Pfizer Q3 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Pfizer reported Q3 2026 revenue of $16.6 billion and raised its full-year outlook, projecting revenue of $62 billion to $64 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.95 to $3.05. Non-COVID product revenue grew 7% operationally, while COVID products and the Prevnar vaccine family declined.
• Launched and acquired products generated $3.8 billion in quarterly revenue, growing 32% operationally, led in part by products including Padcev, Nurtec and Lorbrena. Pfizer said it remains on track for nearly all of its $7.2 billion in planned net savings by the end of 2026 and has begun initiatives targeting another $2.5 billion in savings through 2029.
• Pfizer highlighted pipeline advances in oncology, obesity and vaccines, including positive phase III data for Elrexfio in multiple myeloma and plans to advance 10 obesity trials in 2026. The company reiterated its goal of risk-adjusted high-single-digit revenue growth from year-end 2028 through 2033.

Pfizer NYSE: PFE reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $16.6 billion and raised its full-year outlook, citing growth in non-COVID products, contributions from launched and acquired medicines, and continued cost-control efforts.

Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said the company’s launched and acquired products generated $3.8 billion in quarterly revenue and grew 32% operationally. Pfizer’s acquired product portfolio grew 37% operationally, supported by oncology medicine Padcev, migraine treatment Nurtec and cancer drug Lorbrena.

“Our excellent commercial execution, including 32% operational revenue growth in the quarter for our launched and acquired products, shows the underlying strength of our business,” Bourla said.

Financial results and outlook

Chief Financial Officer Cecile Guegan, who recently assumed the role, said non-COVID product revenue grew 7% operationally during the quarter. Reported diluted earnings per share were $0.56, while adjusted diluted EPS was $0.87, including a $0.10 charge related to Pfizer’s Innovent transaction.

The company said quarterly performance was aided by revenue from Eliquis, Paxlovid, the Vyndaqel family, Nurtec and Lorbrena. COVID-19 products and the Prevnar vaccine family declined in the quarter.

Pfizer raised its 2026 revenue outlook by $1.5 billion at the midpoint to a range of $62 billion to $64 billion. It also raised and narrowed adjusted diluted EPS guidance to $2.95 to $3.05, a $0.10 increase at the midpoint even after absorbing the Innovent transaction’s $0.10-per-share effect.

The company maintained its expectation for approximately $4 billion in COVID-product revenue for the full year. Pfizer expects most Comirnaty vaccine revenue to occur in the fourth quarter, in line with the seasonal vaccination period.

Pfizer now expects 2026 research-and-development expense of $10.8 billion to $11.8 billion. Guegan said the higher investment reflects priority oncology and obesity programs, including several phase III trial starts.

Adjusted gross margin was 77% in the quarter, while adjusted operating margin was 36%. Pfizer said favorable product mix, cost management and productivity improvements helped support margins, although the operating-margin figure was affected by the Innovent-related acquired in-process R&D charge.

Cost savings and capital allocation

Pfizer said it remains on track to deliver nearly all of its anticipated $7.2 billion in net savings from ongoing cost-improvement initiatives by the end of 2026. The company has also started a new phase of productivity programs intended to generate an additional $2.5 billion in net cost savings between 2027 and 2029.

Guegan said the initiatives include manufacturing, commercial, marketing and general-and-administrative activities. The savings are intended to help mitigate margin pressure during a period of loss of exclusivity for certain products.

During the first nine months of 2026, Pfizer invested $9.2 billion in internal and external R&D and returned $7.3 billion to shareholders through dividends. Year-to-date operating cash flow was $8.8 billion, and leverage ended the quarter at 2.6 times, slightly below Pfizer’s 2.7-times 2026 target.

Following the Innovent transaction, Pfizer said it had approximately $6 billion in business-development capacity. Guegan said the company’s priorities remain investing for growth, maintaining and growing the dividend over time, and preserving a strong balance sheet. She said Pfizer is focused on bolt-on acquisitions that complement its existing therapeutic-area portfolios rather than another large acquisition.

Pipeline progress in oncology, obesity and vaccines

Chief Scientific Officer Chris Boshoff highlighted positive phase III data for Elrexfio in multiple myeloma. In the MagnetisMM-32 study, Elrexfio monotherapy showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival compared with investigator’s choice of three established regimens in double-class-exposed disease, Pfizer said.

At the interim analysis, more than 75% of Elrexfio-treated patients had not experienced disease progression or death, and estimated 18-month progression-free survival was about 68%, according to Boshoff. Pfizer said it is pursuing additional studies that could expand Elrexfio into earlier treatment lines, pending clinical and regulatory success.

The company also discussed atirmociclib, its selective CDK4 inhibitor being studied in breast cancer. Boshoff said phase II FOURLIGHT-1 data showed that atirmociclib plus fulvestrant reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 40% against investigator’s-choice treatment in patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer who had previously received a CDK4/6 inhibitor.

In obesity, Bourla said Pfizer plans to advance 10 active and planned phase III trials in 2026 across its portfolio. The company is studying its investigational monthly GLP-1 peptide, berobenatide, including a trial evaluating a switch from approved weekly therapies. Pfizer is targeting the first potential berobenatide approval in 2028.

Pfizer’s phase IIb SOLIS-1 study of an amylin agent alone and in combination with berobenatide is fully enrolled, with efficacy results expected in the second half of 2027. The company plans to initially position berobenatide as a potential monthly treatment for obesity and is also beginning studies in knee osteoarthritis and obstructive sleep apnea.

Pfizer said it is also advancing tilrekimig, a trispecific antibody for type 2 inflammatory diseases. Phase III studies are underway in atopic dermatitis and severe asthma, while a phase II/III study has begun in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Readouts are expected in 2028 and 2029.

In vaccines, Pfizer said its pediatric PCV25 pneumococcal candidate produced positive phase II results, while its phase III lot-to-lot consistency study is fully enrolled. The company also expects to begin a phase I study this year for PCV35 in adults.

Pfizer and partner Valneva received validation from the European Medicines Agency for their Lyme disease vaccine marketing application. Boshoff said the European review is expected to result in an opinion in 2027, while Pfizer expects to provide an update on FDA discussions in the fourth quarter.

Long-term growth target

Bourla reiterated Pfizer’s goal of delivering risk-adjusted high-single-digit revenue compound annual growth from year-end 2028 through year-end 2033. He said the company’s outlook is supported by growth from newly launched and acquired products, potential new indications for existing medicines, and pipeline opportunities across oncology, inflammation and immunology, obesity, and vaccines.

“Our growth trajectory does not rely on one single product or one single therapeutic area,” Guegan said.

About Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)

Pfizer Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and vaccines. Its research activities span areas including oncology, internal medicine, inflammation and immunology, hospital care, infectious diseases and rare diseases.

The company's portfolio includes medicines such as Eliquis, Ibrance, Prevnar and Vyndaqel, as well as vaccines including Comirnaty, Abrysvo and Prevnar. Pfizer also develops treatments through internal research, licensing agreements and collaborations with other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, Pfizer has grown into an international healthcare company serving patients and healthcare providers in markets around the world.

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