How to Buy Pfizer Stock (PFE)

How to buy Pfizer stock

You can easily buy stock in Pfizer or any publicly traded company by following these steps:

1. Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments. If you don't have one yet, take a look at our favorite brokers and trading platforms to find the right one for you.
2. Search for Pfizer: Enter the ticker "PFE" into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
3. Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
4. Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
5. Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
6. Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.

Should you invest in Pfizer stock?

Tanking sales of Comirnaty and Paxlovid aren't the only troubles for Pfizer. In the next few years, Pfizer will lose patent exclusivity for several of its best-selling drugs, including Eliquis, which is used to treat blood clots in adults; breast cancer medication Ibrance; and the Prevnar 13 pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

All told, the looming patent cliff could cost Pfizer $17 billion in revenue from 2025 through 2030. But Pfizer has also made several major acquisitions that have bolstered its pool of drug candidates. It also has 108 drug candidates in its pipeline that are in various phases of clinical trials.

Pfizer's oncology pipeline is especially robust due to its $43 million acquisition of Seagen Inc. The company has set an ambitious goal of developing eight blockbuster drugs to treat cancer by 2030. Achieving that target would double the number of patients treated (from 2.3 million as of 2023) with its cancer drugs.

Is Pfizer profitable?

Pfizer reported 2024 full-year diluted earnings per share of $1.41, an increase of nearly 281% from the previous year. The remarkable improvement was driven by the strong performance of Pfizer's core portfolio, particularly its drugs that treat cancer and cardiovascular disease. Full-year diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $3.11, a 13.5% increase from 2023.

However, some of that improvement is due to $4 billion worth of cost-cutting measures, including layoffs, that Pfizer achieved through the end of 2024. The company has since upped its goal for cuts to $7.7 billion by 2027.

The company reported $63.6 billion in revenue for 2024, up from $58.5 billion in 2023, with year-over-year operational growth of 7%. However, operational growth climbed to 12% excluding sales of Comirnaty and Paxlovid.

Does Pfizer pay a dividend?

Pfizer has been a reliable dividend payer in recent years. In May 2025, it declared a $0.43 dividend, amounting to an annual dividend yield of almost 7.5%. By comparison, the S&P 500 average yield in early 2025 was less than 1.3%.

Keep in mind, though, that investors have been dumping Pfizer stock since 2022. If a company holds its dividend steady when the stock price tanks, as Pfizer has done, dividend yields will soar.

Overall, Pfizer has a good history of paying a quarterly dividend and increasing it over time. Though it hasn't reached Dividend King status just yet, it's increased its dividend for the past 15 consecutive years.

However, income investors should pay attention to the dividend payout ratio, which is the percentage of a company's earnings that it pays out in dividends. As of mid-2025, Pfizer's payout ratio was around 120%. When a company's payout ratio climbs above 100%, that means its dividend payments exceed its net income. While this isn't always an immediate cause for alarm bells, it could be a sign that a company's dividend isn't sustainable.

How to invest in Pfizer through ETFs

ETFs offer a good way to get exposure to an industry or trend without taking on the risks of investing in individual stocks.

• iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE +1.25%): Consider this ETF if you're seeking exposure to the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. The fund's 40 holdings comprise U.S. companies that manufacture prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and vaccines. Pfizer is among its top 10 holdings, with a weight of 4.47%. The ETF's expense ratio is 0.39%, meaning you'll pay $3.90 of a $1,000 investment toward fees.

Will Pfizer stock split?

Pfizer isn't on our upcoming stock splits calendar, and we don't expect to see it there in the near future. Companies usually split their stock to make it more accessible to everyday investors when the share price has shot up. Pfizer's shares traded in May 2025 for about $23, which is unlikely to scare away a typical investor. Pfizer has split its stock five times, the most recent of which was a 3-for-1 split in 1999.

The bottom line

In 2021, everyone wanted to know how to get ahold of shares of Pfizer's stock, driven by the release of its COVID-19 vaccine. Just three years later, the company's shares have plunged more than 50% as sales of two of their top drugs slowed greatly. Pfizer also faces a patent cliff for some of its best-selling drugs. Not to mention that risks are always involved when investing in pharmaceutical stocks.

Still, Pfizer has made several promising acquisitions recently that have bolstered its drug pipeline. The company has also committed to maintaining its dividend, though prudent investors should keep an eye on its payout ratio.

This is a good example of the importance of researching companies rather than jumping in with both feet. As with any company you are interested in investing in, you simply must do your due diligence -- know their business models, histories, future plans, competition, and more -- to make the most well-informed decision for your needs.

FAQ