Dec. 23, 2025 — Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) stock is ending 2025 in a familiar tug-of-war: a high-yield “value” profile on the one hand, and lingering uncertainty about the company’s post‑COVID growth engine on the other. Shares were trading around $25.15 on Tuesday, keeping the stock in the mid‑$20s range that’s defined much of its recent tape.
Today’s news flow adds another variable for investors to price: a safety-related update tied to Pfizer’s hemophilia therapy Hympavzi, landing just as Wall Street digests Pfizer’s newly issued 2026 outlook and the company’s longer road back to growth.
What’s moving Pfizer stock on Dec. 23: Hympavzi adverse event draws attention
The most time-sensitive Pfizer headline on Dec. 23 is a joint community update from the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation (NBDF) and the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH). The groups said they were informed by Pfizer of a severe adverse event in which an individual receiving prophylaxis with marstacimab (Hympavzi) suffered a fatal thrombotic stroke after minor surgery (event dated Dec. 14). [1]
Market sensitivity here is straightforward: even when an investigation is early—and even when causality isn’t established—serious thrombotic outcomes tend to trigger heightened scrutiny for “rebalancing” hemophilia therapies, because the therapeutic premise is to alter coagulation dynamics. Investors typically worry about three things at once: (1) prescribing caution and slower uptake, (2) label tightening or risk‑management requirements, and (3) knock‑on effects to lifecycle expansion plans.
For context, the FDA label for Hympavzi includes thrombosis risk language; for example, it notes a serious adverse reaction of venous thrombosis in an open‑label extension dataset (reported incidence shown in the label). [2]
The bigger fundamental driver: Pfizer’s 2026 guidance resets expectations
The bigger “anchor” for Pfizer’s valuation right now remains guidance—because guidance tells investors whether the multi‑year rebuild is stabilizing or still sliding.
On Dec. 16, Pfizer reaffirmed its full‑year 2025 adjusted diluted EPS guidance and revised 2025 revenue expectations to about $62.0 billion. At the same time, the company issued full‑year 2026 guidance of:
- Revenue:$59.5–$62.5 billion
- Adjusted diluted EPS:$2.80–$3.00 [3]
Pfizer explicitly framed the 2026 step-down as largely math-driven:
- roughly $1.5 billion less expected from COVID‑19 products versus 2025 levels, and
- roughly $1.5 billion of headwind tied to certain products losing exclusivity in 2026. [4]
Reuters’ read-through captured the market’s immediate tension: Pfizer’s EPS outlook came in below the $3.05 analyst average (LSEG data), while the revenue range was near (but slightly below) consensus. Reuters also highlighted the company’s view that it does not expect to return to revenue growth until 2029, with management leaning on pipeline and acquisitions to bridge the gap. [5]
This is why Pfizer can feel like two stocks stapled together:
- a mature, cash-returning pharma business with cost‑cutting levers, and
- a long-duration pipeline bet that doesn’t fully “show up” until later in the decade.
Dividend watch: Pfizer keeps the payout intact—yield stays the headline
If there’s a single reason PFE still shows up in so many portfolios that otherwise avoid “turnaround vibes,” it’s the dividend.
Pfizer declared a $0.43 per share quarterly dividend (first-quarter 2026 dividend), payable March 6, 2026, to shareholders of record Jan. 23, 2026—noting it as the company’s 349th consecutive quarterly dividend. [6]
At about $25.15, that $0.43 quarterly dividend annualizes to $1.72, implying a dividend yield of roughly 6.8% (pure arithmetic, not a promise). [7]
That yield is doing a lot of work: it attracts income buyers, but it also amplifies investor sensitivity to any sign the business can’t hold earnings and cash flow steady through the patent‑loss cycle.
Pipeline and product catalysts: oncology momentum helps offset the “patent cliff” narrative
Pfizer’s pipeline story is increasingly “show me the data,” and December brought multiple datapoints investors are trying to translate into future revenue.
PADCEV + Keytruda: positive Phase 3 interim results in muscle-invasive bladder cancer
Pfizer and partner Astellas announced positive topline results from an interim analysis of the Phase 3 EV‑304 (KEYNOTE‑B15) study evaluating PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin) + Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in the perioperative setting for muscle‑invasive bladder cancer. The companies said the trial met its primary endpoint (event‑free survival) and also showed a statistically significant improvement in overall survival (secondary endpoint), with regulatory discussions and future filings planned. [8]
Why markets care: oncology combinations that move earlier in treatment can expand addressable patient populations—and earlier-stage indications can become durable revenue platforms if guidelines follow.
