How Does Pfizer Make its Money?
Pfizer is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, discovering, developing, manufacturing, and selling medicines and vaccines globally. The company gained massive visibility during the COVID-19 pandemic through its highly successful mRNA vaccine partnership with BioNTech (Comirnaty) and the antiviral treatment Paxlovid.
Post-pandemic, Pfizer has been navigating a dramatic revenue reset as COVID product demand collapsed from its 2022 peak. The company made the largest pharmaceutical acquisition in history — buying Seagen for $43 billion in December 2023 — to bolster its oncology pipeline and diversify beyond COVID.
Revenue Breakdown
| Product/Category | 2024 | 2023 | YoY Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comirnaty (COVID vaccine) | $5.4B | $11.2B | -51.8% |
| Paxlovid (COVID treatment) | $3.2B | $1.3B | +146.2% |
| Eliquis (blood thinner) | $6.4B | $6.5B | -1.5% |
| Prevnar 13/20 (vaccine) | $6.0B | $6.4B | -6.3% |
| Oncology Portfolio | $9.5B | $3.7B | +156.8% |
| Vyndaqel (heart) | $4.1B | $3.3B | +24.2% |
| Other Products | $23.6B | $25.4B | -7.1% |
| Total Revenue | $58.5B | $58.5B | +0.0% |
COVID Products — 15% of Revenue
Comirnaty and Paxlovid collectively generated $8.6B in 2024, down from $12.5B in 2023. The decline in vaccine revenue reflects reduced pandemic urgency and lower booster uptake. Paxlovid rebounded as an annual flu season-like treatment model emerged for COVID.
Oncology — 16% of Revenue
Now Pfizer’s fastest-growing category following the Seagen acquisition. Key products include Padcev (bladder cancer), Adcetris (lymphoma), Xtandi (prostate cancer), Ibrance (breast cancer), and Bavencio (various cancers). The Seagen deal added a world-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform.
Eliquis — 11% of Revenue
Pfizer’s co-marketed blockbuster blood thinner (shared with Bristol-Myers Squibb). One of the best-selling drugs globally. Facing patent expiration in the coming years, which will be a significant revenue headwind.
Prevnar Franchise — 10% of Revenue
Prevnar 20, Pfizer’s pneumococcal vaccine, remains a significant revenue contributor. The expanded coverage of Prevnar 20 supports ongoing demand.
Vyndaqel — 7% of Revenue
Treatment for transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), a progressive heart condition. Growing rapidly as diagnosis rates improve and the patient population expands.
Income Statement Overview
| Metric | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Total Revenue | $58.5B | $58.5B |
| Cost of Sales | $22.2B | $25.7B |
| Gross Profit | $36.3B | $32.8B |
| Operating Expenses | $24.3B | $32.0B |
| Operating Income | $12.0B | $0.8B |
| Net Income | $8.0B | -$2.1B |
Key Financial Metrics
- Gross Margin: 62.0% — Typical for big pharma. The improvement from 2023 reflects better product mix and reduced COVID inventory writedowns.
- Operating Margin: 20.5% — Significantly recovered from 2023’s near-zero margins. Cost cuts and restructuring helped narrow the gap.
- Revenue Growth: 0.0% — Flat, but the composition shifted dramatically. COVID revenue declined by $4B while oncology and Seagen products added $6B. The underlying business ex-COVID is growing.
- R&D Spending: ~$11B — Pfizer maintains one of the largest R&D budgets in pharma, supporting ~100 programs in clinical development.
What to Watch
- Oncology pipeline — Pfizer is betting its future on oncology. The Seagen ADC platform, combined with Pfizer’s existing cancer drugs, targets $25B+ in oncology revenue by 2030.
- Eliquis patent cliff — Eliquis loses patent protection in the coming years. With $6.4B in revenue at risk, Pfizer must replace this with new product launches — a challenge known as the “patent cliff.”
- Seagen integration — The $43B Seagen deal was transformative. Successful integration, pipeline advancement, and achieving $4B in cost synergies will determine whether the premium was justified.
- COVID revenue stabilization — The key question is whether COVID vaccines and treatments become a durable ~$5-8B annual business (like the flu market) or continue declining.
- Weight loss/obesity — Pfizer’s once-daily obesity pill (danuglipron) is in development. If successful, it would enter one of the largest potential drug markets in history, competing with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.