Cancer Treatments Propel Pfizer Sales Growth as Covid Revenue Dwindles

It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were jostling for Covid-19 vaccines, lining up to get Pfizer’s name (or Moderna’s) scrawled onto cards we kept in our wallets to get into a bar. Times have changed, for both us and the drugmaker.

Post-pandemic, plummeting demand for Pfizer’s vaccine pushed the pharmaceutical giant to make a big pivot: It’s becoming a cancer treatment powerhouse. The company’s first-quarter earnings topped analysts’ expectations, thanks in part to a 39% surge in operational revenue from Padcev, a treatment for bladder and urinary tract cancer. Pfizer reported quarterly sales of $14.5 billion and adjusted earnings per share of 75 cents, topping Wall Street’s estimates of $13.8 billion and 73 cents per share, respectively. 

Pfizer’s New Focus   

Operational revenue from Pfizer’s Covid vaccine, Comirnaty, and the Paxlovid pill to treat the illness declined by 59% and 63%, respectively. Still, the company offered up first-quarter operational revenue growth excluding Covid-related products of 7%.  

Oncology is the company’s “most advanced and concentrated area of research and commercial focus” due to its acquisition of biotech company Seagen in 2023, CEO Albert Bourla said on a post-earnings call. 

When it comes to cancer treatment, it’s “all about efficacy,” says Brian Mulberry, chief market strategist at Zacks Investment Management. “The new line in the pipeline achieves far better results with significantly fewer side effects. Better trials and targeted gene-sequencing are helping to dial in therapeutics and drugs that just work better, and that increases the market and margin over time.” 

In the company’s statement, Bourla said that in addition to oncology, he’s encouraged by what the company is seeing in its obesity treatments business, where he says Pfizer is positioned to lead: 

• The company has focused on obesity research, and it bought weight-loss drug developer Metsera last year in a deal that may be worth more than $10 billion. (But was it worth it? Investors didn’t seem convinced after Pfizer released limited data on its new obesity treatments in February.) 
• Its blood thinner Eliquis was another revenue driver in the first quarter, with an 8% jump in operational revenue. 

Stock Story: The stock, which ticked up slightly Tuesday (less than 1%), is still down 33% over the past five years. Investors want more. “The company affirmed current full-year guidance, but this is a mild result that is not likely to satisfy skeptics in the market,” Mulberry says.