Pfizer slipped in premarket trading Tuesday even as fourth-quarter earnings blew past Wall Street estimates.
Pfizer reported adjusted earnings of 66 cents a share for the fourth quarter, beating the 57 cents Wall Street had forecast. Quarterly revenue of $17.6 billion topped analysts’ calls for $16.8 billion.
However, guidance was short of consensus views. The company reaffirmed its 2026 outlook it provided in December, including revenue in the range of $59.5 billion to $62.5 billion and adjusted earnings in the range of $2.80 to $3 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet were looking for revenue of $61.9 billion and profit of $3.12 a share. The guidance doesn’t anticipate any stock buybacks, Pfizer said.
Shares declined 0.6% in the premarket session. Futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 index rose slightly.
Ahead of earnings, Pfizer announced positive topline results in a study examining monthly maintenance dosing of its injectable GLP-1 receptor agonist in overweight adults without type 2 diabetes. The company added that it has 20 “key pivotal study starts” planned for 2026.
Over the past few years, Pfizer’s name has largely became associated with its Covid vaccine, Comirnaty. The vaccine, co-developed with BioNTech, was the first to receive emergency use authorization in 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
But Covid sales have become a less significant contributor to the company’s top line over the past few years, leaving it up to other products to fill in the gap. Pfizer’s other blockbusters include its Prevnar family of vaccines and Nurtec, which surpassed the $1 billion threshold last year. Pfizer acquired the migraine medication through its purchase of Biohaven Pharmaceuticals in 2022.