Beta Finch - Pfizer - PFE - EN

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ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex.

JORDAN: And I'm Jordan. Today we're diving into Pfizer's third quarter 2026 results, reported on November 3rd. And Alex, there's actually a leadership headline buried in here too.

ALEX: There is, we'll get to that. But first, the standard stuff — this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

JORDAN: Good, now let's get into it. Pfizer's got a lot going on this quarter.

ALEX: It really does. Let's start with the numbers. Q3 revenue came in at $17.6 billion — I know the transcript says "$617 billion" but that's clearly a transcription error, context makes clear it's in the $17-18 billion range for the quarter. The real headline though: non-COVID revenue grew 7% operationally, and here's the kicker — their newer, launched and acquired products grew 32% operationally. That's a huge number.

JORDAN: And that 32% growth is really the story of this earnings call. We're talking about products like Padcev, which came from the Seagen acquisition, Nurtec for migraine from Biohaven, and Lorbrena in oncology. These aren't the legacy blockbusters — these are the bets Pfizer made to replace revenue they're going to lose to patent expirations.

ALEX: Right, and speaking of those patent cliffs — Eliquis, Ibrance, Xtandi are all facing loss of exclusivity pressure in the next couple years. So this transition story is really about: can the new stuff grow fast enough to offset what's rolling off?

JORDAN: And based on this quarter, the answer looks like yes, at least for now. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.87, beating expectations, even with a $0.10 charge tied to the Innovent transaction. And because of that strength, management raised full-year revenue guidance to $62 billion to $64 billion, and bumped adjusted EPS guidance to $2.95 to $3.05.

ALEX: Raising guidance is always a good sign — it tells you management has confidence in the back half of the year. Let's talk about the leadership change you mentioned.

JORDAN: Yeah, Cecile Guegan stepped in as the new CFO this quarter, bringing over 25 years of finance experience. She emphasized "financial discipline" and "rigorous capital allocation" — basically signaling continuity with the strategy Pfizer's been running, not a dramatic pivot.

ALEX: That continuity matters because Pfizer's been in the middle of this massive productivity push — they're targeting $7.2 billion in net cost savings by the end of this year, and they've already announced a second phase targeting another $2.5 billion in savings from 2027 through 2029.

JORDAN: Which is important because, as one analyst pointed out on the call, total R&D and SG&A spending hasn't actually dropped much since 2022 — it's roughly flat around $24-25 billion. So the savings are happening, but they're getting plowed right back into R&D, especially oncology and obesity programs. Management's argument is these are "good" reinvestments, not wasted spend.

ALEX: Let's talk pipeline, because this call had a lot of meaty clinical updates. The obesity program is clearly a big strategic bet — they're running 10 active or planned Phase 3 trials in 2026 for their GLP-1 franchise, including berobenatide, a monthly injectable they're hoping to get approved starting around 2028.

JORDAN: And in oncology, there were some really interesting data points. Elrexfio, their multiple myeloma drug, had a second positive Phase 3 readout. CEO Albert Bourla actually got pretty feisty about this during Q&A — he pointed out that Wall Street analysts are modeling around $600 million in peak sales for Elrexfio, while a competing drug with a similar profile is projected at $5 billion. He fla

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ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown! Today we're diving into Pfizer's second quarter 2026 results, and there's a lot to unpack — from a CFO transition to some really important pipeline news. Before we get into it, quick disclaimer: this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

JORDAN: And there's plenty to research here, Alex. Let's start with the headline news that isn't even about the numbers — Pfizer's CFO Dave Denton is departing, and Cecile Guegan is stepping in as interim CFO. She's not new to the building though — she's been deeply involved in the Seagen, Metsera, and Biohaven deals and Pfizer's capital allocation strategy.

ALEX: Right, so this feels like a continuity move rather than a shake-up. Now let's get to the numbers. Q2 revenue came in at $15 billion, up just 1% operationally year-over-year — but here's the key detail: strip out COVID products, and the underlying business actually grew 5% operationally.

JORDAN: That's the story of this whole quarter — COVID is a drag, everything else is humming. Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.77, beating expectations. And get this — Pfizer has now beaten EPS expectations for ten straight quarters, and revenue expectations in nine of the last ten. That's a pretty remarkable execution streak.

ALEX: They also raised full-year revenue guidance to a range of $60.5 to $62.5 billion, up $500 million at the midpoint, even while cutting their COVID revenue forecast from $5 billion to $4 billion.

JORDAN: Which tells you how strong the non-COVID business is performing to more than offset that. EPS guidance was reaffirmed at $2.80 to $3, though that now absorbs a $0.10 hit from the Innovent Biologics deal that closed in Q3.

