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Which Pharma Stock Stands Taller Right Now: LLY or PFE?
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Key Takeaways
LLY's Mounjaro and Zepbound are driving strong sales growth, with demand expected to remain high in 2026.
Lilly filed for obesity approval of oral GLP-1 orforglipron after positive study results.
PFE faces COVID revenue declines, patent expirations and IRA headwinds despite oncology strength.
Eli Lilly & Company (LLY - Free Report) and Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) are large-cap U.S. pharmaceutical leaders, each backed by diversified product portfolios and robust R&D engines. Lilly has established a dominant position in cardiometabolic care, driven by the blockbuster success of its GLP-1 therapies, Mounjaro and Zepbound, while Pfizer’s core strength lies in oncology.
Beyond these flagship areas, Lilly is advancing and marketing treatments across oncology, immunology, cardiovascular disease and neuroscience, whereas Pfizer maintains a strong footprint in inflammation and immunology, rare diseases and vaccines.
Both companies boast deep and promising pipelines that could deliver meaningful innovation and underpin long-term growth. The key question for investors, however, is which stock offers the more compelling opportunity at this point. Below, we compare their fundamentals, growth prospects and key risks to help determine the better bet.
The Case for Lilly
Lilly has seen tremendous success with its popular tirzepatide medicines, diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight loss medicine, Zepbound.
Despite being on the market for only around three years, Mounjaro and Zepbound have become key top-line drivers for Lilly, with demand rising rapidly. Launches of Mounjaro and Zepbound in new international markets and improved supply from ramped-up production in the United States have led to strong sales growth in 2025. Mounjaro and Zepbound are expected to continue to see strong demand in 2026.
In addition to Mounjaro and Zepbound, Lilly has gained approvals for several other new drugs over the past couple of years, including Omvoh, Jaypirca, Ebglyss and Kisunla. These newly approved drugs are also contributing to Lilly’s revenue growth.
Lilly is investing broadly in obesity and has several new molecules currently in clinical development with a range of oral and injectable medications with different mechanisms of action. A key drug in its obesity pipeline is a once-daily oral GLP-1 small molecule called orforglipron.
Lilly has announced positive data across six studies on orforglipron in obesity and type II diabetes. It filed regulatory applications seeking approval for orforglipron in obesity in December, setting up the timeline for a potential launch this year. An oral pill like orforglipron has the potential to be a more convenient alternative to injectable treatments like Zepbound and rival Novo Nordisk’s (NVO - Free Report) Wegovy. NVO’s oral version of Wegovy was approved by the FDA in December and NVO launched it in January. Wegovy is the first oral GLP-1 drug to be approved in the United States, ushering in a new era of obesity treatment.
Lilly’s another key obesity candidate, triple-acting incretin, retatrutide (which combines GLP-1, GIP and glucagon), delivered significant weight loss with substantial relief from osteoarthritis pain in a phase III study in patients with obesity and knee osteoarthritis pain. Lilly expects data readouts from three phase III studies on retatrutide for treating obesity in the second half of 2026.
The company is also working to diversify beyond GLP-1 drugs by expanding into cardiovascular, oncology, and neuroscience areas. In 2025, it announced several M&A deals.
Lilly has its share of problems. Prices of most of Lilly’s products are declining in the United States. Rising competition in the GLP-1 diabetes/obesity market is a key headwind.
The Wegovy pill gives NVO the first-to-market advantage and will initially bring in additional revenues and hurt Lilly’s market share. Though NVO has the lead in the oral obesity market, Lilly may be able to close the gap fast once orforglipron is approved by the FDA in 2026. Smaller biotechs like Structure Therapeutics and Viking Therapeutics are also developing oral GLP-1 drugs for treating obesity.
The Case for PFE
Pfizer is one of the largest and most successful drugmakers in oncology. Its oncology sales comprise around 28% of its total revenues. Its oncology revenues have risen 7% in the first nine months of 2025, driven by drugs like Xtandi, Lorbrena, the Braftovi-Mektovi combination and Padcev.
Pfizer’s dependence on its COVID business has now reduced. Pfizer’s non-COVID operational revenues are improving, driven by its key in-line products like Vyndaqel, Padcev and Eliquis, new launches and newly acquired products like Nurtec and those from Seagen (December 2023). Pfizer's recently launched and acquired products rose approximately 9% operationally in the nine months of 2025, with the momentum expected to continue. Pfizer expects its new and acquired products to deliver double-digit growth in 2026.
Pfizer is also trying to rebuild its pipeline through acquisitions. The recent $10 billion Metsera acquisition has brought Pfizer back into the lucrative obesity space after it scrapped the development of danuglipron, a weight-loss pill, earlier this year. The acquisition will add Metsera’s four novel clinical-stage incretin and amylin programs, which are expected to generate billions of dollars in peak sales. However, the Metsera candidates are in early- to mid-stage development and still some years away from commercialization.
