, allowing it to raise its guidance for the full year by a whisker.

Pfizer said adjusted earnings per share fell 2% to 78c on an 11% drop in revenue to $11.80 billion Analysts polled by Investing.com had anticipated EPS of 68c on revenue of $11.58 billion. The company now expects full-year earnings to be in a 10c range around $2.90 a share, some 3c higher than what it forecast in March.

The news comes a day after Pfizer and its German partner, Nasdaq-listed BioNTech, started a hybrid phase 2/3 trial for their candidate vaccine to treat the Covid-19 virus. Its unprecedentedly quick progress on developing this vaccine has grabbed most of the headlines in recent weeks, diverting attention away from the fact that the public health emergency across the U.S. and other markets has actually depressed demand for many of its other products. The company noted that its sales force had barely been able to meet with healthcare professionals throughout the whole of the quarter.

"Our researchers and scientists have made important progress toward developing an effective vaccine though significant additional work remains," chief executive Albert Bourla said in a statement.

Bourla also noted that the planned merger of its generics business Upjohn with Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) is now expected to close in the fourth quarter. In March, it had already pushed back the deadline to the second half of 2020, so the new guidance is at the later end of that range.

Pfizer shares are down 4% from the beginning of the year, and are down 12.7% from their 52-week high of $43.00 on July 29, 2019. They are outperforming the Dow Jones which is down 6.9% from the start of the year.

Pfizer's report follows an earnings beat by J&J on July 16, who reported earnings of $1.67 a share on revenue of $18.34 billion, ahead of forecasts for $1.49 in profit on revenue of $17.61 billion.

Roche Holding had beaten expectations on Thursday with second-quarter earnings per share of $1.45, some 2% ahead of forecasts, on revenue of $15.27 billion.

Stay up-to-date on all of the upcoming earnings reports by visiting Investing.com's earnings calendar

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