Pfizer beats Q4 estimates, releases mid-stage GLP-1 trial results, and maintains guidance for full-year 2026
Pfizer reported earnings that beat Wall Street estimates, reaffirmed its full-year guidance, and released mid-stage trial results for its upcoming weight-loss drug. Still, shares slipped as the company’s full-year profit forecast came in a little light.
For the last three months of 2025, Pfizer reported:
Adjusted earnings per share of $0.66, compared to the $0.57 analysts polled by FactSet were expecting.
Revenue of $17.6 billion, compared to the $16.8 billion Wall Street was penciling in.
For the full year 2026, Pfizer expects:
Annual adjusted earnings per share to land between $2.80 and $3.00, compared to the $2.97 analysts are currently expecting.
Annual revenues to hit between $59.5 billion and $62.5 billion, compared to the $60.9 billion analysts have forecast.
The company also released mid-stage trial results for its monthly weight-loss shot, which it recently acquired through its purchase of Metsera. The results showed that patients lost over 12.3% of their body weight at 28 weeks.
The data is cut off at a shorter time frame than the final data available for products already on the market, which makes it difficult to compare directly. Still, it is the first sign that less frequent dosing could still produce results. Late last year, Pfizer won a bidding war against Novo Nordisk, purchasing obesity biotech Metsera for $10 billion.
The pharmaceutical giant is working to reignite growth after demand for its COVID-19 products has waned and as some of its biggest moneymakers get nearer to the end of their patents’ lives.
Management has framed the next few years an investment and transition period, as Pfizer absorbs patent expirations while betting that recently launched, acquired, and pipeline products will drive growth later in the decade. The company "appears to be in the penalty box until it can gain some footing from a growth perspective," said David Wagner, head of equity at Aptus Capital Advisors.
“The big question is — will we see sizable returns from their M&A spend, and will they make all the right development choices over this & next year to support the longer-term return to growth?”