Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Dec 04, 2025

Pfizer expects $54 billion in 2022 sales on Covid vaccine and treatment pill

Pfizer expects $54 billion in 2022 sales on Covid vaccine and treatment pill

Pfizer expects to sell $32 billion of its Covid-19 shots and $22 billion of its antiviral coronavirus treatment pill Paxlovid.


Pfizer projects it will generate record-high revenue in 2022, saying Tuesday it expects to sell $32 billion of its Covid-19 shots and $22 billion of its antiviral coronavirus treatment pill Paxlovid this year.

However, the company posted mixed fourth-quarter results, beating on earnings but missing on revenue. Pfizer’s stock was down more than 5.7% in morning trading.

Here’s how the company performed compared to what Wall Street expected, based on analysts’ average estimates compiled by Refinitiv:

Adjusted EPS: $1.08 vs. 87 cents expected

Revenue: $23.84 billion vs. $24.12 billion expected

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said sales of Paxlovid could be higher than the company’s guidance, but the expectations are based on deals signed or close to being signed. Angela Hwang, head of biopharmaceuticals, said Pfizer is an active discussions with over 100 countries around the world on Paxlovid.

Pfizer’s miss on revenue was driven by lackluster sales in its internal medicine and hospital segments. Fourth-quarter internal medicine sales fell 3% year-over-year to $2.24 billion, while hospital sales were largely flat at $1.88 billion. Pfizer’s oncology sales expanded 7% to $3.24 billion compared with the year-earlier period.


However, Pfizer’s fourth-quarter revenue more than doubled overall to $23.84 billion year-over-year, driven by $12.5 billion in sales of its Covid vaccine. The company’s antiviral pill that fights Covid, Paxlovid, contributed $76 million in U.S. sales during the fourth quarter. The Food and Drug Administration gave the pill emergency approval in December.

On an unadjusted basis, Pfizer’s fourth-quarter profit increased more than fourfold to $3.39 billion from $847 million during the same three months in 2020. Pfizer expects $98 billion to $102 billion in sales for 2022, and adjusted earnings per share of $6.35 to $6.55.

Bourla said the company plans to aggressively expand the use of the Covid vaccine’s underlying technology, messenger RNA, to treat rare genetic diseases of the liver, muscle and central nervous system through a collaboration with Beam Therapeutics. Bourla said the company also hopes to reduce the time to produce new vaccines from three months to two months as it explores automated solutions to produce mRNA in collaboration with Codex DNA. Pfizer is also developing a shingles vaccine with BioNTech.

Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten said a phase two or three study of an mRNA flu vaccine could start this year and conclude in 2023. Pfizer could also have a readout of clinical trials from its respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, vaccine sometime in the second quarter.

Pfizer started a clinical trial late last month of a Covid vaccine that targets the omicron variant in adults ages 18 to 55. Dolsten said Pfizer expects data in the coming weeks on the omicron vaccine. Bourla has previously said the company expects to have the vaccine ready by March.

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech also are working with the FDA to expedite authorization of their Covid vaccine for children under 5 years old this month, the last age group left in the U.S. that is not eligible for immunization. The companies expect kids under 5 will ultimately need three doses, but they are working to get the first two shots FDA authorized while they finish trials on the third dose.

Bourla said the eradication of Covid is unlikely because the global spread of the virus makes it difficult to contain and it mutates often. Data also indicates that natural infection does not lead to durable protection needed to prevent transmission and mutations, he said.

In addition, the company also working to ramp up production and delivery of Paxlovid. Bourla said Pfizer expects to produce 6 million courses in the first quarter and 120 million by year-end.

