Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) posted second-quarter results today that beat the consensus forecast. In addition, thanks to solid vaccine sales, the company boosted its outlook for the remainder of the year. The company expects annual sales of the two-dose vaccine it jointly developed with BioNTech to hit $3.5 billion.
The New York City–based company reported profits of $5.563 billion, or $0.98 per share, on sales of $19.0 billion for the three months ended June 30, for a bottom-line gain of 59% and operational growth of 86% compared with Q2 2020.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $1.07, eight cents ahead of The Street, where analysts were looking for EPS of $0.99 on sales of $9.9 million.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the way Pfizer has started 2021,” said Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla in the earnings call.
While COVID-19 vaccine sales drove the majority of its growth in the second quarter, Bourla said the company is “equally proud of the second-quarter performance of our business excluding BNT162b2, which posted 10% operational revenue growth.”
Sales of its Prevnar 13 pneumococcal conjugate vaccine were also strong, climbing 11% to $1.24 billion during the pandemic. The company has explored combining the 13-valent vaccine with its COVID-19 vaccine. It is also developing a 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate.
The company aims to achieve a compound annual growth rate of at least 6% through 2025.
Pfizer anticipates that its full-year earnings will fall between $3.95 to $4.05 per share, which is forty cents higher than its May forecast of $3.55 to $3.65 per share. It expects revenue in the range of $78 billion to $80 billion. The company had previously expected $70.5 billion to $72.5 billion.
Investors reacted by sending PFE shares up 3.8% to $43.66 in afternoon trading.