DUBAI: Pfizer Inc. beat second-quarter profit expectations on Thursday as its COVID-19 pill as well as vaccine remained in high demand following an uptick in infections in the United States.
Revenue from the antiviral pill, Paxlovid, exceeded market estimates by more than $1 billion, while vaccine sales surged 20 percent, helping the drugmaker reaffirm the combined 2022 revenue forecast of $54 billion.
Pfizer also kept its full-year sales forecast unchanged, despite taking a $2 billion hit due to a stronger dollar, sending its shares up 1 percent in premarket trading.
While its coronavirus vaccine powered much of its growth last year, its antiviral treatment Paxlovid, whose demand has surged in recent months, is expected to further bolster revenue.
Paxlovid sales of $8.1 billion beat expectations of $7 billion, according to Refinitiv data, as it becomes the most used COVID antiviral in the United States.
Pfizer has been banking on demand for vaccine boosters to drive up sales in the next few years.
The company and its partner BioNTech last month signed a $3.2 billion deal with the US government for 105 million doses of their vaccine, which includes supply of retooled omicron-adapted booster, pending regulatory clearance.
“One question that could be asked is why Pfizer maintained ... COVID vaccine guidance despite getting an incremental $3 billion plus order from the US government,” said Wells Fargo analyst Mohit Bansal.
The company recorded a $450 million inventory write-off in the second quarter related to its COVID-19 products that had exceeded or are expected to exceed their shelf-lives.
Pfizer’s quarterly profit rose to $9.91 billion from $5.56 billion last year. Excluding items, it earned $2.04 per share, above estimates of $1.78.
Pfizer profit beats estimates on higher demand for COVID products
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Pfizer profit beats estimates on higher demand for COVID products
- Revenue from the antiviral pill, Paxlovid, exceeded market estimates by more than $1 billion
- Its antiviral treatment Paxlovid, whose demand has surged in recent months, is expected to further bolster revenue
Egypt-born Dina Powell McCormick appointed Meta president and vice chairman
- The former Goldman Sachs partner and White House official previously served on Meta’s board of directors
- Powell McCormick, who was born in Cairo and moved to the US as a child, joins the management team and will help guide overall strategy and execution
LONDON: Meta has appointed Egypt-born Dina Powell McCormick as its new president and vice chairman.
The company said on Monday that the former Goldman Sachs partner and White House official, who previously served on Meta’s board of directors, is stepping up into a senior leadership role as the company accelerates its push into artificial intelligence and global infrastructure.
Powell McCormick, who was born in Cairo and moved to the US as a young girl, will join the management team and help guide its overall strategy and execution. She will work closely with Meta’s Compute and infrastructure teams, the company said, overseeing multi-billion-dollar investments in data centers, energy systems and global connectivity, while building new strategic capital partnerships.
“Dina’s experience at the highest levels of global finance, combined with her deep relationships around the world, makes her uniquely suited to help Meta manage this next phase of growth as the company’s president and vice chairman,” Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.
Powell McCormick has more than 25 years of experience in finance, national security and economic development. She spent 16 years as a partner at Goldman Sachs in senior leadership roles, and served two US presidents, including stints as deputy national security adviser to Donald Trump, and a senior State Department official under George W. Bush.
Most recently, she was vice chair and president of global client services at merchant bank BDT & MSD Partners.