ALEX: Let's talk about those big acquisitions, because this is really the crux of Pfizer's growth story. The Seagen, Metsera, and Biohaven deals — revenue from acquired products grew 25% operationally. PADCEV, the bladder cancer drug from Seagen, just got FDA approval expanded to muscle-invasive bladder cancer regardless of cisplatin eligibility, and it grew over 20% this quarter.

JORDAN: And on the Metsera side, that's the obesity bet — nirubenatide, their monthly GLP-1 candidate. They're targeting a $150 billion obesity market and aiming for first approval in 2028. They shared data suggesting it could be competitive with — maybe even better than — some existing weekly therapies like Wegovy, though as always, cross-trial comparisons come with caveats.

ALEX: Biohaven's NURTEC is also doing well, still leading the oral CGRP migraine class, with new trials underway for chronic and menstrual migraine.

JORDAN: Now, it wasn't all good news. There was a real setback in oncology — the phase III trial for sigvotatug vedotin, or SV, missed its primary overall survival endpoint in second-line-plus non-small cell lung cancer. That contributed to a $4.3 billion non-cash impairment charge, which is why Pfizer actually posted a GAAP loss per share of $0.04 this quarter.

ALEX: But management pushed back on writing off SV entirely — they highlighted a subgroup of patients on just one prior therapy that showed a 2.5-month survival benefit, and they're leaning into earlier-line lung cancer combos with pembrolizumab, where phase I data showed an 82% response rate.

JORDAN: There's also encouraging news on mevrometostat, their prostate cancer drug being developed alongside XTANDI. Phase I data showed it roughly doubled progression-free survival, and the market really zeroed in on this during Q&A — analysts are watching the MEV-Pro1 readout expected in Q4.

ALEX: Speaking of Q&A, one exchange I found telling was about the dividend. An analyst

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# Beta Finch Podcast Script: Pfizer Q1 2026 Earnings

**ALEX:** Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we dive deep into the latest corporate results. I'm Alex, and joining me as always is Jordan. Today we're unpacking Pfizer's Q1 2026 earnings call, and folks, there's quite a bit to unpack here.

Before we dive in, I need to mention that this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

**JORDAN:** Thanks Alex. And what a quarter this was for Pfizer! They really came out swinging with some impressive numbers and some game-changing legal developments. Should we start with the headline figures?

**ALEX:** Absolutely. Pfizer reported Q1 revenues of $14.5 billion, which actually exceeded their own expectations. That's a 2% operational increase overall, but here's the kicker - if you strip out their COVID products, the underlying business grew about 7% operationally. That's solid growth in a challenging environment.

**JORDAN:** And the earnings story is even better. They hit $0.75 in adjusted diluted earnings per share, again beating expectations. What really caught my attention though was their launched and acquired products - these grew 22% operationally to $3.1 billion in the quarter. That's the portfolio transformation strategy Albert Bourla has been talking about really starting to pay off.

**ALEX:** Speaking of transformative developments, we need to talk about the elephant in the room - or should I say, the legal victories in the room. Pfizer had two major legal wins that could reshape their entire growth trajectory post-2028.

**JORDAN:** Right, the Vyndamax patent settlement is huge. This drug, which treats a rare heart condition, was facing generic competition, but now Pfizer has extended exclusivity until mid-2031. We're talking about a $6 billion-plus product here, Alex. CEO Albert Bourla said this "has the potential to change the growth profile of the company significantly post-2028."

**ALEX:** And then there's the Belgian court ruling on their Comirnaty contracts with EU countries. CFO Dave Denton called this "a positive for future EPS and cash flow." These aren't just minor legal technicalities - these are major financial game-changers that give Pfizer much clearer visibility into their cash flows.

**JORDAN:** Which brings us to one of the most interesting parts of the call - Pfizer's new confidence about their post-2028 growth trajectory. Bourla said they now expect a "5-year period of high single-digit revenue CAGR" starting in 2029. That's a pretty bold statement, especially when you consider they're still navigating some significant patent cliff challenges.

**ALEX:** Let's break that down for listeners. CAGR stands for Compound Annual Growth Rate. So Pfizer is essentially saying that starting in 2029, they expect to grow revenues at a high single-digit percentage rate - so probably 7-9% annually - for five straight years. That would be impressive for any pharma company, let alone one coming off the COVID revenue peaks.

**JORDAN:** And the foundation for that confidence seems to be their pipeline and their recent acquisitions. They mentioned having about 20 pivotal study starts planned this year, 8 key data readouts, and 4 regulatory decisions. That's a packed R&D calendar. They're particularly excited about their oncology portfolio, especially after the Seagen acquisition.

**ALEX:** The oncology story is fascinating. They reported 20% year-over-year growth in their Seagen products, and they've got some potentially blockbuster readouts coming. There's Padcev for bladder cancer, which affects over 600,000 patients globally, and their multiple myeloma drug Elrexfio just hit positive Phase III results.

