Pfizer expects 2023 sales to decline as much as 33% compared with record-breaking 2022

KEY POINTS

• Pfizer forecast $67 billion to $71 billion in 2023 sales.
• That's a significant drop from the $100.3 billion in revenue the company booked in 2022, an all-time high.

Vials containing the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are displayed before being used at a mobile vaccine clinic, in Valparaiso, Chile, January 3, 2022.

Rodrigo Garrido | Reuters

Pfizer on Tuesday issued sales guidance of $67 billion to $71 billion for 2023, a decline from its record-breaking 2022 results.

The pharmaceutical company booked $100.3 billion for full-year 2022, an all-time high driven by more than $50 billion in Covid vaccine and antiviral sales.

Pfizer expects revenue for 2023 to decline up to 33% compared with 2022 as the pandemic eases and demand for its Covid portfolio slides. The company expects $13.5 billion in Covid vaccine sales in 2023 and $8 billion in revenue for Paxlovid.

Pfizer is forecasting 2023 earnings of $3.25 to $3.45 per share, as much as a 50% drop from its record $6.58 in 2022. The company booked net income $31.4 billion in 2022, a 43% increase over 2021.

Pfizer's stock fell 3% in premarket trading.

The drugmaker's results for the fourth quarter largely met analyst expectations. The company booked net income of nearly $5 billion for the quarter, a 47% increase over the same period in 2021. It generated $24.3 billion in revenue for the quarter.

Here's how the company performed compared with what Wall Street expected for the fourth quarter, based on analysts' average estimates compiled by Refinitiv:

• Adjusted EPS: $1.14 vs. $1.05 expected
• Revenues: $24.3 billion vs. $24.28 billion