The U.S. government has ordered 20 million courses, with 10 million expected by June. The U.S. allocated 265,000 courses since the FDA approved Paxlovid in December and 85% of the treatments have been ordered by the states, according to Hwang. Bourla said the states are immediately placing new orders after using the treatments.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
As Trump Deepens Ties with Saudi Arabia, Push for Israel Normalization Takes a Back Seat
Thai Food Village Debuts at Saudi Feast Food Festival 2025 Under Thai Commerce Minister Suphajee’s Lead
Saudi Arabia Sharpens Its Strategic Vision as Economic Transformation Enters New Phase
Saudi Arabia Projects $44 Billion Budget Shortfall in 2026 as Economy Rebalances
OPEC+ Unveils New Capacity-Based System to Anchor Future Oil Output Levels
Will Saudi Arabia End Up Bankrolling Israel’s Post-Ceasefire Order in Lebanon?
Saudi Arabia’s SAMAI Initiative Surpasses One-Million-Citizen Milestone in National AI Upskilling Drive
Saudi Arabia’s Specialty Coffee Market Set to Surge as Demand Soars and New Exhibition Drops in December
Saudi Arabia Moves to Open Two New Alcohol Stores for Foreigners Under Vision 2030 Reform
Saudi Arabia’s AI Ambitions Gain Momentum — but Water, Talent and Infrastructure Pose Major Hurdles
Tensions Surface in Trump-MBS Talks as Saudi Pushes Back on Israel Normalisation
Saudi Arabia Signals Major Maritime Crack-Down on Houthi Routes in Red Sea
Italy and Saudi Arabia Seal Over 20 Strategic Deals at Business Forum in Riyadh
COP30 Ends Without Fossil Fuel Phase-Out as US, Saudi Arabia and Russia Align in Obstruction Role
Saudi-Portuguese Economic Horizons Expand Through Strategic Business Council
DHL Commits $150 Million for Landmark Logistics Hub in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Aramco Weighs Disposals Amid $10 Billion-Plus Asset Sales Discussion
Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince for Major Defence and Investment Agreements
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
Riyadh Metro Records Over One Hundred Million Journeys as Saudi Capital Accelerates Transit Era
Trump’s Grand Saudi Welcome Highlights U.S.–Riyadh Pivot as Israel Watches Warily
U.S. Set to Sell F-35 Jets to Saudi Arabia in Major Strategic Shift
Saudi Arabia Doubles Down on U.S. Partnership in Strategic Move
Saudi Arabia Charts Tech and Nuclear Leap Under Crown Prince’s U.S. Visit
Trump Elevates Saudi Arabia to Major Non-NATO Ally Amid Defense Deal
Trump Elevates Saudi Arabia to Major Non-NATO Ally as MBS Visit Yields Deepened Ties
Iran Appeals to Saudi Arabia to Mediate Restart of U.S. Nuclear Talks
Musk, Barra and Ford Join Trump in Lavish White House Dinner for Saudi Crown Prince
Lawmaker Seeks Declassification of ‘Shocking’ 2019 Call Between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince
US and Saudi Arabia Forge Strategic Defence Pact Featuring F-35 Sale and $1 Trillion Investment Pledge
Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund Emerges as Key Contender in Warner Bros. Discovery Sale
Trump Secures Sweeping U.S.–Saudi Agreements on Jets, Technology and Massive Investment
Detroit CEOs Join White House Dinner as U.S.–Saudi Auto Deal Accelerates
Netanyahu Secures U.S. Assurance That Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge Will Remain Despite Saudi F-35 Deal
Ronaldo Joins Trump and Saudi Crown Prince’s Gala Amid U.S.–Gulf Tech and Investment Surge
U.S.–Saudi Investment Forum Sees U.S. Corporate Titans and Saudi Royalty Forge Billion-Dollar Ties
Elon Musk’s xAI to Deploy 500-Megawatt Saudi Data Centre with State-backed Partner HUMAIN
U.S. Clears Export of Advanced AI Chips to Saudi Arabia and UAE Amid Strategic Tech Partnership
xAI Selects Saudi Data-Centre as First Customer of Nvidia-Backed Humain Project
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
President Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Washington Amid Strategic Deal Talks
Saudi Crown Prince to Press Trump for Direct U.S. Role in Ending Sudan War
Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince: Five Key Takeaways from the White House Meeting
Trump Firmly Defends Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi Murder Amid Washington Visit
Trump Backs Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi Killing Amid White House Visit
Trump Publicly Defends Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi Killing During Washington Visit
President Donald Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at White House to Seal Major Defence and Investment Deals
Saudi Arabia’s Solar Surge Signals Unlikely Shift in Global Oil Powerhouse
Saudi Crown Prince Receives Letter from Iranian President Ahead of U.S. Visit
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Begins Washington Visit to Cement Long-Term U.S. Alliance
×