NEW YORK, December 31, 2025, 14:53 ET — Regular session
- Pfizer shares edged down about 0.1% near $25 in afternoon trading.
- A Reuters report said Pfizer plans list-price hikes on about 80 U.S. medicines for 2026, including a 15% increase for Comirnaty.
- Investors are watching for more pricing moves in early January and Pfizer’s Feb. 3 results update.
Pfizer shares were down 0.1% at $24.96 in afternoon trade on Wednesday after a Reuters report said the drugmaker plans U.S. list-price hikes on about 80 medicines in 2026.
The planned increases, set to start Jan. 1, land at a sensitive moment for drug pricing as the Trump administration presses the industry to lower costs. Annual list-price resets can also shape negotiations with insurers and the political risk premium investors apply to large drugmakers.
Pfizer’s own outlook has put a spotlight on revenue durability. In its December guidance, Pfizer projected 2026 revenue of $59.5 billion to $62.5 billion and adjusted earnings of $2.80 to $3.00 per share, reflecting a $1.5 billion drop in COVID product revenue and another $1.5 billion hit from products losing exclusivity. “2025 was a year of strong execution and strategic progress for Pfizer,” Chief Executive Albert Bourla said. Pfizer+1
The Reuters report, citing data from healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors, said drugmakers plan to raise list prices on at least 350 branded medicines for 2026, with the median increase around 4%.
List price is the sticker price before rebates and discounts, including payments to pharmacy benefit managers — the middlemen that negotiate drug coverage for insurers and employers.
Pfizer’s list includes cancer drug Ibrance, migraine pill Nurtec and the antiviral Paxlovid, the report said. Most of its increases are below 10%, but Comirnaty is set for a 15% rise and some low-cost hospital drugs face far steeper jumps.
Pfizer said its average list-price adjustments for innovative medicines and vaccines in 2026 would run below overall inflation, and it framed the increases as needed to support research and absorb higher costs.
Other companies in the data set included GSK, Sanofi and Novartis, while a smaller group of drugs is set for price cuts. The sharpest reduction flagged was a more than 40% cut for Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly’s Jardiance after Medicare price negotiations, Reuters reported.
Pfizer’s stock move tracked the sector: the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF was down about 0.1%, while the S&P 500 tracker SPY fell about 0.3%.
Traders will watch for more pricing announcements in early January, historically the busiest period for annual increases. Investors will also focus on how much of the headline hikes stick after rebates, and whether Washington steps up scrutiny as the new prices roll out.
Pfizer is set to publish its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 performance report on Feb. 3, ahead of a 10:00 a.m. EST call with analysts, the company said. Investors typically use that update to gauge 2026 execution risks around pricing, volume and post-patent competition.
On Wednesday’s chart, Pfizer traded between $24.88 and $25.19, leaving support near the session low and resistance just above $25 in focus.
