Pfizer
(
PFE
) is slated to report its second quarter 2012 earnings on July 31,
2012 before the opening bell. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate
for the second quarter is 55 cents per share, representing a
year-over-year decline of 8.3%. Full year earnings are expected to
be $2.20 per share, down 4.8% from the year-ago period.
Pfizer has surpassed earnings estimates in each of the last four
quarters with a trailing four-quarter average of 5.59%. Analysts,
however, expect a negative surprise of 1.82 % where second quarter
2012 earnings are concerned.
First Quarter Recap
Pfizer posted first quarter 2012 earnings (excluding special
items) of 58 cents per share, a couple of cents above the Zacks
Consensus Estimate but 3% below the year-ago earnings.
Revenues fell 7% to $15.4 billion, slightly below the Zacks
Consensus Estimate of $15.5 billion. Pfizer's results were affected
by the November 2011 loss of Lipitor exclusivity.
Including one-time items, first quarter earnings fell 14% to 24
cents.
(Read our full coverage of the first quarter 2012 earnings
report at
Generic Lipitor Hurts Pfizer
).
Agreement of Analysts
Estimate revisions for Pfizer for the second quarter are mixed
with an equal number of analysts (2) raising and lowering their
estimates over the last 30 days. The last seven days have seen just
one analyst raising their estimate for the second quarter.
As far as full year 2012 is concerned, 7 of the 16 analysts
covering the stock have lowered their estimates over the last 30
days with just 1 analyst moving in the opposite direction. Over the
last 7 days, only 1 analyst has raised their 2012 estimate with no
movement in the opposite direction.
Magnitude of Estimate Revisions
While the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second quarter
remains unchanged at 55 cents per share, the full year 2012 Zacks
Consensus Estimate has gone down by a cent over the last 30 days to
$2.20 per share. Factors like unfavorable currency fluctuation as
well as the entry of additional generic competition for Lipitor may
have led to the downward revision in the 2012 Zacks Consensus
Estimate. Pfizer expects 2012 earnings in the range of $2.14 -
$2.24 per share on revenues of $58 - $60 billion.
Neutral on Pfizer
We currently have a Neutral recommendation on Pfizer, which
carries a Zacks #3 Rank (short-term 'Hold' rating). While near-term
earnings will be driven by cost cutting efforts and share
repurchases, longer-term growth will depend on the success of drug
development.
PFIZER INC (PFE): Free Stock Analysis Report
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