Pfizer Q2 2026 Earnings: Non-COVID Growth Offsets a Weaker COVID Outlook

Pfizer reported a mixed second quarter in which underlying commercial performance and cost control offset lower COVID-19 demand. Revenue rose 1% operationally to $15B, while revenue excluding COVID products increased 5%; adjusted diluted EPS was $0.77. Pfizer raised its 2026 revenue outlook but maintained its adjusted EPS range, as lower expected COVID sales and a planned acquired in-process R&D charge from the Innovent Biologics transaction offset stronger performance elsewhere.

The larger investment issue remains Pfizer’s ability to bridge expected loss-of-exclusivity pressure through 2028. Management pointed to growth in acquired and launched products, including Padcev, NURTEC, and the legacy Seagen portfolio, while advancing obesity and oncology programs that it expects to underpin high-single-digit revenue growth from 2029.

As Reported on the Call

The Bigger Story

Pfizer’s quarter reinforced that its non-COVID portfolio is growing, but also showed that COVID remains a volatile and meaningful component of the near-term outlook. The company reduced its 2026 COVID revenue expectation by approximately $1B, largely reflecting low infection levels and weaker Paxlovid utilization. Management expects most Comirnaty vaccine sales to occur later in the year during the seasonal vaccination period.

The offset is commercial execution across major brands and acquired assets. Management highlighted Eliquis, Padcev, the Vyndaqel family, Lorbrena, and NURTEC as key contributors. Launched and acquired products generated $3.2B in quarterly revenue and grew 18% operationally, or 27% when excluding one-time items recorded in the prior-year period.

That performance is important because Pfizer’s longer-term growth case depends on products acquired through Seagen, Biohaven, and Metsera replacing revenue facing loss-of-exclusivity pressure. Management continues to target risk-adjusted high-single-digit revenue growth from year-end 2028 through year-end 2033, a projection rather than formal financial guidance.

Revenue and Operating Performance

Revenue increased 1% operationally in the second quarter, while the business excluding COVID products grew 5%. The disparity illustrates the central operating dynamic: Pfizer’s core portfolio expanded, but COVID demand remained a drag.

Management said the revenue outperformance was broad-based rather than driven by a single brand. Eliquis was among the contributors, although Pfizer did not quantify its quarterly growth or provide a specific full-year outlook for the product. The company also cited international-market execution and continued momentum in launched and acquired products.

The Seagen acquisition remains particularly important to Pfizer’s oncology strategy. U.S. revenue across the legacy Seagen portfolio grew 21% year over year after excluding a one-time stocking benefit in the second quarter of 2025. Management said Seagen products have exceeded its initial expectations so far, although it did not provide product-level revenue figures on the call.

Padcev remains one of the major growth drivers. Management said the product grew more than 20% in the quarter and has reached more than 60% new-patient share in locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. Pfizer recently received an expanded FDA indication for Padcev plus pembrolizumab in muscle-invasive bladder cancer regardless of cisplatin eligibility. Management expects growth to moderate as penetration rises in the advanced-disease setting, with additional opportunity expected from muscle-invasive disease and potentially from a bladder-sparing study that has now started.

NURTEC also continued to grow and remained the leader in oral CGRP migraine prescriptions, according to management. Pfizer is pursuing additional indications, including menstrual migraine, acute-treatment redosing, and chronic migraine. Those expansion efforts could support the asset beyond its current use, but they remain subject to clinical and regulatory outcomes.

Profitability and Margins

Pfizer reported adjusted diluted EPS of $0.77, while GAAP results showed a loss of $0.04 per share. The gap largely reflected $4.3B in noncash intangible-asset impairments.

The impairments were tied primarily to the recent Phase III readout for SV in second-line-plus non-small cell lung cancer, where the primary overall-survival endpoint was not met in the intention-to-treat population. Pfizer also cited the removal of revenue projections for Oxbryta following discussions with the FDA.

The SV result is a material pipeline setback because it prompted a substantial write-down. Management still sees potential in other lung cancer settings, pointing to a subgroup result in which patients receiving only one prior line of therapy had median survival of 13.6 months with SV versus 11.1 months with docetaxel. However, that subgroup analysis does not change the fact that the pivotal study missed its primary endpoint.

Adjusted profitability remained solid. Gross margin was 76% and adjusted operating margin was 35%, supported by product mix and cost controls. Adjusted operating expenses rose 4% operationally to $6.1B, as a 12% increase in adjusted R&D expense outweighed a 3% operational decline in adjusted SG&A.

The higher R&D spending reflected investment in oncology and obesity candidates. That spending is strategically necessary, but it means margin expansion will depend on both cost savings and successful commercialization of newer products.

Demand, Customers and Pricing

COVID demand remains the clearest near-term uncertainty. Management said low infection levels have directly reduced Paxlovid demand, since treatment utilization depends on diagnosed infections. In contrast, management characterized Comirnaty demand as more stable because vaccination behavior is less directly tied to current infection rates, though it acknowledged seasonal variability.

Pfizer expects the majority of Comirnaty sales to occur toward year-end. International COVID vaccine sales are largely supported by government contracts, including in Europe, according to management.

Outside COVID, management described continued demand strength in oncology, migraine, cardiovascular disease, and rare disease. Padcev’s patient-share gains and NURTEC’s prescription leadership suggest commercial traction, although Pfizer did not disclose pricing changes, backlog, or detailed volume metrics.

What is Pfizer’s guidance and outlook?

Pfizer raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $60.5B-$62.5B, while reducing its COVID revenue outlook to approximately $4B from approximately $5B. The revised outlook therefore relies on stronger non-COVID performance to absorb the lower expected contribution from Paxlovid and Comirnaty.

