Some Investors May Be Willing To Look Past Pfizer's (NYSE:PFE) Soft Earnings

Soft earnings didn't appear to concern Pfizer Inc.'s (NYSE:PFE) shareholders over the last week. We did some digging, and we believe the earnings are stronger than they seem.

View our latest analysis for Pfizer

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

For anyone who wants to understand Pfizer's profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit was reduced by US$6.9b due to unusual items. It's never great to see unusual items costing the company profits, but on the upside, things might improve sooner rather than later. We looked at thousands of listed companies and found that unusual items are very often one-off in nature. And, after all, that's exactly what the accounting terminology implies. Pfizer took a rather significant hit from unusual items in the year to September 2024. All else being equal, this would likely have the effect of making the statutory profit look worse than its underlying earnings power.

That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates.

Our Take On Pfizer's Profit Performance

As we mentioned previously, the Pfizer's profit was hampered by unusual items in the last year. Based on this observation, we consider it possible that Pfizer's statutory profit actually understates its earnings potential! On the other hand, its EPS actually shrunk in the last twelve months. At the end of the day, it's essential to consider more than just the factors above, if you want to understand the company properly. If you'd like to know more about Pfizer as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. To help with this, we've discovered 4 warning signs (2 shouldn't be ignored!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Pfizer.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of Pfizer's profit. But there are plenty of other ways to inform your opinion of a company. For example, many people consider a high return on equity as an indication of favorable business economics, while others like to 'follow the money' and search out stocks that insiders are buying. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with high insider ownership.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.