IBM vs Pfizer: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
IBM reported $67.5B of revenue in FY2025 and $10.6B of net income. Pfizer reported $62.6B of revenue in FY2025 and $7.8B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
IBM
IBM's reported revenue fell from about $80 billion in 2016-2018 to $57.4 billion in 2021, mostly because the Kyndryl spin-off and earlier divestitures removed low-margin services. Since then the slimmer company has grown each year: $60.5 billion in 2022, $61.9 billion in 2023, $62.8 billion in 2024, and $67.5 billion in 2025 (up 7.6%). FY2025 net income from continuing operations was $10.6 billion and free cash flow was $14.7 billion. In Q2 2026, revenue rose 1% to $17.16 billion: software grew 5% to $7.76 billion, consulting was flat at $5.33 billion, and infrastructure fell 7% to $3.84 billion as IBM Z sales lapped the z17 launch. Some large software deals slipped out of the quarter, so IBM cut its 2026 constant-currency revenue growth forecast to 4-5% while keeping its target of about $1 billion more free cash flow than in 2025.
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
IBM
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $67.5B | $10.6B | 15.7% | +7.6% | Source |
| FY2024 | $62.8B | $6B | 9.6% | +1.4% | Source |
| FY2023 | $61.9B | $7.5B | 12.1% | +2.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | $60.5B | $1.6B | 2.7% | +5.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | $57.4B | $5.7B | 10.0% | +3.9% | Source |
| FY2020 | $55.2B | $5.6B | 10.1% | -4.4% | Source |
| FY2019 | $57.7B | $9.4B | 16.3% | -27.5% | Source |
| FY2018 | $79.6B | $8.7B | 11.0% | +0.6% | Source |
| FY2017 | $79.1B | $5.8B | 7.3% | -1.0% | Source |
| FY2016 | $79.9B | $11.9B | 14.9% | — | 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
IBM
- Software~44%
Red Hat, automation, data and AI, transaction processing, security, and related software services.
- Consulting~31%
Technology consulting, business transformation, hybrid cloud implementation, and AI-enabled workflows.
- Infrastructure~23%
IBM Z, distributed infrastructure, storage, infrastructure software, maintenance, and related services.
- Financing~1%
Client financing and used equipment sales supporting enterprise technology deployments.
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
IBM
How it makes money
IBM makes money from four segments. Software ($29.96 billion in FY2025, about 44% of revenue) includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux and OpenShift, HashiCorp Terraform and Vault, Confluent data streaming (from March 2026), watsonx AI, automation, security, and mainframe transaction-processing software, sold mostly as subscriptions and recurring licenses.
Growth strategy
IBM does not try to beat AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud at selling public cloud capacity. It sells the software layer that runs across all of them and across on-premises data centers.
Competitive advantage
IBM's main advantage is how deeply it is built into the core systems of large regulated organizations. Banks, card networks, insurers, and governments run high-volume transaction processing on IBM Z, and moving those workloads is slow, risky, and expensive.
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 IBM vs Pfizer
Which company has higher revenue — International Business Machines Corporation or Pfizer Inc.?
International Business Machines Corporation reported $67.5B (FY2025), while Pfizer Inc. reported $62.6B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, International Business Machines Corporation is the larger business, with Pfizer Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of International Business Machines Corporation vs Pfizer Inc.?
International Business Machines Corporation's market capitalisation stands at $216.3B, while Pfizer Inc.'s is $160.3B. International Business Machines Corporation carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Pfizer Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — International Business Machines Corporation or Pfizer Inc.?
International Business Machines Corporation generates $256k / employee in revenue per employee, while Pfizer Inc. generates $834k / employee. Pfizer 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 International Business Machines Corporation and Pfizer Inc. make money?
International Business Machines Corporation and Pfizer Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. International Business Machines Corporation: IBM makes money from four segments. 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 — International Business Machines Corporation or Pfizer Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, International Business Machines Corporation trades at 3.2x P/S and Pfizer Inc. at 2.6x P/S. International Business Machines Corporation commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Pfizer Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is International Business Machines Corporation bigger than Pfizer Inc.?
By last reported revenue, International Business Machines Corporation ($67.5B (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 IBM vs Pfizer overview