There was an inconsistency in the prepared remarks: management described the revised range as a $500M midpoint increase, but the prior range of $59.5B-$60.5B had a $60B midpoint, while the updated $60.5B-$62.5B range has a $61.5B midpoint. That implies a $1.5B midpoint increase based on the ranges provided.

Pfizer reaffirmed adjusted diluted EPS guidance of $2.80-$3.00. Management said the range absorbs an approximately $0.10 unfavorable impact from the $650M acquired in-process R&D charge associated with the Innovent Biologics transaction, which closed in July and will be recorded in the third quarter.

Management continues to expect adjusted gross margin in the mid-70% range for the year. It also expects $700M in savings from the first phase of its manufacturing optimization program during 2026.

Pipeline and Strategic Execution

Pfizer’s long-term growth plan leans heavily on oncology and obesity. The company expects to begin 10 Phase III obesity studies during 2026 for berobenatide, its investigational ultra-long-acting GLP-1 candidate acquired through Metsera. Management is targeting a first approval in 2028.

Phase IIb data showed placebo-corrected weight loss of up to 12.3% at week 28 for a monthly berobenatide dose in the VESPER-3 study. Pfizer also reported approximately 16% mean weight loss over 32 weeks in an extension cohort receiving a higher weekly dose. These results are encouraging, but management’s comparisons with tirzepatide and semaglutide were cross-trial comparisons and cannot establish relative efficacy.

The company is also developing berobenatide with an ultra-long-acting amylin analog, with early Phase I/IIa data expected later this year. More meaningful efficacy evidence from the approximately 900-patient SOLIS-1 Phase IIb study is expected in 2027.

In oncology, investors will focus on the fourth-quarter readout from MEVPRO-1, a Phase III study of mevrometostat plus XTANDI in post-abiraterone metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Management said the trial’s statistical plan targets an approximately 30% benefit over standard of care and that the study remains event-driven. A successful result could create a wholly owned global oncology opportunity for Pfizer, unlike XTANDI, where economics are shared.

Balance Sheet, Cash Flow and Capital

Pfizer generated $3.45B of operating cash flow in the second quarter and ended the period with leverage of 2.7x. Management expects leverage to remain around current levels or modestly higher through the loss-of-exclusivity transition period.

The company invested $5.5B in internal and external R&D in the first half of 2026 and returned $4.9B to shareholders through dividends. It completed its final Tax Cuts and Jobs Act repatriation tax payment of approximately $2.6B and received approximately $1.65B in net cash proceeds from its exit of ViiV.

Following the Innovent transaction, management said Pfizer has approximately $6B of remaining business-development capacity. Management indicated that future deals are likely to be smaller bolt-on transactions, with oncology, immuno-inflammation, primary care and obesity among areas of interest.

Pfizer reiterated that it expects to maintain its dividend through the loss-of-exclusivity period and eventually resume dividend growth afterward. That remains a management commitment rather than a guarantee, particularly given expected revenue pressure and leverage needs over the next several years.

What Investors Should Watch

1. Non-COVID Revenue Growth

The key near-term test is whether growth in Eliquis, Padcev, NURTEC, Vyndaqel, Lorbrena, and the broader Seagen portfolio can continue to offset weaker COVID demand. Pfizer raised revenue guidance despite cutting its COVID forecast, making the durability of underlying growth more important.

2. COVID Vaccine Seasonality and Paxlovid Utilization

Pfizer expects most Comirnaty revenue in the second half. Vaccine uptake will determine whether the approximately $4B COVID revenue forecast proves conservative or ambitious, while Paxlovid remains highly dependent on infection rates.

3. MEVPRO-1 and Oncology Pipeline Readouts

The expected fourth-quarter MEVPRO-1 readout is a major near-term clinical catalyst. The SV impairment underscores the risk that pipeline programs may not translate early-stage data into successful pivotal outcomes.

4. Obesity Program Execution

Berobenatide’s Phase III development pace is central to Pfizer’s 2028-and-beyond growth outlook. Investors should monitor enrollment progress, tolerability data, and the eventual Phase IIb combination readout for berobenatide plus the amylin candidate.

5. Cost Savings and Leverage

Pfizer now expects approximately $9.7B in total net cost savings through 2029. Delivery against those programs matters because the company is seeking to preserve margins, sustain R&D investment, and support the dividend while navigating loss-of-exclusivity headwinds.

AlgovestIQ Takeaway

Pfizer’s second quarter showed that its commercial portfolio can grow without relying on COVID products. Underlying revenue increased 5% operationally excluding COVID, acquired and launched products expanded 18% operationally, and management raised full-year revenue guidance despite reducing its COVID outlook.

The quality of that growth is better than the 1% headline revenue increase suggests. Padcev, NURTEC, Eliquis, Vyndaqel, and the Seagen portfolio are becoming more important contributors, while cost discipline supported a 35% adjusted operating margin even as R&D spending increased.

However, the quarter also exposed the challenge of relying on a pipeline to navigate a major loss-of-exclusivity period. The $4.3B impairment tied primarily to SV followed a missed overall-survival endpoint in lung cancer, demonstrating that not all oncology investment will produce commercial returns. Pfizer’s long-term growth target depends on a number of clinical programs, including mevrometostat, berobenatide, and additional Seagen-derived oncology assets.

The central investment question is whether Pfizer can convert its acquired platforms and pipeline investment into enough durable revenue to replace products facing exclusivity losses after 2028. Continued outperformance from the non-COVID portfolio, successful pivotal oncology readouts, and credible obesity differentiation would strengthen that case. Slower COVID vaccine demand, additional pipeline setbacks, or a failure to deliver expected cost savings would make the transition more difficult.