Pfizer raises full-year outlook, names Cecile Guegan as CFO

By Daniel Okafor

Pfizer said Tuesday that it raised full-year revenue guidance to $62 billion–$64 billion and named finance veteran Cecile Guegan chief financial officer. The new range lifts both ends by $1.5 billion from the previous $60.5 billion–$62.5 billion range.

Guegan has held various finance leadership roles at Pfizer over the past two decades and has served as interim CFO since August, when Dave Denton left Pfizer for the same position at Nike. She formally took the role this month.

How did third-quarter results compare with estimates?

Pfizer reported relatively flat third-quarter revenue from a year earlier. An LSEG survey of Wall Street analysts produced these comparisons:

• Revenue: $16.58 billion vs. $15.87 billion expected.
• Adjusted earnings per share: 87 cents vs. 73 cents expected.

Pfizer cited an operational decrease of $57 million, primarily from lower Covid revenue, and a $15 million negative impact from foreign exchange.

Which products carried the quarter?

Pfizer’s reported product sales showed the largest offsets to declining Covid revenue:

• Eliquis: $2.52 billion, up 25%, against $2.40 billion expected, according to StreetAccount.
• Padcev: $720 million, against $658 million expected, according to StreetAccount.

Sales of newly launched and acquired products reached $3.8 billion, up 32% operationally. Guegan said on the earnings call that the group included Padcev, respiratory syncytial virus vaccine Abrysvo, pneumococcal shot Prevnar 20 and oral lung cancer drug Lorbrena.

“We continue to invest behind this group of products to mitigate [loss of exclusivity] headwinds over the next several years,” Guegan said. “In addition, this quarter's performance demonstrates clear progress against our objective of returning to growth toward the end of the decade.”

Why did Bourla call lower Covid revenue positive?

Pfizer’s Covid products beat quarterly estimates despite steep sales declines, according to Pfizer’s reporting and StreetAccount estimates:

• Covid vaccine: $808 million vs. $770.4 million expected.
• Paxlovid: $449 million vs. $394.1 million expected.

Pfizer reaffirmed its full-year Covid product outlook at roughly $4 billion. Guegan said the company expected most Covid shot sales in the fourth quarter during vaccination season.

In an exclusive interview with CNBC, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Covid product revenue was “very low” this quarter and year, but called that “positive news for us.”

“Covid revenues was an overhang on the performance of our stock because of the perception that it is volatile and it's material to us. Actually, we've proven that we can make it irrelevant,” Bourla said.

“If anything, only an upside because, in the lowest possible Covid performance, we are beating, and we are raising by $1.5 billion because of the overperformance of the other products.”

How much did the profit outlook change?

Pfizer now expects full-year adjusted earnings of $2.95–$3.05 per share, compared with $2.80–$3 previously. At the low end, the revenue outlook is roughly flat or slightly below 2025 revenue of $62.6 billion.

Pfizer cited its “strong year-to-date performance” as a driver for the guidance increase. Its adjusted earnings outlook includes a one-time $650 million charge, equal to a negative 10 cents per share, recorded in the third quarter.

The charge relates to Pfizer’s licensing and collaboration agreement with Chinese cancer drugmaker Innovent Biologics.

What is Pfizer’s post-Covid growth strategy?

Pfizer described the challenge as declining Covid demand and generic rivals threatening its biggest moneymakers. Bourla is pursuing growth through strategic acquisitions, new cancer medicines and a major weight-loss treatments bet through the Metsera acquisition.

Bourla told CNBC that launched and acquired products should keep generating revenue “so that we can overcome the patent, the loss of patent exclusivity.” He said the pipeline would “perform even better in terms of growth.”

In August, Pfizer expanded its multiyear cost-cutting program to offset sharp declines in Covid product sales. The company now targets roughly $9.7 billion in net savings through 2029.

What did reported net income show?

Pfizer booked net income of $3.24 billion, or 56 cents per share, for the quarter. That compares with net income of $3.54 billion, or 62 cents per share, in the third quarter of 2025.

Its 87-cent adjusted earnings figure excluded certain items, including restructuring charges and costs associated with intangible assets.

The fourth quarter is the first test because Guegan expects most Covid shot sales then. Beyond it, she said the $3.8 billion newer-product group shows clear progress toward Pfizer’s objective of returning to growth toward the end of the decade.