Pfizer Q1 2026 Earnings Beat

CNBC reported Tuesday that Pfizer Q1 earnings cleared Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom lines. The drugmaker also held firm on its full-year financial guidance, leaning on a mix of legacy medicines and recently launched products to fill the gap left by a sharply fading Covid business.

Revenue and Profit By the Numbers

Pfizer posted first-quarter revenue of $14.45 billion, a 5% year-over-year gain. That figure comfortably exceeded the $13.79 billion consensus analysts had forecast. Adjusted earnings came in at 75 cents per share, topping the 72-cent estimate. Net income for the period was $2.69 billion, down modestly from $2.97 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. The dip partly reflects restructuring charges and intangible-asset costs that are stripped out of adjusted figures.

Covid Products Continue Their Steep Slide

The quarter made clear how fast Pfizer’s pandemic-era revenue engine is winding down. Its Covid vaccine brought in just $232 million, a 59% drop from a year ago and well short of what analysts had penciled in. Paxlovid, the antiviral pill, fell 62% to $186 million. Pfizer has previously flagged that combined Covid product sales could shrink by roughly $1.5 billion year over year in 2026, settling around $5 billion for the full year.

Newer and Older Drugs Step Into the Gap

Several other treatments picked up the slack. Blood thinner Eliquis generated $2.17 billion in quarterly sales, up 13% and ahead of estimates. Targeted cancer therapy Padcev grew 39% to $591 million, also beating forecasts. Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, a more recently commercialised product, brought in $180 million, up 37% and above expectations. Across all recently launched and acquired products, operational sales rose 22% during the period.

Pipeline Bets and the Road Ahead

Pfizer’s longer-term strategy centres on rebuilding growth through acquisitions and internal research. Its $10 billion purchase of obesity biotech Metsera is among the most prominent recent moves. The company is also awaiting late-stage trial data on an experimental lung-cancer drug that it considers a key catalyst this year. On the patent-protection front, Pfizer recently reached settlement agreements with three generic manufacturers that effectively extend exclusivity on heart-disease drug Vyndamax through mid-2031. For the full year, Pfizer continues to guide for revenue of $59.5 billion to $62.5 billion, roughly flat to slightly below 2025’s $62.6 billion.

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