Pfizer (PFE) reported fourth quarter and full-year 2024 earnings results Tuesday, narrowly beating Wall Street expectations and its stock remained flat after market open.
Pfizer reported $63.6 billion in revenue for the full year, up 7% compared to 2023. The full-year revenue beat Wall Street consensus estimates of $62.9 billion, and earnings per share of $3.12 beat estimates of $2.97.
For the fourth quarter of 2024, Pfizer reported $17.8 billion, compared to consensus estimates of $17.3 billion, marking a 21% increase from the same quarter in 2023.
The company continues to focus on downsizing as COVID-19 product revenue and demand wane, as it has to appease a dubious Wall Street about its future. Pfizer has announced a plan to realize $4.5 billion in savings by the end of 2025 and an additional $1.5 billion by 2027 from things like downsizing manufacturing and cutting some R&D programs.
The company also managed to avoid an activist takeover of its board earlier this year, giving it a boost amid several other headwinds the company continues to battle into 2025.
Headwinds
Investors remain vigilant as Pfizer continues to build its pipeline and realize returns on recent acquisitions — which the company needs in order to balance out revenue losses expected from patent expirations this decade. That includes cancer drugs from its $43 billion Seagen takeover, as well as other smaller deals in the past two years.
Pfizer is also facing another year of Medicare price negotiations this year, after having to negotiate blood thinner Eliquis, made with Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), last year. The new list includes breast cancer drug Ibrance and prostate cancer drug Xtandi. With three drug prices controlled by Medicare, plus potential negative impact from the new Trump administration’s stance on vaccines and approvals moving forward, the company faces some exposure to pressure from government action.
Another headwind for Pfizer is the slowdown in enthusiasm over its oral GLP-1 candidate, danuglipron. The company was once seen as being able to compete with market leader Eli Lilly (LLY) in the pill category, but Lilly is now further ahead in its clinical trial. Pfizer’s phase I trial officially ended in January, but the weight-loss data results have not been shared.
“I’m excited for what’s ahead and confident that we will enhance shareholder value as we sharpen our focus to improve the productivity of our R&D pipeline and advance the clear strategic priorities guiding our company in 2025,” CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.
Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, care services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. That includes GLP-1s, of course. Follow Anjalee on social media platforms X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky @AnjKhem.
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