Free cash flow remains highly unstable, with margins oscillating between a negative 18.2% in 2024Q2 and a peak of 34.3% in 2024Q3, complicating long-term capital allocation visibility.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 | Dec'02 | Dec'01 | Dec'00 | Dec'99 | Dec'98 | Dec'97 | Dec'96 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 11.98B | 11.71B | 12.74B | 8.7B | 29.27B | 32.58B | 14.4B | 12.59B | 15.83B | 16.47B | 15.9B | 14.51B | 16.88B | 17.77B | 17.05B | 20.24B | 11.45B | 16.59B | 18.24B | 13.35B | 17.59B | 14.73B | 16.34B | 11.74B | 10.18B | 9.26B | 6.2B | 3.06B | 2.93B | 1.63B | 2.07B |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 18.7% | 20.03% | 14.61% | 29.17% | 40.08% | 34.58% | 30.57% | 29.5% | 31.34% | 30.1% | 29.71% | 34.03% | 34.44% | 31.2% | 33.16% | 17.08% | 33.17% | 37.76% | 27.57% | 36.37% | 31.08% | 31.11% | 25.98% | 31.46% | 28.71% | 20.95% | 18.86% | 21.63% | 13.03% | 18.28% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 27.46% | -8.15% | 46.48% | -70.27% | -10.17% | 126.2% | 14.42% | -20.46% | -3.9% | 3.58% | 9.57% | -14.04% | -4.96% | 4.17% | -15.74% | 76.71% | -30.95% | -9.05% | 36.58% | -24.1% | 19.42% | -9.83% | 39.19% | 15.28% | 9.93% | 49.52% | 102.72% | 4.34% | 79.8% | -21.19% | 13.48% |
| Net Income | 7.49B | 7.75B | 8.05B | 2.17B | 31.4B | 22.46B | 7.02B | 16.3B | 11.19B | 21.36B | 7.25B | 6.99B | 9.17B | 22.07B | 14.6B | 10.05B | 8.29B | 8.64B | 8.1B | 8.14B | 19.34B | 8.09B | 11.36B | 3.91B | 9.13B | 7.75B | 3.72B | 3.18B | 3.35B | 2.21B | 1.93B |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 6.59B | 6.59B | 7.01B | 6.29B | 5.06B | 5.19B | 4.78B | 6.01B | 6.38B | 6.27B | 5.76B | 5.16B | 5.54B | 6.41B | 7.61B | 9.03B | 8.49B | 4.76B | 5.09B | 5.2B | 5.29B | 5.58B | 5.09B | 4.08B | 1.04B | 1.07B | 968M | 542M | 489M | 502M | 430M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 676M | 0 | 877M | 525M | 872M | 1.18B | 756M | 718M | 949M | 840M | 691M | 669M | 586M | 523M | 481M | 419M | 405M | 349M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -1.48B | -2.13B | -2.1B | -3.44B | -3.76B | -4.29B | -1.47B | 614M | -2.21B | -2.41B | -700M | -18M | 317M | 1.7B | 2.2B | 454M | 1.95B | -9.58B | -1.33B | -2.79B | -1.95B | -1.38B | -1.58B | -104M | -385M | 217M | -265M | 286M | -61M | 24M | 75M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | -3.06B | 4.85B | 1.97B | 5.33B | 150M | -4.76B | 3.59B | -7.03B | 437M | -10.88B | 2.82B | 1.15B | -148M | -9.55B | -5.89B | -2.44B | 2.75B | -98M | 1.54B | 3.75B | 2.37B | 334M | 2.33B | 4.55B | 403M | -256M | -37M | 20M | -1.07B | 0 | 14M |
| Working Capital Changes | 1.74B | -5.35B | -3.07B | -2.17B | -4.46B | 12.8B | -275M | -4.03B | -926M | 1.3B | 85M | 564M | 1.42B | -3.39B | -1.94B | 2.73B | -10.43B | 12.52B | 4.86B | -800M | 3.02B | -586M | -862M | -693M | 3M | 446M | 1.8B | -1.26B | 224M | -1.11B | -381M |
| Change in Receivables | 0 | -263M | -109M | 347M | 261M | -3.81B | -1.25B | -742M | -644M | 259M | -134M | 21M | 148M | 940M | 275M | -66M | -608M | -472M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 561M | -854M | 6.2B | 592M | -1.13B | -736M | -1.05B | -717M | -357M | 365M | -199M | 175M | -538M | -631M | 1.08B | 2.92B | 1.63B | 294M | 720M | 118M | 72M | -542M | -202M | -129M | -102M | -436M | -240M | -439M | -375M | -149M |
| Change in Payables | 0 | -469M | -1.02B | -300M | 1.19B | 1.24B | 353M | -564M | 431M | 46M | 871M | 254M | 297M | 382M | 579M | -27.95B | -44.59B | -13.09B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -3.84B | -1.35B | 2.65B | -32.28B | -15.78B | -22.55B | -4.27B | -3.94B | 4.53B | -4.74B | -7.81B | -2.98B | -5.65B | -10.63B | 6.15B | 2.2B | -492M | -31.27B | -12.84B | 795M | 5.1B | -5.07B | -9.42B | 4.84B | -4.34B | -7.22B | -3.75B | -2.77B | -335M | -1.02B | -937M |
