$PFE Misses Expectations and Guides Lower

“Pfizer Inc. (PFE), the world’s biggest drugmaker, lowered its 2013 profit forecast after first-quarter sales and earnings missed analyst estimates.

Full-year earnings excluding one-time items may be $2.14 to $2.24 a share, New York-based Pfizer said in a statement today. The company’s gave a previous 2013 forecast of $2.20 to $2.30 in January. First-quarter profit missed analyst estimates by 1 cent, the average of 17 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

First-quarter sales were $13.5 billion, less than analyst estimates of $13.94 billion, as revenue for Prevnar, a vaccine for pneumococcal diseases, and erectile dysfunction drug Viagra fell short of expectations. Investors are focused on whether Pfizer will split apart after shedding two non-drug units. Chief Executive Officer Ian Read has been floating the idea of cleaving the company into a brand-name drug unit and a generics business, as a move to raise the total value of two companies….”

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