NEW YORK, December 31, 2025, 08:51 ET — Premarket
- Pfizer shares were flat at $24.99 in premarket trading.
- Data showed Pfizer leading planned 2026 list-price hikes across about 80 drugs, including Comirnaty.
- Investors are watching for Washington’s next move on drug pricing and Pfizer’s Feb. 3 results update.
Pfizer Inc shares were little changed in premarket trading on Wednesday after a report showed the drugmaker is leading a new round of U.S. list-price increases for 2026. The stock was down about 0.02% at $24.99, after closing Tuesday at roughly $25.00.
The issue matters now because drug pricing has returned to the front burner in Washington, with the Trump administration pressing manufacturers to rein in costs. Year-end is also when many companies set list-price changes that typically take effect in early January.
For investors, higher list prices can support revenue in categories where demand is steady. They can also invite tougher scrutiny from policymakers and payers, which can pressure the net price drugmakers actually collect.
Drugmakers plan list-price increases on at least 350 branded medicines for 2026, up from more than 250 at the same point last year, according to data provided by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors. Pfizer led the list with planned hikes on about 80 drugs—mostly under 10%—including cancer drug Ibrance and COVID treatment Paxlovid, while its COVID vaccine Comirnaty was slated for a 15% rise; Pfizer said its average list-price change for innovative medicines and vaccines was below overall inflation. “They seem to be maximizing prices while negotiating discounts behind the scenes,” said Benjamin Rome, a health policy researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston; an HHS spokesman declined to comment, the report said. Reuters
List price is the sticker price, before rebates and discounts negotiated with insurers and pharmacy benefit managers. Those back-end discounts can be sizable, so a higher list price does not automatically translate into higher net revenue.
That gap is why traders often separate the political headline risk from the earnings impact. Net sales depend on volume, competitive positioning on formularies, and how much rebate pressure builds as rivals chase market share.
The fresh list-price data also puts peers back in focus after a year of heightened attention on healthcare costs. Investors tend to track whether pricing actions across the sector intensify calls for tighter controls, or whether they pass with limited policy response.
What comes next is likely to be more headlines around January price resets and any follow-on signals from Washington. Investors will also watch whether payers push back in 2026 contracting talks, which can show up later as higher rebates rather than lower list prices.
Pfizer’s next scheduled catalyst is its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 performance report, due before a conference call with analysts on Feb. 3, the company said.