| Capital Expenditures | -2.5B | -2.63B | -2.91B | -3.91B | -3.24B | -2.71B | -2.79B | -2.59B | -2.2B | -2.22B | -2B | -1.5B | -1.58B | -1.47B | -1.33B | -1.66B | -1.51B | -1.21B | -1.7B | -1.88B | -2.05B | -2.11B | -2.6B | -2.64B | -1.76B | -2.2B | -2.19B | -1.56B | -1.2B | -943M | -774M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 3.95% | 4.2% | 4.57% | 6.56% | 3.23% | 3.34% | 6.7% | 6.3% | 4.09% | 4.22% | 3.78% | 3.06% | 3.19% | 2.84% | 2.43% | 2.72% | 2.26% | 2.41% | 3.52% | 3.88% | 4.24% | 4.44% | 4.95% | 5.84% | 5.43% | 6.83% | 7.41% | 9.63% | 8.85% | 7.54% | 6.85% |
| Acquisitions | -13.24B | -6.93B | 7.04B | -43.43B | -23B | -12M | -621M | -10.86B | 154M | -1B | -18.37B | -16.47B | -195M | -15M | 10.8B | -906M | -273M | -43.12B | -1.17B | -440M | -2.12B | -2.1B | -2.26B | 5.6B | 220M | 213M | 284M | 97M | 3.14B | 0 | 353M |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | -904M | 165M | 0 | -180M | 3.77B | -306M | 813M | 206M | 133M | 650M | 52M | 344M | 347M | 231M | 93M | 60M | 1.27B | 632M | -1.71B | -284M | -211M | -223M | 977M | 1.27B | -529M | -112M | -456M | 20M | -639M | 21M | -1.14B |
| Cash from Financing | -7.93B | -10.3B | -17.14B | 26.07B | -14.83B | -9.82B | -9.65B | -8.48B | -20.44B | -13.04B | -8.92B | -10.23B | -9.99B | -14.97B | -16B | -20.61B | -11.17B | 14.48B | -6.56B | -12.61B | -23.1B | -9.22B | -6.63B | -16.91B | -5B | -2.1B | -3.71B | -1.13B | -1.92B | -848M | -382M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 2.23B | -74M | -7.16B | 35.95B | -3.52B | -1.1B | -12.76B | 8.76B | -935M | -941M | 2.61B | 1.32B | 543M | 6.04B | -1.73B | -5.54B | -4.15B | 20.12B | 2.41B | 4.9B | -9.93B | -321M | 4.1B | -591M | 2.5B | 3.51B | -1.69B | 2.1B | -489M | 183M | 107M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2B | 0 | 0 | -8.87B | -10.94B | -5B | -3.98B | -6.16B | -4B | -16.29B | -8.23B | -9B | -1B | 0 | -500M | -9.54B | -6.25B | -3.35B | -5.65B | -11.96B | -4.34B | -2.89B | 183M | -1.91B | -1.65B | -175M | 253M |
| Dividends Paid | -9.78B | -9.77B | -9.51B | -9.25B | -8.98B | -8.73B | -8.44B | -8.04B | -7.98B | -7.66B | -7.32B | -6.94B | -6.61B | -6.58B | -6.53B | -6.23B | -6.09B | -5.55B | -8.54B | -7.97B | -6.92B | -5.55B | -5.08B | -4.35B | -3.17B | -2.71B | -2.2B | -1.15B | -976M | -881M | -771M |
| Share Repurchases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2B | 0 | 0 | -8.87B | -12.2B | -5B | -5B | -6.16B | -5B | -16.29B | -8.23B | -9B | -1B | 0 | -500M | -9.99B | -6.98B | -3.8B | -6.66B | -13.04B | -5B | -3.67B | -1B | -2.54B | -2.18B | -586M | -27M |
| Other Financing | -386M | -459M | -469M | -632M | -335M | 16M | 11.55B | -341M | -589M | 250M | -229M | 1.37B | 78M | 1.86B | 488M | 169M | 66M | -91M | 74M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 500M | -525M | 50M | 44M |
| Net Change in Cash | 275M | 99M | -1.81B | 2.45B | -1.51B | 158M | 475M | -50M | -206M | -1.25B | -1.05B | 298M | 1.16B | -7.9B | 7.21B | 1.8B | -243M | -144M | -1.28B | 1.58B | -420M | 439M | 288M | -358M | 842M | -63M | -1.26B | -813M | 675M | -273M | 747M |
| Free Cash Flow | 9.48B | 9.08B | 9.84B | 4.79B | 26.03B | 29.87B | 11.61B | 9.99B | 13.63B | 14.25B | 13.9B | 13.02B | 15.3B | 16.3B | 15.73B | 18.58B | 9.94B | 15.38B | 16.54B | 11.47B | 15.54B | 12.63B | 13.74B | 9.1B | 8.43B | 7.06B | 4B | 1.5B | 1.73B | 686M | 1.29B |
| FCF Margin % | 14.98% | 14.5% | 15.46% | 8.05% | 25.95% | 36.74% | 27.88% | 24.27% | 25.41% | 27.12% | 26.32% | 26.64% | 30.84% | 31.6% | 28.77% | 30.44% | 14.82% | 30.76% | 34.24% | 23.69% | 32.14% | 26.64% | 26.16% | 20.13% | 26.02% | 21.89% | 13.54% | 9.23% | 12.78% | 5.49% | 11.44% |
| FCF Growth % | -15.47% | -7.72% | 105.2% | -81.59% | -12.85% | 157.23% | 16.19% | -26.68% | -4.36% | 2.52% | 6.81% | -14.93% | -6.13% | 3.64% | -15.36% | 86.9% | -35.37% | -6.98% | 44.14% | -26.19% | 23.1% | -8.09% | 51.01% | 7.99% | 19.33% | 76.32% | 167.83% | -13.63% | 152.33% | -46.95% | 14.92% |
| FCF per Share | 1.65 | 1.60 | 1.73 | 0.84 | 4.54 | 5.23 | 2.06 | 1.76 | 2.28 | 2.35 | 2.26 | 2.08 | 2.38 | 2.36 | 2.09 | 2.36 | 1.23 | 2.18 | 2.45 | 1.65 | 2.14 | 1.70 | 1.80 | 1.25 | 1.35 | 1.11 | 0.63 | 0.24 | 0.44 | 0.17 | 0.34 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.27x | 1.51x | 1.59x | 4.08x | 0.93x | 1.47x | 1.57x | 0.77x | 1.42x | 0.77x | 2.20x | 2.08x | 1.86x | 1.53x | 1.74x | 2.33x | 1.39x | 1.92x | 2.27x | 1.63x | 1.60x | 1.94x | 1.44x | 3.00x | 1.12x | 1.19x | 1.66x | 0.96x | 0.87x | 0.74x | 1.07x |
