A maker of medicines and vaccines, Pfizer produces well-known drugs like the blood thinner Eliquis, the Prevnar pneumonia vaccines, the Covid shot Comirnaty, the antiviral Paxlovid, and cancer treatments Ibrance and Xtandi, used by patients around the world. It was founded in 1849 in Brooklyn by German cousins Charles Pfizer, a chemist, and Charles Erhart, a confectioner, who began by coating a bitter worm medicine in almond-flavored toffee candy. Its most famous discovery, the erectile-dysfunction drug Viagra, was a happy accident—originally developed as a heart medication for angina.
Q2 2026 operating income swung to a $0.7B loss as revenue rose 2.6% to $15.0B
Pfizer's swung to a loss this quarter after three quarters of profit. rose 2.6% to $15.0B and was 72.8%, but operating income was -$0.7B versus $3.2B a year earlier as cost pressures and a revenue mix shift reversed prior gains. The company is back to quarterly losses while revenue stabilizes.
Key takeaways
was -$0.7B in Q2 2026, down from $3.2B a year earlier and from $3.2B in Q1 2026, as the quarter returned to a loss after three straight profitable periods.
rose 2.6% to $15.0B and 4.0% from Q1 2026, with the increase tied to ex-COVID product growth partly offset by continued COVID-19 product declines.
was 72.8%, down 1.4 points and 2.7 points from Q1 2026, as cost of sales pressures noted in prior quarters persisted.
Section summaries
Legal Proceedings
Pfizer discloses no material legal proceedings that would have a material adverse effect on its financial position.
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Pfizer states it does not believe any pending legal matters will have a material adverse effect on its financial position, though outcomes could materially impact results of operations or cash flows in a given period.
was $0.8B, down 68.1% from Q1 2026, and was $0.3B, down 86.1% quarter over quarter.
was -$248M and was -$0.04, both negative after $2.7B net income and $0.47 in Q1 2026.
was $60.5B, up 5.2% , little changed from Q1 2026, following the 2023 acquisition .
What changed
Q2 2026 and against Q1 declines of 59% and 63%: the table shows total revenue rose 2.6% with no separate COVID line, leaving stabilization unconfirmed at the product level.
Cumulative Realigning Our Cost Base savings against the $5.7B through-2027 target: not reported in this filing's provided sections.
through 2026 as IRA Maximum Fair Price annualizes: Q1 2026 grew 8% operationally; this Q2 filing does not break out the figure.
Section 232 tariff phase-in from July 31, 2026: flagged as a monitoring item in Q1 2026 and carried into this filing's risk factors by reference, with no quantified impact yet.
recovery after -$0.6B Q2 2025 and negative H1 2024: Q2 2026 was $0.8B, a swing from $3.0B context but cash down sharply from Q1.
What to watch
Q3 2026 to see if the -$0.7B loss is a one-quarter event or a return to the loss pattern of 2023-2024
and in Q3 2026 to confirm whether commercial demand stabilized after Q1's 59% and 63% declines
Cumulative Realigning Our Cost Base savings reported against the $5.7B through-2027 target in the next filing
Section 232 pharmaceutical tariff phase-in from July 31, 2026 and its impact on cost of sales
The company is involved in patent litigation as both plaintiff and defendant, including cases concerning /Vyndamax, , and , with some matters settled in 2026.
Product liability litigation includes Zantac cases, where Pfizer has settled a substantial majority of state court claims, and Depo-Provera cases, where an agreement-in-principle was reached to resolve most cases.
Government investigations include a multi-state antitrust lawsuit against Pfizer and its former subsidiary Greenstone, and U.S. Department of Justice inquiries into manufacturing operations in India.
Pfizer has accrued for losses that are both probable and reasonably estimable, but cannot estimate the range of reasonably possible loss above amounts accrued due to significant uncertainties.
We refer to the Overview of Our Performance, Operating and Global Economic Environment—Our Operating Environment and —The Global Economic Environment sections and the Forward-Looking Information and Factors That May Affect Future Results section within MD&A of this Form 10-Q and…
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We refer to the Overview of Our Performance, Operating and Global Economic Environment—Our Operating Environment and —The Global Economic Environment sections and the Forward-Looking Information and Factors That May Affect Future Results section within MD&A of this Form 10-Q and of our 2025 Form 10-K and to the Item 1A. Risk Factors section of our 2025 Form 10-K.
ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
The following summarizes purchases of our common stock during the second quarter of 2026:
Period Total Number ofShares Purchased(a) Average PricePaid per Share(a) Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plan Approximate Value of Shares That May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plan(b)
March 30 through April 26, 2026 40,391 $ 27.84 — $ 3,292,882,444
April 27 through May 24, 2026 63,618 $ 26.72 — $ 3,292,882,444
May 25 through June 28, 2026 31,795 $ 26.01 — $ 3,292,882,444
Total 135,804 $ 26.89 —
(a)Represents (i) 134,760 shares of common stock surrendered to the Company to satisfy tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting of awards under our long-term incentive programs and (ii) the open market purchase by the trustee of 1,044 shares of common stock in connection with the reinvestment of dividends paid on common stock held in trust for employees who deferred receipt of performance share awards.
(b)See Note 12 in our 2025 Form 10-K.