**JORDAN:** Don't forget about the obesity play with their Metsera acquisition.

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**BETA FINCH PODCAST SCRIPT**

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**ALEX**: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we cut through the noise to bring you what really matters from the latest quarterly reports. I'm Alex.

**JORDAN**: And I'm Jordan. Before we dive in, I want to make sure our listeners know that this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

**ALEX**: Thanks Jordan. Today we're breaking down Pfizer's Q4 2025 earnings, and wow - this was a packed call. We've got solid financial performance, major obesity drug developments, and some really interesting strategic moves. Let's start with the numbers, Jordan.

**JORDAN**: The headline numbers tell a story of resilience, Alex. Pfizer posted $62.6 billion in full-year revenue versus $63.6 billion last year - that's a 2% operational decline. But here's the key detail: when you strip out their COVID products, they actually grew operational revenue by 6%.

**ALEX**: That's huge because it shows the underlying business is healthy. What about profitability?

**JORDAN**: Even better news there. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $3.22 versus $3.11 last year, beating expectations. They expanded gross margins to 76%, and their recently launched and acquired products - which is really their growth engine - delivered over $10 billion in revenue with 14% operational growth.

**ALEX**: Now, the elephant in the room with Pfizer has always been their COVID business decline. How bad was that impact in Q4?

**JORDAN**: Pretty significant. COVID products dropped about 40% operationally year-over-year in Q4. But Alex, this is actually old news at this point. What's more interesting is how well they're managing through it. Their non-COVID business grew 9% in the quarter, driven by products like Abrysvo, Eliquis, Prevnar, and the Vyndaqel family.

**ALEX**: Speaking of managing through challenges, they reaffirmed their 2026 guidance today. Walk us through what they're expecting.

**JORDAN**: They're guiding for $59.5 to $62.5 billion in revenue and $2.80 to $3.00 in adjusted EPS for 2026. What's notable is they're expecting COVID revenues to drop to about $5 billion, and they're anticipating $1.5 billion in revenue compression from generic competition. But even with those headwinds, they expect their core business excluding COVID and loss-of-exclusivity products to grow about 4% operationally.

**ALEX**: Now let's talk about the real headline from today's call - their obesity drug data. This feels like a potential game-changer, Jordan.

**JORDAN**: Absolutely, Alex. They announced results from their VESPER-3 study for PF-3944, which is their investigational obesity treatment. And the key differentiator here is that it's designed for monthly dosing instead of weekly like current GLP-1 drugs.

**ALEX**: Monthly dosing - that's a big deal for patient convenience. What kind of weight loss are we talking about?

**JORDAN**: The data showed 10-12% placebo-adjusted weight loss at 28 weeks for their planned phase 3 doses. But here's what's really interesting - their modeling suggests the higher dose they're planning could deliver nearly 16% weight loss. And importantly, they didn't see a weight loss plateau at 28 weeks, suggesting patients could lose even more weight over time.

**ALEX**: How does that stack up against what's already on the market?

**JORDAN**: It's competitive with existing weekly GLP-1s like Ozempic and Wegovy, but the monthly dosing is the real differentiator. During the Q&A, their commercial team emphasized that reducing from four injections per month to just one could be a major advantage for patient compliance and switching existing patients to their therapy.

**ALEX**: What about side effects? That's always a concern with these obesity drugs.

**JORDAN**: The safety prof

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ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex, and I'm here with my co-host Jordan to dive into Pfizer's Q4 2024 results that just dropped. Before we get started though, I need to mention that this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

JORDAN: Thanks Alex. And wow, what a call this was. Pfizer really came out swinging with some solid numbers and a pretty clear roadmap for 2025.

ALEX: Absolutely. Let's start with the headline numbers because they're actually pretty impressive. Pfizer delivered $63.6 billion in full-year revenue for 2024, which beat expectations. But here's what really caught my attention - if you strip out their COVID products, they saw 12% operational growth. That's above their own guidance of 9% to 11%.

JORDAN: That's a key point, Alex. The market has been so focused on Pfizer's post-COVID transition, and this shows they're actually executing well on the non-COVID business. Their adjusted earnings per share hit $3.11 for the full year, which was significantly ahead of expectations. And they're guiding for 2025 revenue between $61 billion to $64 billion.

ALEX: Right, and CEO Albert Bourla was pretty confident on the call. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "Pfizer knows how to execute well when we set our focus on something." He pointed to their COVID vaccine development, then Paxlovid, and now he's saying they're applying that same focused execution to R&D productivity.

JORDAN: Speaking of R&D, that was probably the biggest strategic story from this call. They've completely reorganized their research and development under Chris Boshoff into four focused units - oncology, vaccines, internal medicine, and inflammation & immunology. Boshoff said they want each unit to "operate with the focus and agility of a biotech company."

