After Q2 Earnings, Is Pfizer or Merck the Smarter Dividend Play?

3 weeks ago 19

Vandita Jadeja

Thu, August 6, 2026 astatine 11:00 AM CDT 4 min read

Quick Read

Pfizer (PFE) yields astir 7% arsenic COVID drugs crater, portion Merck (MRK) compounds astatine 66% one-year gains with a leaner 3% payout.
Pfizer runs 20 pivotal trials successful 2026 targeting obesity and oncology, with a Vyndamax patent hold to 2031 protecting dividend coverage.
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Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Merck (NYSE:MRK) refreshed the dividend statement with their latest quarterly reports.

Blue and achromatic pharmaceutical capsules are scattered crossed respective US twenty-dollar bills, which are partially overlapped. An overturned orangish pill vessel is disposable successful the background, from which immoderate pills look to person spilled. The lighting highlights the texture of the wealth and the glossy aboveground of the pills.

Pfizer defends 1 of Big Pharma's fattest yields portion its COVID franchise fades. Merck absorbs multi-billion dollar woody charges to reload a pipeline down Keytruda. Two payouts, 2 precise antithetic hazard profiles for income investors.

COVID Runoff Drags Pfizer While Keytruda Keeps Merck Humming

Pfizer's astir caller 4th showed the post-pandemic pivot successful motion. Revenue reached $14.45B, up of the $13.80B estimate, with launched oregon acquired products increasing 22% operationally.

Padcev jumped 39% to $591M connected urothelial crab stock gains, Nurtec ODT climbed 41% to $353M, and Eliquis added 13% to scope $2.17B. Comirnaty fell 59% and Paxlovid dropped 62%. Adjusted EPS of $0.75 marked a 5th consecutive beat, though nett income slid 9.44%.

Merck's communicative tilts toward scale. Revenue landed astatine $16.29B, topping the $15.85B consensus. Keytruda produced $8.03B, up 12%, and the subcutaneous mentation Keytruda QLEX added $128M retired of the gate. Winrevair surged 88% to $525M. Reported EPS of -$1.28 was dragged by a $9B Cidara acquisition charge, alongside a Gardasil descent of 19% aft China's catch-up programme ended.

Yield Hunter vs. Growth Compounder

The dividend mathematics tells the existent story. Pfizer pays $0.43 quarterly ($1.72 annualized) against a 6.75% yield, with raises each Q1 since 2010. Merck lifted its quarterly dividend from $0.81 to $0.85 starting Q1 2026, with a guardant annualized complaint of $3.40, astir 2.6% astatine caller prices.

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Lens	Pfizer	Merck
Dividend Yield	6.75%	2.6%
Core Growth Engine	Oncology and migraine launches	Keytruda positive Winrevair
Biggest Overhang	COVID runoff, Eliquis LOE	Keytruda patent cliff precocious decennary
2026 EPS Guidance	$2.80 to $3.00	$5.04 to $5.16
YTD Stock Return	7.34%	23.41%