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This is why I don’t like mergers. They’re great for press releases, but lousy for earnings. Pfizer has been a dud stock ever since its mega-merger with Warner Lambert, and later with Pharmacia. Why do companies continue doing this?

I used to think that things couldn’t get much worse for Pfizer. Well, I was wrong. Today the drugmaker said that its earnings fell in half last quarter. Sales of Celebrex dropped by 44%. The problem with Celebrex is that it’s supposed to help your arthritis. The downside is an increased risk of a heart attack, which ironically, is still easier on your heart than actually owning shares of Pfizer.

If that weren’t enough, Neurontin went off patent protection and saw its sales plunge by 80%. And Pfizer’s only bright spot wasn’t very bright. Lipitor sales grew by 6%, much less than Wall Street was hoping for. Sales in the U.S. grew by just 1%. Even sales of Viagara were down. The company also withdrew its sales forecast for next year and the year after that. I don’t see any bright spots here. The stock is now roughly were it was eight years ago. I hope you don’t own this stock. If you do, you can do better elsewhere.

Posted by edelfenbein at October 20, 2005 11:57 AM