Pfizer Inc.: Global pharmaceutical giant in transition

Brief summary for investors: Pfizer is a leading global biopharmaceutical company with a diversified portfolio of prescription drugs, vaccines, and biosimilars. After historically high sales during the pandemic, the company is undergoing a phase of normalization and strategic realignment.

Development The share price reached an all-time high of over €50 at the end of 2022, driven by exceptional sales of COVID-19 products (Comirnaty, Paxlovid). With the sharp decline in pandemic demand, sales fell from over $100 billion (2022) to a projected level of under $60 billion (2023), which is directly reflected in the share price decline to around €20 (September 2025). The latest quarterly figures show a continuation of this trend with volatile but overall declining sales and earnings.

Opportunities:

• Diversified core business: Strong, established products such as the anticoagulant Eliquis and the pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar continue to generate steady cash flows.
• Innovation pipeline: The company invests heavily in R&D, particularly in oncology (e.g., through acquisitions such as Seagen) and mRNA technology, which could generate new growth in the medium term.
• Attractive valuation: The current valuation appears moderate by historical standards, and the dividend payment provides a stabilizing yield.

Risks:

• Post-pandemic hangover: The extremely volatile and declining demand for COVID-19 products is leading to significant revenue declines and complicating forecasting.
• Patent rights: The impending loss of patent protection for blockbusters such as Eliquis (from 2026) poses significant revenue risks from biosimilar competition.
• Operating Margins: The sharp decline in free cash flow per share in the last quarter (USD 0.002) indicates significant operational challenges and capital commitment.

Additional Notes: Debt (debt-to-equity: ~1.32) is manageable, but elevated. Minor policy transactions do not provide a meaningful signal.

Conclusion: Pfizer faces the difficult task of compensating for the loss of COVID-19 revenues with its core business and new products from the pipeline. While the company's fundamental financial strength is intact, the short-term outlook is challenging due to the erratic COVID-19 revenues and the impending patent cliff. The success of the realignment will only become apparent in the medium to long term.

Read full AI analysis