ALEX: That's fascinating because it suggests they're trying to move faster and be more decisive. And they're putting their money where their mouth is - they expect at least four regulatory decisions this year, up to nine Phase 3 readouts, and 13 potential pivotal program starts. Those are some pretty aggressive targets.

JORDAN: The oncology story is particularly compelling. Their Padcev drug, which they got from the Seagen acquisition, is already the number one prescribed first-line treatment for certain bladder cancers. And they've got potential data coming this year that could nearly triple the addressable patient population if it's successful.

ALEX: Let's talk about some of the individual products because there were some real standouts. Vyndaqel, their heart disease drug, grew 90% year-over-year in the U.S. That's just massive growth for a specialty drug.

JORDAN: And Nurtec, their migraine treatment, grew 36% with about 49% market share in its category. But I thought one of the most interesting exchanges was about their COVID business. An analyst asked about sustainability, and management was pretty confident that it's now a "predictable and durable" revenue stream.

ALEX: That's important because the street has been treating COVID revenues as this wild card. But Aamir Malik, who runs U.S. commercial, explained how Paxlovid usage directly tracks disease burden, and they've got multi-year international contracts. So it sounds like they've built a more stable foundation there.

JORDAN: The financial discipline story was also compelling. They returned $9.5 billion to shareholders through dividends, invested nearly $11 billion in R&D, and paid down $7.8 billion in debt. CFO Dave Denton said they now have capacity for $10 billion to $15 billion in business development deals in 2025 if they choose to pursue them.

ALEX: That's a lot of firepower. And when an analyst asked about their BD strategy, Andrew Baum, who oversees portfolio planning, said t

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**ALEX**: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we turn complex corporate calls into clear insights. I'm Alex, and with me as always is Jordan.

**JORDAN**: Hey everyone! Today we're diving into Pfizer's Q3 2024 earnings, and wow - this was a solid quarter that really shows the pharma giant is hitting its stride post-pandemic.

**ALEX**: Before we jump in, I need to share our mandatory disclaimer - this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

**JORDAN**: Absolutely. Now Alex, let's talk numbers because Pfizer really delivered here.

**ALEX**: They did! Total revenue came in at $17.7 billion, which represents an impressive 32% operational growth year-over-year. But here's what I found interesting - it wasn't just COVID products driving this growth.

**JORDAN**: Right, and that's crucial context. PAXLOVID contributed $2.7 billion and COMIRNATY added $1.4 billion, but their non-COVID business also showed robust performance with $13.6 billion in revenue - that's 14% operational growth on its own.

**ALEX**: That non-COVID growth is really the story here. It shows their underlying business is healthy and growing, which addresses one of the biggest concerns investors have had about Pfizer - what happens when COVID revenue normalizes?

**JORDAN**: Exactly. And speaking of normalization, CEO Albert Bourla made some fascinating comments about COVID becoming "normal business" now. He pointed out that PAXLOVID usage patterns in 2024 are almost identical to 2023 - 4.9 million patients treated through Q3 this year versus 5.2 million last year.

**ALEX**: That predictability is huge for investors. Bourla even said they'll stop separating COVID from non-COVID business because "it's Pfizer business." But let's talk about their star performers outside of COVID.

**JORDAN**: Oncology was the standout with 31% year-over-year growth. XTANDI grew 28%, TALZENNA surged 77%, and they're seeing great momentum with newer launches like PADCEV, which has become the most prescribed first-line treatment for advanced bladder cancer.

**ALEX**: The TALZENNA data was particularly exciting. They announced that TALZENNA combined with XTANDI showed statistically significant overall survival benefit in prostate cancer patients - becoming the first and only such combination to do so. That's huge for a cancer that's the second most common in men.

**JORDAN**: And don't sleep on their pipeline. They've got multiple Phase III trials starting, including their CDK4 inhibitor for breast cancer and several next-generation ADCs for lung cancer. The Seagen acquisition is really paying dividends here.

**ALEX**: Speaking of Seagen, that integration seems to be going smoothly. They retained the vast majority of Seagen employees and the legacy Seagen products contributed $854 million in Q3 alone, with PADCEV generating over $400 million.

**JORDAN**: Now, we can't ignore the elephant in the room - the activist investor situation with Starboard Value.

**ALEX**: Bourla addressed this head-on, which I appreciated. He acknowledged they met with Starboard two weeks ago and said while they agree with some points, they have "vastly different views on many others." Particularly around capital deployment and business development.

**JORDAN**: His response was pretty measured. He defended deals like Seagen and BioNTech as transformational, and pointed out they've been executing a five-point strategic plan since January that's showing results. Three consecutive quarters of revenue growth, successful cost reduction programs, strong pipeline advancement.

**ALEX**: The cost management story is compelling too. They're on track to deliver $4 billion in net cost savings from their realignment program and expect $1.5 billion in manufacturing savings by 2027.

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