AT&T vs Pfizer: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
AT&T reported $125.6B of revenue in FY2025 and $22B of net income. Pfizer reported $62.6B of revenue in FY2025 and $7.8B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
AT&T
AT&T's financial story is large revenue, large debt and a slow correction. The company funded the $48.5 billion DirecTV purchase in 2015 and the $85.4 billion Time Warner purchase in 2018 largely with borrowing, and net debt passed $180 billion after Time Warner closed. It then reversed course: WarnerMedia was separated in 2022, the dividend was cut, and the remaining 70% DIRECTV stake went to TPG in July 2025 for a $5.6 billion gain. FY2025 revenue was $125.6 billion, with $23.4 billion of total net income, $46.4 billion of adjusted EBITDA and $16.6 billion of free cash flow against $117.4 billion of net debt. Roughly $22 billion a year of capital investment goes mostly into fiber and 5G.
Pfizer
Pfizer revenue rose from $41.7 billion in 2020 to $81.3 billion in 2021 and $101.2 billion in 2022 on Comirnaty and Paxlovid, then fell to $59.6 billion in 2023 as COVID demand collapsed. It recovered to $63.6 billion in 2024 and was $62.6 billion in 2025, with net income of $7.8 billion. In Q2 2026 revenue was $15.0 billion, up 1% operationally, or 5% excluding COVID products, and Pfizer raised the midpoint of its 2026 revenue guidance to $60.5 billion to $62.5 billion with adjusted EPS guidance of $2.80 to $3.00. The roughly $31 billion of debt raised for Seagen in 2023 and an ongoing cost-reduction program shape capital allocation alongside a dividend yield near 6%.
Revenue and profit by year
AT&T
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $125.6B | $22B | 17.5% | +2.7% | Source |
| FY2024 | $122.3B | $10.9B | 8.9% | -0.1% | Source |
| FY2023 | $122.4B | $14.4B | 11.8% | +1.4% | Source |
| FY2022 | $120.7B | -$8.5B | -7.1% | -9.9% | Source |
| FY2021 | $134B | $20.1B | 15.0% | -6.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $143.1B | -$5.2B | -3.6% | -21.1% | Source |
| FY2019 | $181.2B | $13.9B | 7.7% | +6.1% | Source |
| FY2018 | $170.8B | $19.4B | 11.3% | +6.4% | Source |
| FY2017 | $160.5B | $29.4B | 18.3% | -2.0% | Source |
| FY2016 | $163.8B | $13B | 7.9% | — | Source |
Pfizer
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $62.6B | $7.8B | 12.4% | -1.6% | Source |
| FY2024 | $63.6B | $8B | 12.6% | +6.8% | Source |
| FY2023 | $59.6B | $2.1B | 3.6% | -41.1% | Source |
| FY2022 | $101.2B | $31.4B | 31.0% | +24.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | $81.3B | $22B | 27.0% | +95.2% | Source |
| FY2020 | $41.7B | $9.2B | 22.0% | +1.8% | Source |
| FY2019 | $40.9B | $16B | 39.2% | +0.2% | Source |
| FY2018 | $40.8B | $11.2B | 27.3% | -22.3% | Source |
| FY2017 | $52.5B | $21.3B | 40.6% | -0.5% | Source |
| FY2016 | $52.8B | $7.2B | 13.7% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
AT&T
- Mobility~71%
Wireless service plans and device sales. Segment revenue was $89.5 billion in 2025, of which $67.4 billion was service revenue and $22.1 billion equipment.
- Business Wireline~14%
Connectivity for businesses, from fiber and dedicated internet to legacy voice and data. Revenue fell to $17.2 billion in 2025 from $18.8 billion in 2024.
- Consumer Wireline~11%
Home broadband, led by AT&T Fiber and AT&T Internet Air. Revenue was $14.2 billion in 2025, with fiber revenue up 17.0% to $8.6 billion.
- Latin America~3%
Wireless service in Mexico. Revenue was $4.4 billion in 2025, up from $4.2 billion, with $145 million of operating income.
