Earnings at Pfizer tank but still just beat expectations

Taking the brunt of generic competition to former blockbuster drugs, US pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) posted a massive 79.4% drop in second-quarter 2014 earnings.

Earnings plunged to $2.91 billion, or $0.45 per share, minus 77.3%, compared with $14.1 billion, or $1.98 per share, a year earlier, when Pfizer booked a gain of around $10 billion from the spinoff of its animal health business into a new publicly traded company, Zoetis.

Adjusted earnings per share were $0.58. Analysts expected, on average, earnings of $0.57 per share, according to FactSet. Total revenues were down 2% to $12.77 billion, compared with average analysts’ forecast $12.47 billion. The fall in revenue reflects an operational decline of $113 million, or 1%, and the unfavorable impact of foreign exchange of $87 million, or 1%, said Pfizer.