TUKYSA (tucatinib): first-line maintenance data in HER2+ metastatic breast cancer
Pfizer also highlighted Phase 3 HER2CLIMB‑05 results showing that TUKYSA + trastuzumab + pertuzumab reduced the risk of progression or death versus trastuzumab + pertuzumab alone (with risk reduction figures reported in the release), supporting the case for broader use in HER2+ metastatic breast cancer maintenance therapy. [9]
This matters because Pfizer’s post‑COVID credibility depends on building multiple, compounding growth pillars—not finding a single “next Comirnaty.”
Deals and diversification: obesity becomes a strategic battleground
Pfizer has been blunt that internal pipeline progress alone won’t fully offset losses from expiring exclusivities. That’s why business development is part of the plan—not a side quest.
Metsera acquisition: Pfizer’s re-entry into obesity
Pfizer completed its acquisition of Metsera in November, positioning the deal as a way to add differentiated clinical‑stage obesity candidates and strengthen its internal medicine portfolio. [10]
YaoPharma GLP‑1 deal: another obesity shot on goal
Pfizer also signed an exclusive licensing agreement with YaoPharma for YP05002, a GLP‑1 class experimental weight-management therapy in early-stage development. Reuters reported the deal includes $150 million upfront and up to $1.94 billion in milestones plus royalties. [11]
Strategically, Pfizer is trying to buy time and optionality: obesity is a massive market, but it’s also brutally competitive and clinically unforgiving (tolerability, adherence, cardiovascular outcomes, manufacturing scale—the whole hydra).
Analyst and media analysis: why the stock still struggles to “break out”
Across major coverage of Pfizer’s guidance reset, a common theme emerges: the stock may remain rangebound until investors believe the late-decade growth path is real.
Reuters quoted Bernstein analyst Courtney Breen saying PFE is unlikely to leave the mid‑$20s range until a convincing growth trajectory is in view, while also noting JPMorgan commentary that cost execution could create modest EPS upside through the year. [12]
Investor’s Business Daily similarly framed the 2026 EPS guide as a miss versus expectations and emphasized the looming loss-of-exclusivity cycle as a central overhang—offset, potentially, by new products and cost actions. [13]
This is the current “Pfizer puzzle” in one sentence: the valuation looks cheap, but the market is demanding proof—not promises—that earnings can stabilize before the next growth wave arrives.
Key dates and catalysts to watch next
- Feb. 3, 2026 — Pfizer plans to host a webcasted conference call tied to its Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Performance Report, scheduled to be issued that morning. [14]
- Hympavzi / marstacimab safety updates — Any additional details from Pfizer’s investigation (or any changes to clinical program operations) could influence sentiment around hemophilia lifecycle expansion. [15]
- Cost realignment execution — Investors will track whether cost savings and reinvestment keep margins stable while revenue faces near-term pressure. [16]
- Regulatory and policy environment for vaccines — The U.S. climate around vaccination and labeling remains politically noisy; for example, Reuters reported the FDA had no plans to add a boxed warning to COVID vaccines after earlier reports suggested otherwise. [17]
Bottom line for Pfizer stock on Dec. 23, 2025
Pfizer stock is being priced like a company in a long, uncomfortable transition: strong enough to keep paying shareholders, but still earning back the market’s confidence as it navigates COVID normalization, patent headwinds, and a pipeline rebuild fueled by deals.
The immediate news today—the Hympavzi adverse event disclosure—adds a short-term uncertainty bump. But the medium-term debate remains anchored on whether Pfizer can execute its 2026 plan, show durable non‑COVID growth, and de-risk the late‑decade comeback story that management (and some analysts) keep pointing to. [18]
References
1. www.bleeding.org, 2. www.accessdata.fda.gov, 3. www.pfizer.com, 4. www.pfizer.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.pfizer.com, 7. www.pfizer.com, 8. www.pfizer.com, 9. www.pfizer.com, 10. www.pfizer.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.reuters.com, 13. www.investors.com, 14. www.pfizer.com, 15. www.bleeding.org, 16. www.pfizer.com, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. www.pfizer.com