Pfizer
- Patented medicines
Core revenue
Prescription drugs protected by exclusivity and clinical differentiation.
- Vaccines
Major revenue contributor
Adult, pediatric, pneumococcal, RSV, and COVID-related vaccines.
- Oncology
Strategic growth driver
Cancer medicines, antibody-drug conjugates, and Seagen-related assets.
- Hospital and anti-infective products
Meaningful contributor
Sterile injectables, anti-infectives, and hospital therapies.
- Collaborations and alliances
Supplemental
Co-promoted products and partnered scientific platforms.
Business model and strategy
AT&T
How it makes money
AT&T runs a capital-intensive network business. It buys licensed wireless spectrum, builds and upgrades cell sites, and trenches fiber, then charges consumers and businesses a monthly fee to use that network. Capital investment was $22.0 billion in 2025 against $125.6 billion of revenue.
Growth strategy
With the US smartphone market saturated, AT&T's growth depends on home internet and on keeping the wireless customers it has. It is building fiber, which passed 32.0 million consumer and business locations at the end of 2025 and carried 10.4 million subscribers, and it sells AT&T Internet Air fixed wireless where fiber is not available.
Competitive advantage
AT&T's advantage is the cost of replicating what it already owns. Its fiber network passed 32.0 million consumer and business locations at the end of 2025, and its mid-band 5G service covers more than 310 million people. Keeping that going took $22.0 billion of capital investment in 2025 alone, which is why the national market has three carriers rather than thirty.
Pfizer
How it makes money
Pfizer makes money by selling patented prescription medicines and vaccines to wholesalers, hospitals, governments and pharmacies, with the United States as its largest market. Revenue is concentrated in large franchises such as Eliquis (co-commercialized with Bristol Myers Squibb), the Prevnar pneumococcal vaccines, the Vyndaqel tafamidis family, Ibrance, Xtandi and the Seagen antibody-drug conjugates.
Growth strategy
Pfizer's growth plan has three parts. Oncology: the $43 billion Seagen deal (closed December 2023) added Padcev, Adcetris, Tukysa and Tivdak, and Pfizer licensed 3SBio's PD-1xVEGF bispecific in 2025 and signed a 12-program cancer collaboration with Innovent Biologics in May 2026 ($650 million upfront, up to $10.5 billion total).
Competitive advantage
Pfizer's advantage is scale in late-stage development, regulatory filings, manufacturing and commercialization. The BioNTech partnership showed it: BioNTech supplied the mRNA science, while Pfizer ran the global Phase 3 trial with more than 40,000 participants, built ultra-cold distribution and manufactured billions of Comirnaty doses.
Questions about AT&T vs Pfizer
Which company has higher revenue — AT&T Inc. or Pfizer Inc.?
AT&T Inc. reported $125.6B (FY2025), while Pfizer Inc. reported $62.6B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, AT&T Inc. is the larger business, with Pfizer Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of AT&T Inc. vs Pfizer Inc.?
AT&T Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $174.4B, while Pfizer Inc.'s is $160.3B. AT&T Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Pfizer Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — AT&T Inc. or Pfizer Inc.?
AT&T Inc. generates $945k / employee in revenue per employee, while Pfizer Inc. generates $834k / employee. AT&T Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do AT&T Inc. and Pfizer Inc. make money?
AT&T Inc. and Pfizer Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. AT&T Inc.: AT&T runs a capital-intensive network business. Pfizer Inc.: Pfizer makes money by selling patented prescription medicines and vaccines to wholesalers, hospitals, governments and pharmacies, with the United States as its largest market.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — AT&T Inc. or Pfizer Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, AT&T Inc. trades at 1.4x P/S and Pfizer Inc. at 2.6x P/S. Pfizer Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to AT&T Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is AT&T Inc. bigger than Pfizer Inc.?
By last reported revenue, AT&T Inc. ($125.6B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Pfizer Inc. ($62.6B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the AT&T vs Pfizer overview