Pfizer Inc. (PFE) shares got a nice bump on Tuesday after the drugmaker delivered a second-quarter earnings beat and nudged up its full-year revenue forecast. The message from management? COVID products are fading, but the rest of the portfolio is picking up the slack.

Beating Expectations, Raising the Bar

Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla sounded a confident note, saying the company's launched and acquired products are performing well, the obesity program is gaining momentum, and oncology remains a key strength.

The numbers back that up. Pfizer reported adjusted earnings of 77 cents per share, comfortably ahead of the 69 cents Wall Street was looking for. Revenue came in at $15.03 billion, up 1% operationally and beating the $14.41 billion consensus.

What drove the growth? Stronger sales of Eliquis, Padcev, the Vyndaqel family, and Lorbrena. That more than offset the continued decline in COVID-19 product revenue. Strip out Comirnaty and Paxlovid, and second-quarter revenue rose 5% operationally. Even better, revenue from launched and acquired products jumped 18% operationally.

Productivity and Pipeline

Pfizer also said it expects an additional $2.5 billion in productivity savings from ongoing initiatives between 2027 and 2029. That's the kind of cost discipline investors like to hear.

The company is betting big on its recent acquisitions — Seagen, Metsera, and Biohaven — as key growth opportunities. And it's still targeting the first regulatory approval from Metsera's rare obesity portfolio in 2028. That's a while off, but it shows Pfizer is playing the long game in a hot therapeutic area.

Guidance: A Mixed Bag

For the full year, Pfizer affirmed its adjusted earnings guidance of $2.80 to $3.00 per share, which brackets the analyst consensus of $2.95. But it raised its revenue guidance to a range of $60.5 billion to $62.5 billion, up from the previous $59.5 billion to $62.5 billion. The new range sits comfortably around the Street's $61.79 billion estimate.

Incoming interim CFO Cecile Guegan offered some color on the COVID headwinds. She said low COVID-19 incidence could continue to weigh on Paxlovid demand, while most Comirnaty sales are expected later in the year during the vaccination season. So don't expect a COVID rebound anytime soon.

Guegan also laid out the bigger picture: Pfizer aims to position itself for high-single-digit revenue growth toward the end of the decade. The path there involves disciplined investment in R&D and commercialization of launched and acquired products.

At the time of publication on Tuesday, Pfizer shares were up 2.14% at $25.56, according to market data.