- Pfizer’s Covid vaccine sales reached $37.8 billion in 2022, a modest 3% rise from the previous year as demand for the shots declined.
- The antiviral pill Paxlovid saw significant growth, with 2022 sales reaching $18.9 billion in its first full year of availability.
- Pfizer forecasts a 33% drop in revenue for 2023, with an estimated range of $67 billion to $71 billion, as the world moves beyond the pandemic and demand for its Covid drugs decreases.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s earnings reached an unprecedented $100 billion in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, according to the company’s latest report. The majority of these profits, approximately $57 billion, came from sales of their vaccine and antiviral pill Paxlovid.
Although demand for the Covid vaccine softened, leading to a mere 3% increase in sales to $37.8 billion, the blockbuster antiviral treatment more than made up for it with a staggering $18.9 billion in sales in 2022, its first full year on the market. Pfizer’s combined sales from both products generated higher revenue in one year than their total sales in 2019, prior to the outbreak of the pandemic.
Unfortunately, these results will not be repeated in the upcoming year. Pfizer has advised investors to anticipate a decline in revenue by up to 33% to a range of $67 billion to $71 billion as the world moves beyond the pandemic and demand for their Covid drugs decrease. Sales of the Covid vaccine are predicted to plummet by 64% this year to $13.5 billion, while sales of Paxlovid are expected to drop by 58% to $8 billion in 2023.
The company also forecasts a decrease in their full-year earnings per share by as much as 50%, to between $3.25 and $3.45, down from a record EPS of $6.58 in 2022. Despite these projections, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla remains optimistic, outlining a growth plan for the company beyond the pandemic, with a focus on future revenue from RSV vaccines and treatments for migraines and ulcerative colitis.
Pfizer’s fourth-quarter results were in line with analysts’ expectations.