Pfizer posts fourth quarter loss

NEW YORK — Pfizer’s ongoing restructuring is significantly reducing revenue, resulting in a $337 million loss in its fourth quarter and a miss of Wall Street’s profit expectations.

The results and Pfizer’s 2020 financial forecasts didn’t please investors, who drove Pfizer shares down more than 4%, an unusually large drop for the biggest U.S. drugmaker. Pfizer also said results will be delayed until next year from a key study of whether its blockbuster Ibrance decreases chances of breast cancer recurring.

Pfizer executives, though, predicted a positive, if complicated, future as the company divests lower-profit segments to focus on its more lucrative new prescription drugs business.

Adjusted earnings of $3.11 billion, or 55 cents per share, fell short of the 58 cents a share expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Revenue totaled $12.69 billion in the October-December quarter. That topped the $12.61 billion that analysts were expecting, but was 9% lower than a year earlier. Sales in emerging markets like China and India jumped 14% to $3.24 billion.

EBay reports profit of $556M

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — EBay Inc. on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter profit of $556 million.

On a per-share basis, the San Jose, California-based company said it had profit of 69 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 81 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 75 cents per share.

The e-commerce company posted revenue of $2.82 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Ten analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.81 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of $1.79 billion, or $2.09 per share. Revenue was reported as $10.8 billion.

For the current quarter ending in April, eBay expects its per-share earnings to range from 70 cents to 73 cents.

The company said it expects revenue in the range of $2.55 billion to $2.6 billion for the fiscal first quarter. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $2.66 billion.

EBay expects full-year earnings in the range of $2.95 to $3.05 per share, with revenue ranging from $10.72 billion to $10.92 billion.