Pfizer | Fundamental Analysis | Must Read

So far this year has not been kind to stock markets. And while many drug makers have avoided a selloff, Pfizer is not one of them. The pharmaceutical giant has performed more or less on par with the broader market to date. Fortunately, Pfizer's latest quarterly report showed some very encouraging signs.

However, there are also reasons to be concerned about the future of this medical company. Let's look at one earnings-related reason why Pfizer might be a buy and one reason why it might not be.

Pfizer has made a fortune over the past couple of years through its work on coronaviruses. The company continues to benefit greatly from these efforts. In Q2, the company's revenues rose 53% year over year to $27.7 billion. According to company executives, Pfizer recorded the largest quarterly sales in its history during the period, and that was primarily due to its COVID-19 product line.

Sales of the coronavirus vaccine totaled $8.8 billion, up 20% from last year. Sales of the coronavirus drug Paxlovid were $8.1 billion (no year-over-year comparison here, since the drug received approval in December). These two drugs alone accounted for more than half of Pfizer's total revenue.

While Pfizer's line of drugs against coronaviruses is currently unparalleled, the rest of the company's portfolio is not as impressive. The non-coronavirus drug maker's revenues grew a paltry 1% year-over-year in Q2. Pfizer's line of drugs faces a number of challenges, including adverse events related to its immunologic drug Xeljanz. Xeljanz belongs to a class of drugs known as JAK inhibitors.

Last year, Pfizer published data from a post-marketing study that showed Xeljanz was associated with higher rates of cardiovascular events and cancer than TNF inhibitors, a drug category that includes AbbVie's Humira.

The results of this study, combined with a regulatory decision to add a warning about these risks to the label of Xeljanz (and other JAK inhibitors), are holding back sales of the drug. In Q2, sales of Xeljanz declined 24% year over year to $430 million. Revenues for the immunosuppressant Enbrel also fell 10% year over year to $257 million, probably because of tougher competition, which also affected its sales in Q1.

Pfizer has some good non-coronavirus numbers, including its drug Eliquis. In Q2, sales of that anticoagulant rose 23% year over year to $1.7 billion. But overall, the company has barely been able to increase sales outside of its line of coronavirus drugs. This could be a problem if sales of COVID-19 products fall sharply after this year.

In my opinion, the market is still underestimating Pfizer. First, the company will continue to make profits from Paclovid and Comirnati. COVID-19 will not (unfortunately) suddenly disappear out of thin air after this year. Even if the demand for drugs to prevent or treat the disease declines, Paxlovid and Komirnati can continue to make significant contributions to Pfizer's top-line revenue for a long time to come.

Second, while the rest of the drug line is unimpressive, pharmaceutical companies sometimes face this problem because of growing competition, patent breaks, or other factors. But drug makers generally don't have the advantage of growing sales at the rate that Pfizer does when they face such obstacles.

What matters is whether the company in question can meet these challenges. Having a solid portfolio and plenty of money to devote to research and development helps - and Pfizer has both. Thanks to the company's success in the coronavirus market, its cash balance has skyrocketed.

Pfizer has been active in acquisitions and plans to continue on that path. This should help bolster its already solid line of drugs, which has more than 90 clinical trials. Pfizer expects up to 15 new approvals over the next 18 months. Some of the current programs could go wrong. But the company has all the tools it needs to launch several new potential blockbuster drugs in the next five years. That's why investors should siphon off the company's stock before it rises in price.