Pfizer Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) reported earnings on Jan. 29. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Pfizer beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped and GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.

Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
Pfizer booked revenue of $15.07 billion. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $14.38 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 10% lower than the prior-year quarter's $16.75 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.47. The 16 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.44 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.85 for Q4 were 347% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.19 per share. (The prior-year quarter included -$0.01 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 78.9%, 640 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 19.7%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 41.9%, 3,330 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $14.11 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.56.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $57.73 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.29.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 5,456 members out of 6,045 rating the stock outperform, and 589 members rating it underperform. Among 1,585 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,487 give Pfizer a green thumbs-up, and 98 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Pfizer is outperform, with an average price target of $27.55.

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