Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has posted first-quarter sales that missed analyst estimates due in part to the loss last December of exclusivity of Viagra in the U.S. and sales of its breast cancer drug Ibrance and arthritis drug Xeljanz that were below market expectations.
Shares of Pfizer sagged on the first-quarter results, with the stock down nearly 3% in early trading, at US$35.60.
Pfizer said net income in the first quarter of 2018 rose 14%, to US$3.56bn, or US$0.59 a share, from US$3.12bn, or US$0.51 a share, in the first quarter of 2017. The drug maker said adjusted net income increased 11%, to US$4.67bn, or US$0.77 a share, from US$4.19bn, or $US0.69 a share, a year earlier. Yahoo Finance put the average earnings estimate of 15 analysts at US$0.75 a share.
While Pfizer's earnings beat estimates, its revenue did not. Revenue in the quarter edged up just 1%, to US$12.91bn from US$12.78bn in the first quarter of 2017. Yahoo Finance put the average revenue estimate of 12 analysts at US$13.15bn.
Contributing to the stagnant overall revenue level was lower revenue in most developed European markets for Enbrel, an arthritis and psoriasis drug, due to what Pfizer called "continued biosimilar competition."