Pfizer Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines (PFE)

Pfizer Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE ) reported earnings on Jan. 29. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Pfizer beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped and GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.

Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
Pfizer booked revenue of $15.07 billion. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $14.38 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 10% lower than the prior-year quarter's $16.75 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.47. The 16 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.44 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.85 for Q4 were 347% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.19 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.01 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 78.9%, 640 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.7%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 41.9%, 3,330 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $14.11 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.56.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $57.73 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.29.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 5,456 members out of 6,045 rating the stock outperform, and 589 members rating it underperform. Among 1,585 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,487 give Pfizer a green thumbs-up, and 98 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Pfizer is outperform, with an average price target of $27.55.

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Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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