Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) investors will be delighted, with the company turning in some strong numbers with its latest results. It was a solid earnings report, with revenues and statutory earnings per share (EPS) both coming in strong. Revenues were 19% higher than the analysts had forecast, at US$18b, while EPS were US$0.78 beating analyst models by 161%. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

After the latest results, the 21 analysts covering Pfizer are now predicting revenues of US$62.8b in 2025. If met, this would reflect a satisfactory 5.8% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to shoot up 167% to US$2.02. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$62.9b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.05 in 2025. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

There were no changes to revenue or earnings estimates or the price target of US$33.47, suggesting that the company has met expectations in its recent result. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. There are some variant perceptions on Pfizer, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$45.00 and the most bearish at US$27.00 per share. There are definitely some different views on the stock, but the range of estimates is not wide enough as to imply that the situation is unforecastable, in our view.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Pfizer's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 4.6% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 11% over the past five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 11% per year. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Pfizer is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$33.47, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have forecasts for Pfizer going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 4 warning signs for Pfizer you should be aware of, and 2 of them can't be ignored.

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