Investors were a little nervous on Tuesday morning, as they wait for more indications about the health of the global economy. As of just before 10 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +2.49%) was up 91 points to 35,182. However, the S&P 500 (^GSPC +2.91%) had fallen 6 points to 4,478, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +3.83%) had dropped 8 points to 14,008.
Earnings season continued on Tuesday, and some high-profile companies saw their stock prices move in different directions. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (PFE +0.95%) lost ground after announcing its latest quarterly financial results, but motorcycle legend Harley-Davidson (HOG +4.01%) got a nice boost to its share price. Let's take a closer look at what each of these companies said.
Pfizer sees a strong 2021, but will 2022 measure up?
Shares of Pfizer were down more than 4% on Tuesday morning. The pharma company's fourth-quarter results closed a stellar year for the business, but nervousness about Pfizer's future prospects weighed on investor sentiment.
Pfizer saw immense growth in 2021, but nearly all of it was linked to its COVID-19 vaccine and treatment products. Fourth-quarter revenue more than doubled year over year to $23.8 billion. However, when you take out the impact of the Comirnaty vaccine and the Paxlovid oral antiviral treatment, quarterly revenue was actually down 2% from year-ago levels. A similar dynamic played out for the full year, with total revenue of $81.3 billion climbing 92% but growth rates falling to just 6% when you take out the nearly $37 billion in contributions from the two COVID-19 products. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.08 per share for the quarter and $4.42 per share for the full 2021 year.
Image source: Getty Images.
2022's forecast looks solid but again will have huge influence from Comirnaty and Paxlovid. Pfizer expects revenue of $98 billion to $102 billion, with adjusted earnings of $6.35 to $6.55 per share. Yet even though Pfizer boosted its Comirnaty sales projection to $32 billion for 2022 and provided initial guidance for $22 billion in Paxlovid sales in the coming year, investors seemed to want even more.
The investing community expects that progress against the pandemic will continue, and so they're looking beyond the windfalls that Pfizer is receiving toward a future in which revenue from Comirnaty and Paxlovid might well dry up quickly. That concern could keep Pfizer stock under pressure even if 2022 looks strong from a business standpoint.
Harley revs up
Elsewhere, shares of Harley-Davidson jumped nearly 11%. The motorcycle maker gave investors a nice surprise by posting a profit in its fourth-quarter financial results.
Harley's numbers were impressive across the board. Quarterly revenue jumped 40% year over year to $1.02 billion. The motorcycle company reversed a year-earlier loss, posting net income of $22 million that worked out to an adjusted earnings figure of $0.15 per share. That closed a solid year for the company, with revenue rising 32% from 2020 and adjusted earnings soaring more than sixfold to $4.21 per share.
Moreover, Harley is optimistic about how 2022 will work out. It sees revenue growth for its motorcycle segment of between 5% and 10%. Although operating income from its financing segment is likely to decline in a worsening interest rate environment, Harley believes that supply chain challenges should start to show some improvement by the second half of 2022.
Harley is still in the early stages of a five-year strategic plan to turn around its core business. However, these early results are encouraging, and that could keep Harley-Davidson hitting the gas through the coming year and beyond.
