PFE
Pfizer Inc.
Healthcare · Drug Manufacturers - General · United States · Stock
Score Breakdown
Scored for Safe Long-Term Investing profile
Sub-scores are 0–20 each; Model Score is weighted by your selected investment goal. How it works →
Why Ranked Here
- The composite score of 47.2/100 reflects a mix of mid-range profitability, uneven quarterly momentum, and meaningful drags from declining annual growth metrics and an uncovered dividend.
- Financial health contributed a relatively strong component score, partially offsetting weakness in growth and dividend sustainability.
- The absence of any macro theme assignment meant that portion of the model contributed nothing to the composite, keeping the total score in the lower-middle range.
Why Not Higher
- Annual revenue, net income, and EPS all declined in FY2025, and the dividend payout ratio of 125.7% exceeded net income, both of which the model penalized and which prevented a higher composite score.
- A return on assets of only 3.7% and volatile quarterly results — including a net loss of -$1.647 billion in 2025Q4 — limited the profitability and momentum contributions to the middle tier rather than the upper tier.
Data Confidence
10 / 10
Very High — full data coverage
Why This Score
Grounded in figures from this company's SEC EDGAR filings — not a restatement of the score itself.
Revenue declined from FY2024's $63,627,000,000 to FY2025's $62,579,000,000 (-1.6%), net income fell from FY2024's $8,031,000,000 to FY2025's $7,771,000,000 (-3.2%), and diluted EPS dropped from FY2024's $1.41 to FY2025's $1.36 (-3.5%).
The model penalized Pfizer for contraction across all three key growth metrics in FY2025, reflecting a broad-based top- and bottom-line decline that left little room for a higher score.
In FY2025, Pfizer posted a net margin of 12.4%, an operating margin of 12.0%, and a return on assets of 3.7%.
The model recognized that Pfizer retains meaningful profitability margins, but the relatively modest return on assets of 3.7% in FY2025 tempered the score, placing it in the middle range rather than the upper tier.
Filing evidence currently available does not support a more specific explanation for this factor.
Quarterly revenue rose from $14,653,000,000 in 2025Q2 to $17,557,000,000 in 2025Q4 before pulling back to $14,451,000,000 in 2026Q1. Operating income followed a similar arc, climbing from $3,044,000,000 in 2025Q2 to $3,334,000,000 in 2025Q3, then swinging to -$1,643,000,000 in 2025Q4, and recovering to $3,170,000,000 in 2026Q1. Net income mirrored this volatility, including a loss of -$1,647,000,000 in 2025Q4 followed by a rebound to $2,687,000,000 in 2026Q1.
The model awarded a moderate score reflecting a mixed trend: strong mid-period quarters were offset by a sharp 2025Q4 dip and a 2026Q1 revenue pullback, signaling uneven rather than consistently accelerating momentum.
Pfizer's dividend payout ratio in FY2025 stood at 125.7%, meaning dividends paid exceeded net income, while dividends per share have grown incrementally from $1.61 in FY2022 to $1.65 in FY2023, $1.69 in FY2024, and $1.72 in FY2025.
The model likely discounted the dividend score because a payout ratio of 125.7% in FY2025 signals that the current dividend level is not fully covered by earnings, even as the per-share dividend has shown a steady upward trend over the four-year period.
Pfizer is not currently assigned to any of the 24 tracked macro themes.
Because no macro theme assignment exists at this time, the theme component contributed no score under the model's current methodology; this reflects the absence of a classification rather than any judgment about the company's strategic positioning.
Research Summary
AI-generated analysis reflects data and conditions as of the report date shown above. Verify any specific figures through primary sources before acting on this analysis.
Pfizer posted a modest composite score of 47.2/100 with a Medium risk rating and a Research Further label, reflecting broad-based top- and bottom-line contraction in FY2025 alongside a dividend payout ratio that exceeded net income. Revenue slipped from $63.6 billion to $62.6 billion (-1.6%), net income fell 3.2%, and diluted EPS declined 3.5%, while the dividend payout ratio of 125.7% signals the current dividend is not fully covered by earnings. Quarterly momentum was uneven, with a sharp operating loss in 2025Q4 followed by a meaningful recovery in 2026Q1, and Pfizer carries no current macro theme assignment, which weighed on the composite. Profitability margins remain meaningful at 12.4% net and 12.0% operating, but a return on assets of only 3.7% kept the profitability score in the middle range.
Plain English
Pfizer is a large pharmaceutical company that is earning decent profits but shrinking slightly — revenue and earnings both dipped in 2025, and the company is paying out more in dividends than it actually earned that year, which raises some sustainability questions.
Bull Case vs. Bear Case
Bull Case
- Pfizer retains solid double-digit profitability margins, with a net margin of 12.4% and an operating margin of 12.0% in FY2025, demonstrating that the core business remains meaningfully profitable.
- After a sharp 2025Q4 operating loss of -$1.643 billion, operating income rebounded strongly to $3.170 billion in 2026Q1, suggesting the business has some capacity to recover from short-term disruptions.
- Dividends per share have grown incrementally every year from $1.61 in FY2022 to $1.72 in FY2025, reflecting a consistent commitment to returning capital to shareholders over a multi-year period.
Bear Case
- Revenue, net income, and diluted EPS all contracted in FY2025 — down 1.6%, 3.2%, and 3.5% respectively — indicating broad-based top- and bottom-line pressure with no single bright spot in annual growth.
- The dividend payout ratio of 125.7% in FY2025 means Pfizer paid out more in dividends than it earned in net income, raising questions about the long-term sustainability of the current dividend level.
- Pfizer is not assigned to any of the 24 tracked macro themes, meaning it does not benefit from any thematic tailwind classification under the current model, which contributed a zero to the composite score.
What Could Change the Picture
Bullish Triggers
- A sustained return to revenue and earnings growth in coming quarters — reversing the FY2025 declines — combined with a payout ratio that falls back below 100% would meaningfully strengthen the investment case.
- Assignment to one or more of the model's 24 tracked macro themes could add a previously absent component to the composite score, reflecting improved strategic positioning recognition.
Bearish Triggers
- If the 2025Q4 operating loss pattern recurs or deepens in future quarters, the uneven momentum profile could deteriorate further, undermining confidence in earnings stability.
- A dividend cut driven by the unsustainable 125.7% payout ratio would signal financial stress and could erode investor confidence in Pfizer's capital return commitment.
Risk Profile
Medium RiskPfizer's interest coverage ratio of 2.8x in FY2025 indicates that operating income covers interest expense, but with limited headroom, and the sharp swing to a -$1.643 billion operating loss in 2025Q4 followed by a recovery to $3.170 billion in 2026Q1 highlights meaningful quarter-to-quarter earnings volatility that investors should monitor.
This report is for educational and research purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice — always conduct your own due diligence before making investment decisions.