Pfizer and Moderna, the manufacturers of the two most popular COVID-19 vaccines in the United States, both reported massive quarterly profits this week driven by the coronavirus pandemic.
Moderna tripled its net-income in the first quarter of 2022 compared to Q1 2021, pocketing nearly $6 billion from COVID-19 vaccine sales, the company reported Wednesday. Pfizer’s profit surged 61% to nearly $8 billion in the first quarter, it announced Tuesday.
Sales of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and treatment pushed the drugmaker well past expectations in the first quarter, as profit grew 61%. https://t.co/04Nh6T78w7
— ABC News (@ABC) May 4, 2022
There are only three COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States. 217 million doses of Moderna’s shot and 341 million doses of Pfizer’s have been administered in the United States since the shots were approved nearly a year and a half ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The third available shot, from Johnson & Johnson, has been administered just 18.7 million times.
Moderna soared well beyond Wall Street expectations for the quarter, reporting a profit of $8.58 per share compared to analyst predictions of $5.18 per share, according to the Associated Press. Pfizer also exceeded expectations, with earnings of $1.62 per share compared to predictions of $1.49 per share. (RELATED: The FDA Finally Admits We Should Treat COVID-19 Like The Flu)
There may be more cash on the way for both companies. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Thursday it is drastically limiting the uses for which Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is authorized, due to concerns about rare but serious blood clots. Moderna said it has agreements for $21 billion in sales for 2022 already, and the company has doubled its number of full-time employees over the past year.
As for Pfizer, there’s likely to be increased demand for its Paxlovid antiviral pill, used as an early treatment for COVID-19. Paxlovid drove $1.5 billion in sales in the first quarter. Both drug-makers are petitioning the FDA to authorize its vaccines for children under age five in the coming weeks.