Novavax (NVAX) earnings report Q4 2023

Shares of Novavax fell more than 20% on Wednesday after the vaccine maker reported fourth-quarter revenue and earnings that missed Wall Street’s estimates and said it expects full-year 2024 sales to come in flat or lower than last year.

Still, Novavax narrowed its losses in the quarter from the same period a year ago, even as demand for the biotech company’s Covid vaccine – its only marketable product – and other shots and treatments that combat the virus continue to plummet worldwide. 

Here’s what Novavax reported for the fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

• Loss per share: $1.44 vs. a loss of 45 cents expected 
• Revenue: $291.3 million vs. $322 million expected

The company posted a net loss of $178.4 million, or $1.44 per share, for the quarter. That compares with a net loss of $182.2 million, or $2.28 per share, in the year-earlier quarter. 

Novavax generated fourth-quarter sales of $291.3 million, down from the $357.4 million in the year-earlier period. 

Novavax CEO John Jacobs told CNBC that the company had some revenue move from 2023 into 2024 due to the timing of some advance purchase agreements for doses of its Covid shot. But Jacobs also said on an earnings call with investors on Wednesday that Novavax is “disappointed” with its performance in the U.S. Covid vaccine market last season.

Several factors, such as the later entry of Novavax’s updated Covid shot last fall, affected the company’s ability to gain Covid vaccine market share in the U.S., Novavax Chief Operating Officer John Trizzino said on the call. But he said factors “outside of our control,” including a smaller-than-expected Covid market size and an overwhelming number of vaccinations that took place in retail pharmacies, led Novavax to perform below expectations.

Trizzino said the company will work to increase its market share this year through efforts such as rolling out its next Covid shot in…