Pfizer and BioNTech expect to make $15 billion from vaccine sales this year

Pfizer and BioNTech are betting they'll beat expectations of their COVID-19 vaccine revenue this year.

Pfizer announced in a Tuesday earnings call that it expects to bring in $15 billion from vaccine sales this year, which it will split with BioNTech. That's larger than the FactSet consensus estimate of $12.7 billion, and comes as the companies rush to fulfill the 100 million doses they need to provide to the U.S. by March 31, Barron's reports.

The pharmaceutical giant's fourth-quarter revenues — which encapsulate the first few weeks of the vaccine's rollout — meanwhile came in at $11.7 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $11.5 billion. But adjusted diluted earnings per share ended up at 42 cents each, below a 50-cent estimation. Analysts expect that number to grow to $3.07 per share in 2021, while Pfizer projected it will end up between $3.10 and $3.20. Pfizer stocks fell more than a percentage point Tuesday morning after the earnings call.

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The estimation comes as other top vaccine maker Moderna continues to ramp up its production, while Pfizer lags behind. The White House's COVID-19 coordinator Andy Slavitt said last week that states were set to receive 16 percent more vaccine doses each week, for a minimum of 10 million more doses. But allocation data shows most of that increased supply comes from Moderna, which provided 5.8 million doses last week to Pfizer's 4.3 million, NPR reports.