Pfizer (PFE) Q4 earnings report 2023

Pfizer on Tuesday posted a surprise adjusted fourth-quarter profit, as the company’s declining Covid business performed better than expected.

The company reversed roughly $3.5 billion in revenue related to the expected return of 6.5 million doses of its Covid drug, Paxlovid, from the U.S. government. That hit is less than the $4.2 billion Pfizer initially expected.

Pfizer’s Covid vaccine raked in $5.36 billion in revenue for the quarter, down 53% from the same period last year. Analysts had expected the shot to bring in $4.99 billion in sales, according to FactSet estimates.

The results come as Pfizer tries to blunt the rapid decline of its Covid business, which saw demand plummet to new lows and transitioned to the commercial market in the U.S. last year. 

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

• Earnings per share: 10 cents per share adjusted vs. loss of 22 cents expected
• Revenue: $14.25 billion vs. $14.42 billion expected

The pharmaceutical giant also reiterated its full-year 2024 guidance, which it first outlined in mid-December. 

Pfizer expects revenue to come in between $58.5 billion and $61.5 billion this year, which includes roughly $8 billion in revenue from its Covid products and contributions from its recently closed acquisition of cancer drug developer Seagen. The company expects to book adjusted earnings of $2.05 to $2.25 per share.

Pfizer recorded fourth-quarter revenue of $14.25 billion, down 41% from the same period a year ago, due to the plunge in sales of its Covid products.

For the fourth quarter, Pfizer booked a net loss of $3.37…