Pfizer raised its full-year 2026 revenue and adjusted earnings forecasts on November 3 after reporting third-quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates. The drugmaker said growth in newer medicines, including cancer treatments, helped offset declining sales of its Covid-19 products.
Pfizer reported quarterly revenue of $16.58 billion, roughly unchanged from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were 87 cents per share, compared with the 73-cent consensus estimate compiled by LSEG. Excluding the Comirnaty vaccine and antiviral Paxlovid, Pfizer said revenue increased 7% operationally, a measure that excludes currency effects.
Pfizer also reported GAAP diluted earnings of 56 cents per share, down from 62 cents a year earlier. Its adjusted earnings figure was unchanged year on year. Adjusted earnings are a non-GAAP measure and differ from the company’s reported results.
Pfizer said its results reflected growth outside the pandemic business, while its filings identify upcoming patent expirations. The company is relying on recently launched medicines, acquisitions and its development pipeline as several established treatments approach greater competition.
Cancer treatments help offset weaker Covid sales
Pfizer said its launched and acquired products generated approximately $3.8 billion in third-quarter revenue, an operational increase of 32% from a year earlier. The portfolio spans oncology and other therapeutic areas, including migraine treatments.
Bladder cancer treatment Padcev generated $720 million in the quarter, while lung cancer medicine Lorbrena brought in $387 million. Pfizer attributed Padcev’s growth primarily to increased market share and uptake in an additional bladder cancer indication. It linked Lorbrena’s expansion mainly to increased patient share in first-line treatment of ALK-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
Eliquis, the company’s blood thinner, contributed approximately $2.5 billion. Pfizer said higher US net prices and increased global demand helped its performance, partly offset by generic competition and price erosion in some international markets.
Pfizer’s product figures showed differing trends across the business. The year-on-year changes below are operational measures, excluding foreign-exchange effects.
| Product or portfolio | Q3 2026 operational revenue change |
|---|---|
| Padcev | +55% |
| Lorbrena | +43% |
| Launched and acquired products | +32% |
| Eliquis | +25% |
| Prevnar family | -10% |
| Comirnaty | -29% |
| Paxlovid | -63% |
The launched and acquired portfolio overlaps with the individual medicines shown. Pfizer said lower Covid-product revenue and weaker Prevnar sales largely offset gains elsewhere, leaving total quarterly revenue broadly flat.
Higher forecasts alongside cost reductions
Pfizer increased its full-year revenue forecast to $62 billion to $64 billion, from $60.5 billion to $62.5 billion. It also raised and narrowed its adjusted earnings forecast to $2.95 to $3.05 per share, compared with its previous range of $2.80 to $3.00.
The company cited its year-to-date performance and progress with cost improvement initiatives in setting the outlook. Pfizer is targeting approximately $9.7 billion in net savings through 2029 following an expansion of its cost-reduction efforts in August.
The restructuring has included workforce reductions. Pfizer’s headcount has fallen by roughly 13,000 since its $43 billion acquisition of cancer specialist Seagen in 2023.
Pfizer also appointed Cecile Guegan as chief financial officer, effective November 1. She had served in the role on an interim basis since August. She previously oversaw financial operations and reporting for Pfizer’s global biopharmaceutical business.
Patent exposure and experimental medicines
Pfizer’s patent settlements permit several manufacturers to introduce US generic versions of Eliquis beginning in April 2028. Its filings list 2027 as the expiration year for Ibrance’s basic US product patent. Those dates do not mean every relevant patent expires together, but they highlight the competition facing two established medicines.
Alongside its oncology investments, Pfizer is pursuing obesity drug development through Metsera, which it acquired in late 2025. The deal was valued at up to roughly $10 billion.
Pfizer halted development of its oral obesity candidate danuglipron in April 2025 after a trial participant experienced potential drug-induced liver injury, which the company said resolved after treatment stopped. It is developing berobenatide as an injection, targeting potential approval for weekly dosing in 2028, followed by a monthly version. Those are company targets rather than confirmed approval or launch dates.
The company is also studying the amylin-based candidate previously known as MET-233i, both on its own and in combination with berobenatide. A monthly regimen remains dependent on successful development, including evidence on safety and tolerability.
Bernstein analyst Courtney Breen said Pfizer’s longer-term growth still depends on experimental treatments succeeding, despite increasing contributions from acquired products. Pfizer expects results from the late-stage MEVPRO-1 study of prostate cancer candidate mevrometostat in the first quarter of 2027. The company also expects early findings from Metsera’s obesity pipeline, which could clarify the development prospects of those experimental treatments.
