Pfizer posts 61% 1st-quarter profit

COVID-19 vaccine and treatment sales helped Pfizer breeze past Wall Street’s first-quarter expectations, as the drugmaker’s profit grew 61%.

The coronavirus vaccine Comirnaty brought in more than $13 billion in sales in the quarter. The pill treatment Paxlovid, which launched in 2021, added $1.5 billion in the first quarter.

All that helped company revenue swell 77%, compared to last year’s quarter, when vaccine sales were still ramping up.

Overall, Pfizer on Tuesday posted net income of $7.86 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.62 per share in the first quarter.

That easily topped the $1.49 per share projected by industry analysts, according to a survey by FactSet.