Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) enjoyed a record year in 2022. The big drugmaker's revenue topped $100 billion. Its earnings per share soared 42% to $5.47, which translates to nearly $31.4 billion in profits. Both top- and bottom-line numbers set all-time highs.

Everything is going great in Pfizer-land, right? Not so fast. While the company's 2022 full-year and fourth-quarter results announced on Tuesday were great, its guidance for this year wasn't. Pfizer's sales could sink 33% in 2023. But here's why to buy the pharma stock anyway.

We can sum up the reasons behind Pfizer's steep sales decline this year in one word: COVID-19. The company's COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty generated sales of $37.8 billion last year. Pfizer projects sales of only $13.5 billion in 2023. Oral COVID-19 therapy Paxlovid raked in $18.9 billion last year. Pfizer expects the drug to make only around $8 billion this year.

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Source Fool.com