| Interest Paid | 1.7B | 0 | 3.23B | 2.21B | 1.44B | 1.47B | 1.64B | 1.59B | 1.31B | 1.52B | 1.45B | 1.3B | 1.55B | 1.73B | 1.87B | 2.08B | 2.15B | 935M | 782M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 3.59B | 0 | 3.6B | 3.15B | 7.87B | 7.43B | 3.15B | 3.66B | 3.65B | 2.49B | 2.52B | 2.38B | 2.1B | 2.87B | 2.41B | 2.93B | 11.78B | 2.3B | 2.25B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
M&A integration and leverage
As reported in financial statements, the relationship between net income and operating cash flow is highly erratic, evidenced by an OCF/NI ratio that swung from -74.21 in 2024Q2 to 16.68 in 2024Q4, indicating significant non-cash adjustments and working capital timing differences that obscure underlying earnings quality.
The extreme variance in the OCF/NI ratio suggests that reported net income is frequently decoupled from actual cash generation, likely due to large-scale inventory write-downs and alliance-related accounting. Investors should monitor these fluctuations as they imply that bottom-line profitability may not be a reliable proxy for the company's ability to generate sustainable cash flow.
Based on reported figures, Pfizer's free cash flow trajectory remains volatile, with margins oscillating between a negative 18.2% in 2024Q2 and a peak of 34.3% in 2024Q3, reflecting the ongoing challenges of balancing high R&D spending with the integration of large-scale, debt-funded acquisitions.
The inconsistency in FCF margins suggests that the company's cash-generating engine is currently sensitive to episodic revenue spikes and heavy capital deployment. This volatility warrants further investigation into whether the core business can maintain positive cash flow without relying on the episodic success of specific high-margin product cycles.
According to recent SEC filings, working capital changes have been a major source of cash flow volatility, with a notable $8.4 billion inflow in 2023Q4 followed by a $3.5 billion outflow in 2024Q2, highlighting the impact of inventory management and alliance-related settlement timing on short-term liquidity.
These dramatic swings in working capital suggest that Pfizer's cash flow is highly susceptible to the timing of payments and inventory adjustments associated with its complex manufacturing and distribution network. Analysts should interpret these movements as a sign of operational complexity rather than a reflection of underlying demand trends.
As evidenced by the $43.4 billion acquisition net outflow in 2023Q4, Pfizer's capital deployment strategy is heavily skewed toward large-scale M&A, which appears to be the primary mechanism for replacing expiring patents despite the resulting pressure on the company's overall cash position and leverage profile.
The reliance on massive acquisitions to drive growth suggests a management team that may be prioritizing long-term pipeline replenishment over immediate cash preservation. Investors should monitor whether the returns on these capital-intensive investments can eventually justify the significant debt load and the resulting strain on free cash flow.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying PFE stock.
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) generated $11.71B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) generated $9.08B in free cash flow in 2025. Free cash flow is the cash left over after capital expenditures, which can be used to pay dividends, repurchase shares, or pay down debt.
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) spent $2.63B on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
In 2025, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) returned $9.77B to shareholders via cash dividends. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.