Merck vs Pfizer: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Merck reported $65B of revenue in FY2025 and $18.3B of net income. Pfizer reported $62.6B of revenue in FY2025 and $7.8B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Merck
Merck reported $65.0 billion in 2025 sales, up 1% from $64.2 billion in 2024, and $18.3 billion in net income attributable to Merck. Keytruda/Keytruda Qlex grew 7% to $31.7 billion, offsetting a 39% Gardasil decline. Momentum continued in 2026: Q2 2026 sales rose 5% to $16.6 billion, with Keytruda at $8.4 billion (including $463 million from Keytruda Qlex), Winrevair up 75% to $588 million and Animal Health up 8% to $1.8 billion. A $2.31-per-share charge for the Terns acquisition produced a Q2 GAAP net loss of $1.3 billion. In August 2026 Merck raised its full-year 2026 sales outlook to $66.3 billion to $67.3 billion, with non-GAAP EPS of $2.66 to $2.76 after Terns-related charges.
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
Merck
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $65B | $18.3B | 28.1% | +1.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | $64.2B | $17.1B | 26.7% | +6.7% | Source |
| FY2023 | $60.1B | $365M | 0.6% | +1.4% | Source |
| FY2022 | $59.3B | $14.5B | 24.5% | +21.7% | Source |
| FY2021 | $48.7B | $13B | 26.8% | +17.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $41.5B | $7.1B | 17.0% | +6.1% | Source |
| FY2019 | $39.1B | $9.8B | 25.2% | -7.5% | Source |
| FY2018 | $42.3B | $6.2B | 14.7% | +5.4% | Source |
| FY2017 | $40.1B | $2.4B | 6.0% | +0.8% | Source |
| FY2016 | $39.8B | $3.9B | 9.8% | — | 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
Merck
- Keytruda (pembrolizumab)
~US$31.7B in FY2025; approximately 49% of total company sales; highest-margin segment product
Keytruda is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the programmed death-1 (PD-1) receptor on T-cells, which restores
- Gardasil / Gardasil 9
~US$5.2B in FY2025 (down 39% from US$8.6B in FY2024); second-largest product; global market leader in HPV cancer prevention
Gardasil and its successor nine-valent formulation Gardasil 9 are prophylactic vaccines that prevent infection by the hu
- Winrevair (sotatercept)
~US$1.4B in FY2025 (US$419M in partial FY2024); fastest-growing new product; projected US$3-5B annual peak sales
Winrevair is a first-in-class activin signaling inhibitor approved by the FDA in March 2024 for the treatment of pulmona
- Januvia / Janumet (sitagliptin)
~US$2.5B in FY2025 (up 12% from US$2.3B in FY2024); mature franchise under competitive pressure from GLP-1 agents and generics
Januvia (sitagliptin) and the fixed-dose combination Janumet (sitagliptin plus metformin) are dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inh
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
Merck
How it makes money
Merck makes money by selling patent-protected prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products. The Pharmaceutical segment produced about $58.1 billion of 2025 sales, led by Keytruda/Keytruda Qlex ($31.7 billion), Gardasil ($5.2 billion), Januvia/Janumet ($2.5 billion) and Winrevair ($1.4 billion).
Growth strategy
Merck's strategy is to use Keytruda cash flow to build a broader portfolio before 2028. It moved patients toward subcutaneous Keytruda Qlex (FDA-approved September 19, 2025), expanded Keytruda into earlier-stage cancers, and bought late-stage or commercial assets: Verona Pharma for about $10 billion (completed October 2025, adding COPD drug Ohtuvayre), Cidara Therapeutics for about $9.2 billion (completed January 202…
Competitive advantage
Merck's edge rests on the scale of its Keytruda clinical program, with more than 40 approved indications, plus a large biologics manufacturing network and a vaccine franchise built over decades. Each new Keytruda approval reuses the same oncology sales relationships and safety data, which lowers the cost of every additional indication.
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 Merck vs Pfizer
Which company has higher revenue — Merck & Co., Inc. or Pfizer Inc.?
Merck & Co., Inc. reported $65.0B (FY2025), while Pfizer Inc. reported $62.6B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Merck & Co., Inc. is the larger business, with Pfizer Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Merck & Co., Inc. vs Pfizer Inc.?
Merck & Co., Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $368.3B, while Pfizer Inc.'s is $160.3B. Merck & Co., Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Pfizer Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — Merck & Co., Inc. or Pfizer Inc.?
Merck & Co., Inc. generates $867k / employee in revenue per employee, while Pfizer Inc. generates $834k / employee. Merck & Co., 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 Merck & Co., Inc. and Pfizer Inc. make money?
Merck & Co., Inc. and Pfizer Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Merck & Co., Inc.: Merck makes money by selling patent-protected prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products. 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 — Merck & Co., Inc. or Pfizer Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Merck & Co., Inc. trades at 5.7x P/S and Pfizer Inc. at 2.6x P/S. Merck & Co., Inc. 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 Merck & Co., Inc. bigger than Pfizer Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Merck & Co., Inc. ($65.0B (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 Merck vs Pfizer overview