NEW YORK — Third-quarter revenue at Pfizer came in at $16.6 billion, little changed from a year ago. What moved on Tuesday was the outlook: the drugmaker raised its full-year 2026 guidance, crediting medicines outside its shrinking COVID business.
Revenue for the full year is now expected to land between $62 billion and $64 billion. That is $1.5 billion more at the midpoint than the range Pfizer had been using, $60.5 billion to $62.5 billion. The adjusted earnings forecast went up too, and got narrower — $2.95 to $3.05 a share, against $2.80 to $3.00 before.
On an adjusted basis, Pfizer earned 87 cents a share in the quarter, exactly what it earned a year earlier. The reported numbers were weaker. Net income fell 8%, to $3.24 billion, and reported diluted earnings eased from 62 cents a share to 56 cents.
The COVID products explain most of that drag. Paxlovid sales fell 63% operationally, a $771 million drop, and the Comirnaty vaccine fell 29%, or $339 million, on lower use in the United States and narrower vaccine recommendations. Leaving both products out, Pfizer said its revenue grew 7% operationally, while revenue from launched and acquired products rose 32%.
Other medicines filled the gap. Eliquis sales rose 25%, adding $513 million, on higher net prices in the United States. Padcev climbed 55%, Nurtec 33%, Lorbrena 43% and the Vyndaqel family 12%. The Prevnar vaccine family went the other way, down 10% on lower vaccination rates.
“Pfizer had another strong quarter with commercial momentum and disciplined execution while advancing our strategy for creating long-term shareholder value,”
Finance chief Cecile Guegan said the company was raising its guidance because of its strong performance so far this year and its confidence in the business.
The new guidance absorbs a one-time $650 million charge tied to a licensing and collaboration deal with Innovent Biologics, which Pfizer put at about 10 cents a share. Over the first nine months of the year the company paid $7.3 billion in dividends and spent $8.3 billion on research and development, and it said its late-stage pipeline had recently logged eight pivotal study starts, one pivotal readout and two regulatory decisions.
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