Pfizer raised its annual forecasts on Tuesday as strong demand for its cancer drugs and blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis helped the drugmaker post better-than-expected third-quarter results. The U.S. drugmaker has turned to licensing deals and acquisitions to replenish its pipeline and drive growth beyond 2028, as patent expirations threaten revenue from some of its top-selling drugs, including Eliquis and cancer drug Ibrance. The company shelled out $10 billion for weight-loss drug developer Metsera last year and entered a licensing deal worth up to $10.5 billion with China’s Innovent Biologics 1801.HK earlier this year to develop a dozen cancer medicines. CEO Albert Bourla said the raised outlook reflected the strong quarterly performance and confidence in the company’s strategy, pipeline and long-term growth prospects. “Pfizer is well positioned to drive growth toward the end of the decade,” he said. Revenue from non-COVID products delivered solid growth, while cost management supported margin expansion, newly appointed CFO Cecile Guegan said in the company’s prepared remarks. Guegan succeeded Dave Denton who left Pfizer in August to take on a similar role with Nike. Pfizer expects $9.7 billion in total net savings from its cost reductions through 2029 as it seeks to offset declining COVID-related revenue and restore sustainable growth. It is now targeting annual sales of $62 billion to $64.0 billion, up from the prior forecast of $60.5 billion to $62.5 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company expects an earnings per share of $2.95 to $3.05 this year, compared with previous forecast of $2.80 to $3.00 per share. Analysts on average were expecting annual per-share profit of $2.96 and 2026 revenue of $62.17 billion. The company earned third-quarter adjusted profit of 87 cents per share, topping estimates of 73 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG. Pfizer said its full-year profit forecast includes a $650 million charge related to the Innovent deal, which was expected to reduce third-quarter profit by about 10 cents per share. Total revenue came in at $16.58 billion, topping estimates of $15.87 billion. -- (Reporting by Christy Santhosh and Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
