While last week saw a lot of big tech companies report their quarterly results, this week will be more focused on healthcare companies. One company that made headlines on Tuesday for its long-expected Q1 results was non-other than Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). The pharmaceutical company has been around for a while but has gotten a lot of attention recently for its COVID-19 vaccine, which the company made a lot of money off of. Shareholders and analysts were wondering exactly how much Pfizer made off its vaccine.
As it turned out, Pfizer made quite a lot of its coronavirus treatment. In its first-quarter results, Pfizer reported revenue of around $14.6 billion in sales. Around $3.5 billion of that came from its coronavirus vaccine. If this figure stays roughly the same throughout the rest of the year, Pfizer will make around $14 billion of its vaccine in a 12-month period. While that might seem hard to believe that sales will stay as they are, Pfizer actually thinks that vaccine sales could rise to as much as $26 billion by the end of the year in total.
Out of the three vaccines currently approved for use in the U.S., Pfizer’s is the most administered one of them all. At the same time, Pfizer’s treatment is growing in popularity around the world. Worldwide adoption could easily push Pfizer’s revenue from this vaccine alone into the $26 billion range forecasted by management. While that’s definitely a bullish sign for the company, many analysts are cautious about just how long this vaccine-fueled revenue spike is going to last.
“Based on what we’ve seen, we believe that a durable demand for our COVID-19 vaccine – similar to that of the flu vaccines – is a likely outcome,” said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla in an official statement on Tuesday, saying that demand could last for multiple years to come.
Not all vaccine makers have done well in this pandemic, however. While some companies have done alright despite some side-effects and hiccups, like Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), other companies have struggled. This includes small-cap vaccine makers like Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INO), whose stock has plummeted after their much anticipated clinical results fell apart back in 2020.
Shares of Pfizer didn’t really move much in response to the news. While making $3.5 billion off this vaccine was great news, it seems investors had already priced this into the company’s stock price. Since the start of 2021, shares of Pfizer have more or less stayed the same. Most analysts still have a pretty optimistic assessment of the company, though.
Pfizer Company Profile
Pfizer is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms, with annual sales close to $50 billion. Pfizer also spends a leading amount on research and development, close to $8 billion annually. While Pfizer historically sold many types of healthcare products and chemicals, now, prescription drugs and vaccines account for the majority of sales. Top sellers include pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar 13, cancer drug Ibrance, cardiovascular treatment Eliquis, and immunology drug Xeljanz. Pfizer sells these products globally, with international sales representing close to 50% of its total sales. Within international sales, emerging markets are a major contributor. – Warrior Trading News
