Pfizer Covid Pill Revenue Plunges 95%. The Stock Is Rising Anyway. - barrons.com

Pfizer lifted the bottom end of its full-year revenue guidance Tuesday despite a 95% plunge in Covid pill revenue, driving shares higher as investors focused on growth in its non-Covid pharmaceutical portfolio. The company beat second-quarter earnings forecasts, offsetting the steep decline in pandemic-related products.

BioNTech, Pfizer's smaller Covid vaccine partner, missed expectations as weak demand for Covid vaccines continued to weigh on results. The contrasting outlooks highlight the diverging paths of the two companies as they navigate the post-pandemic landscape.

Pfizer's guidance revision signals management confidence in its legacy drug portfolio to carry revenue growth even as pandemic-era blockbusters fade. The raised bottom end of full-year guidance underscores the company's ability to maintain financial targets despite the dramatic drop-off in Covid treatment sales that drove record profits in 2021 and 2022.

The stock's positive reaction reflects trader expectations that the Covid revenue cliff was already priced in. The focus has shifted to whether Pfizer's recently acquired assets and pipeline can sustain growth momentum.