Pfizer’s (PFE) shares plummeted about 5% early Tuesday after the U.S. pharma giant stuck to its previous softer COVID-19 sales guidance for 2026 and again warned of revenue pressure from upcoming patent expirations. This overshadowed the company’s earnings beat for the fourth quarter of 2025.
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Pfizer Earnings Beat as Quarterly Loss Deepens
During the three months that ended on December 31, the New York-based company grew its adjusted earnings per share by 5% to 66 cents, ahead of the Wall Street consensus of 57 cents. While its revenue fell about 1% from a year ago to $17.56 billion, the figure also topped analysts’ expectations of $16.85 billion.
For the quarter, Pfizer’s net loss widened from $410 million to $1.65 billion. The company also reported a loss of $7.8 billion for the full year, although it was slightly better than $8.03 billion in losses seen during the same period last year.
Pfizer Maintains Downbeat COVID-19 Revenue Forecast
Pfizer restated its previous guidance for COVID-19 product sales to bring in about $5 billion in revenue this year. It previously predicted this would be $1.5 billion lower than the $6.5 billion estimated for 2025.
The pharma giant also reaffirmed its expectation that loss of patent exclusivity on certain products will result in a loss of about $1.5 billion. The company has previously stated that it expects this headwind to result in an annual revenue loss of $17 billion by 2030.
For the quarter and full year, revenue from Pfizer’s Global Biopharmaceuticals segment fell by 2% to $17.1 billion and $61.2 billion, respectively. This segment generates most of Pfizer’s revenue and includes the Primary Care unit, which is the company’s largest business. The unit sells COVID-19 products such as Paxlovid and Comirnaty.
Pfizer Doubles Down on the Obesity Race
Looking ahead, Pfizer is working to squeeze out gains from its $10 billion acquisition of Metsera to enter the lucrative obesity drug market. The pharma giant said its late mid-stage trial for PF’3944, the experimental drug acquired via Metsera, has shown significant results.
The company expects to advance 10 late-stage trials for this drug while also running over 20 other studies focused on obesity.
Is Pfizer a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
On Wall Street, Pfizer’s shares currently have a Moderate Buy consensus rating from analysts. This is based on five Buys and 12 Holds issued by 17 analysts over the past three months.
In addition, the average PFE price target of $28.53 implies about 7% upside from current trading levels. However, the consensus rating might change as more analysts reassess the stock following the latest earnings update.
