Pfizer Raises Profit Forecast Amid Pressure on Drug Prices
(Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc. increased its full-year earnings outlook, a sign of relative confidence in profitability amid weaker revenue and pressure on drug prices from the Trump administration.
The New-York-based drugmaker now sees earnings of $2.95 to $3.05 a share, excluding some items, after its second-quarter profit beat Wall Street estimates. Analysts anticipated $2.95 for the full year, on average.
Pfizer's recent decision to delay price increases had raised questions about the eventual impact on future growth. The company has been in the spotlight after being singled out by President Donald Trump, who said Pfizer should be “ashamed” of its price hikes. Other drugmakers followed suit in freezing increases, and Sanofi's chief financial officer said Tuesday that the “easy life” of an industry that had been counting on rising prices in the U.S. to make profits are are over.
On the profit front, Pfizer got a boost from Trump's policies. The drugmaker is benefiting from the corporate tax cut signed into law in the U.S. at the beginning of the year. The drugmaker expects an adjusted tax rate of 16 percent, down from 17 percent earlier. The company attributed its lowered sales outlook to foreign exchanges, joining other global health companies that have cited the strong dollar, including Johnson & Johnson.
Pfizer shares rose about 1 percent to $38.98 as of 10:02 a.m. in New York following the results.
Read More: Pfizer second-quarter results and 2018 forecast
The company's strong quarter was driven by the division that sells newer drugs. Blood thinner Eliquis sales topped analysts' estimates, while its Prevnar vaccine franchise and blockbuster cancer treatment Ibrance both were in line. Total sales for the second quarter rose 4 percent $13.5 billion, topping predictions by analysts.
The newer drugs offset a sales decline in the unit that sells older medicines, including a drop in sterile injectibles. Pfizer blamed product shortages in its Hospira division, which has been mired with manufacturing issues.
Global drugmakers had until now been regularly increasing the cost of some of their medicines in the U.S. Other companies that followed Pfizer in freezing price hikes in the county include Novartis AG and Eli Lilly & Co. Merck & Co. said it would lower prices for some products.
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
-
A New Samvat Wishlist: Inclusive Prosperity And Human Development
India has strengthened its economic foundations through infrastructure, digital access and enterprise. Its next growth chapter must deepen productivity, create better livelihoods and widen participation in prosperity.
-
Love, Sex Aur Dhokha: The Audacious Plot To Spy On Jensen Huang
A Taipei dinner, a Singapore chip buyer and a suspected Chinese asset: inside the alleged spy operation that got close to NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
