Pfizer (PFE 0.23%) investors are having a good Tuesday. Their company reported second-quarter fiscal results in the morning, and while headline numbers declined, they handily beat analyst estimates.
For the quarter, the pharmaceutical giant's revenue came in at just over $11.80 billion -- 11% below the Q2 2019 tally. On the bottom line, non-GAAP (adjusted) net profit was down by 3% at $4.40 billion, or $0.78 per share.
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Collectively, prognosticators tracking Pfizer estimated it would reap $11.55 billion in revenue and post an adjusted, per-share net profit of $0.66.
As with any large, global company operating under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, Pfizer's sales and profitability have taken a hit from the economic disruption. Early in the quarter, the company had briefly halted recruitment for some of its clinical trials and delayed the start of others.
A bigger impact was felt in the sales effort; Pfizer said this was due in no small part to the medical industry's necessary refocus on the coronavirus and COVID-19. The company is devoting resources to this fight; in collaboration with German biotech BioNTech, it is about to enter phase 2/3 clinical trials with an mRNA-based coronavirus vaccine candidate, BNT162b2.
The company cautiously lifted its guidance for the entirety of 2020. It now believes it will make $48.6 billion to $50.6 billion on the top line for the year; previously, the estimate was $48.5 billion to $50.5 billion. Adjusted earnings-per-share (EPS), meanwhile, should land at $2.85 to $2.95, up from the originally anticipated $2.82 to $2.92.
In late afternoon trading on Tuesday, Pfizer shares were up by 4.5% in contrast to the declines suffered by the top-stock indexes.
