This is a good quarter for Pfizer because vaccines and antiviral drugs help growth

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) reported results for the first quarter of 2022 that were better than Wall Street’s expectations. Vaccines against COVID-19, as well as antiviral drugs, have become one of the main drivers of growth. The company believes that these products will remain in demand in the current period due to the potential expansion of the sales market. Pfizer’s revenue in the first quarter increased by 77% year-on-year to $25.7 billion.

Adjusted net income increased by 74% to $9.3 billion, which corresponds to $1.62 per share. The main reasons for the growth are the high sales of the Comirnaty vaccine against COVID–19 and the antiviral drug Paxlovid. In the past quarter, Pfizer received $13.2 billion in revenue from the Comirnaty vaccine and $1.5 billion. That is, together, these two products provided almost half of the pharmaceutical giant’s total revenue for the quarter. Most likely, this distribution of income items will continue in the near future.

Pfizer confirmed its revenue forecast for 2022 in the range of $98 billion to $102 billion, including $32 billion in sales of Comirnaty and $22 billion of Paxlovid. True, management slightly reduced the estimated range of earnings per share to $6.25–$6.45, but this was due to accounting adjustments related to research and development expenses. Pfizer’s management assumes that booster vaccinations and vaccines for children will be key factors in the company’s good results in future quarters. The growth driver will be the expansion of sales to new groups of patients. When Pfizer wants to ask the FDA about giving its COVID-19 vaccine to kids who aren’t old enough for it, they plan to do it in early June.