Pfizer Raises Guidance As Lead Drugs Drive Q1 Beat; Stock Up
Big pharma Pfizer ( PFE ) rose early Tuesday after it beat Wall Street’s Q1 estimates and raised its guidance, as the company moved on after it and Allergan ( AGN ) last month called off their mammoth $160 billion merger. Before the open, Pfizer said earnings, excluding one-time items, rose 32% over the year-earlier quarter to 67 cents a share, beating analysts’ consensus by 12 cents. Revenue increased 20% to $13 billion, beating consensus by about $1 billion. The accounting in Q1 was complicated by several factors, including the Sept. 3 acquisition of generic drugmaker Hospira. “If we look closely to year-over-year revenue growth, it is worth mentioning that out of $2.1 billion growth vs. Q1 ’15 (or $2.9 billion of operational growth or 26% year-over-year) favorable FX (foreign-exchange rates) contributed $729 million, and inclusion of Hospira contributed $1.2 billion,” wrote Evercore ISI analyst Mark Schoenebaum in an email to clients. “Excluding FX and Hospira, Pfizer stand-alone revenue increased by $1.7 billion (15% year-over-year growth). “There is also an additional factor favorably contributing to revenues — $900 million due to an additional five selling days this quarter. Excluding this impact, operational year-over-year revenue growth comes as 8%, which is still very good growth for Pfizer with its relatively mature portfolio of products.” Still, none of these factors except foreign exchange contributed to Pfizer’s full-year guidance increase. The company added $2 billion to its revenue guidance, now $51 billion to $53 billion, and 18 cents to its EPS range, now $2.38 to $2.48. Pfizer said that about $1 billion of the revenue hike and 12 cents of the EPS gain were due to improved operating performance. Pfizer stock was up 2.4% in early trading on the stock market today , near 33.60. A number of important drugs also beat consensus, including breast-cancer treatment Ibrance, epilepsy drug Lyrica, and pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar 13. Enbrel — Amgen ‘s ( AMGN ) rheumatoid-arthritis drug, which Pfizer markets outside the U.S. — also beat expectations, as it did domestically for Amgen in its Q1 report last week. Nonetheless, investors’ minds may be elsewhere, wrote Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan in a research note. “We expect investors to view the quarter as a positive but maintain their focus on the strategic outlook of the company following the failed Allergan deal and ahead of a decision on a potential split of Pfizer ,” he wrote. Pfizer and Allergan, based in low-tax Ireland, called off their merger , which would have been the industry’s largest ever, after the U.S. Treasury unveiled new rules to curb tax inversion deals.