Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) on Tuesday reported a narrower-than-expected adjusted loss for the third quarter as the drugmaker recorded charges largely related to struggles for its Covid antiviral treatment Paxlovid and the COVID vaccine.
Pfizer said it recorded a $5.6-billion charge for inventory writeoffs in the third quarter due to lower-than-expected use of Covid products. Of these write-offs, $4.7 billion is chalked up to Paxlovid and $900 million is attributed to the company’s vaccine.
The pharmaceutical giant also reiterated the full-year adjusted earnings and revenue guidance it announced two weeks ago, which is drastically lower than its initial projections due to weakening demand for its Covid products. That decline in demand also led Pfizer to announce a sweeping $3.5 billion cost-cutting plan at the same time.
Those efforts were seen as necessary to shore up investor sentiment as Pfizer and its rivals such as Moderna struggle to navigate the rapid decline of their COVID businesses, which are transitioning to the commercial market in the U.S. this year.
Pfizer reported third-quarter revenue proved to be $13.23 billion, down 42% from the same period a year ago, due to the decline in sales of its COVID products.
For the third quarter, Pfizer booked a net loss of $2.38 billion, or 42 cents per share. That compares to a net income of $8.61 billion, or $1.51 per share, during the same period a year ago.
The company’s COVID vaccine raked in $1.31 billion in sales, down 70% from the year-ago quarter. Analysts had expected the shot to bring in $1.53 billion in sales.
PFE shares slid 16 cents to $30.39.