Pfizer's Analyst Day: And Now, For Its Next Trick

01 Apr 2005

Pfizer was vague in describing to analysts just how it would reduce costs by $4 billion per year by 2008. The FDA's announcement that it had asked Pfizer to remove the Cox-2 inhibitor Bextra from the market just days later complicates matters for the pharmaceutical giant. In any case, those hoping for a significant headcount reduction among Pfizer sales reps were surely disappointed.

At its much-anticipated analysts' meeting in early April, Pfizer Inc. was vague in explaining exactly how exactly the pharmaceutical giant would both trim an unexpectedly bulky $4 billion from its costs by 2008 (twice the figure expected by most analysts) and return the company to double-digit adjusted earnings growth as early as 2006 (2005, CFO David Shedlarz predicted, would see a modest profit decline). Quite a few observers suggest this can't be done without significant layoffs from sales force and R&D cuts that Pfizer says it won't resort to.

Now the company must pull off this Houdiniesque escape wearing the equivalent of a blindfold handed to it by the...