Its significant cost reduction and efforts to improve R&D productivity measures are also driving profit growth. Pfizer expects cost cuts and internal restructuring to deliver savings of $7.7 billion by the end of 2027. Pfizer’s dividend yield stands at around 7%, which is impressive.
However, Pfizer faces its share of challenges. It is seeing declining sales of its COVID products, Comirnaty and Paxlovid, due to lower vaccination rates and COVID infection rates. In 2026, Pfizer expects its COVID revenues to be around $5 billion, $1.5 billion less than expected sales of about $6.5 billion in 2025, as COVID infection rates are expected to continue to decline.
Pfizer expects a significant negative impact on revenues from the loss of exclusivity (“LOE”) in the 2026-2030 period as several of its key products, including Eliquis, Vyndaqel, Ibrance, Xeljanz and Xtandi, face patent expirations. The LOE cliff is expected to hurt sales by approximately $1.5 billion in 2026.
Unfavorable impact from the Medicare Part D redesign under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) hurt Pfizer’s revenues in 2025. Higher-priced drugs, including Eliquis, Vyndaqel, Ibrance, Xtandi and Xeljanz, are most affected by the IRA. The negative impact is expected to continue in 2026.
How Do Estimates Compare for LLY & PFE?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LLY’s 2026 sales and EPS implies a year-over-year increase of 22.6% and 39.5%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2026 have risen from $32.06 per share to $33.41 per share over the past 60 days.
LLY Estimate Movement
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Pfizer’s 2026 sales and EPS implies a year-over-year decline of 2.1% and 4.2%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2026 have declined from $3.14 per share to $3.00 per share over the past 60 days.
PFE Estimate Movement
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance and Valuation of LLY & PFE
In the past year, Lilly’s stock has risen 28.3%, while Pfizer’s stock has rallied 3.8% compared with the industry's increase of 13.5%
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Pfizer looks more attractive than LLY from a valuation standpoint. Going by the price/earnings ratio, LLY’s shares currently trade at 30.64 forward earnings, much higher than 17.72 for the industry. However, LLY’s stock is trading below its 5-year mean of 34.57. Pfizer’s shares currently trade at 8.58 forward earnings, significantly lower than the industry and the stock’s 5-year mean of 10.31.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Lilly’s dividend yield is 0.6%, while Pfizer's is 6.7%.
Pfizer’s stock has taken a beating for the past three years as its revenues have declined substantially due to lower sales of its COVID products. In addition to fading COVID-19 product-related revenues, Pfizer faces some other challenges, like U.S. Medicare Part D headwinds and the upcoming LOE cliff in the 2026-2030 period. The company’s recent lukewarm guidance has built a negative sentiment around the stock.
On the other hand, exceptional growth from Mounjaro and Zepbound has made Lilly the largest drugmaker. Despite its expensive valuation, Lilly’s significant price appreciation, its product and pipeline portfolio in high-growth therapeutic areas like obesity, robust growth prospects and bullish analyst sentiment make it a clear winner over Pfizer.
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Which Pharma Stock Stands Taller Right Now: LLY or PFE?
Key Takeaways
Eli Lilly & Company (LLY - Free Report) and Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) are large-cap U.S. pharmaceutical leaders, each backed by diversified product portfolios and robust R&D engines. Lilly has established a dominant position in cardiometabolic care, driven by the blockbuster success of its GLP-1 therapies, Mounjaro and Zepbound, while Pfizer’s core strength lies in oncology.
Beyond these flagship areas, Lilly is advancing and marketing treatments across oncology, immunology, cardiovascular disease and neuroscience, whereas Pfizer maintains a strong footprint in inflammation and immunology, rare diseases and vaccines.
Both companies boast deep and promising pipelines that could deliver meaningful innovation and underpin long-term growth. The key question for investors, however, is which stock offers the more compelling opportunity at this point. Below, we compare their fundamentals, growth prospects and key risks to help determine the better bet.
The Case for Lilly
Lilly has seen tremendous success with its popular tirzepatide medicines, diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight loss medicine, Zepbound.
Despite being on the market for only around three years, Mounjaro and Zepbound have become key top-line drivers for Lilly, with demand rising rapidly. Launches of Mounjaro and Zepbound in new international markets and improved supply from ramped-up production in the United States have led to strong sales growth in 2025. Mounjaro and Zepbound are expected to continue to see strong demand in 2026.
In addition to Mounjaro and Zepbound, Lilly has gained approvals for several other new drugs over the past couple of years, including Omvoh, Jaypirca, Ebglyss and Kisunla. These newly approved drugs are also contributing to Lilly’s revenue growth.
Lilly is investing broadly in obesity and has several new molecules currently in clinical development with a range of oral and injectable medications with different mechanisms of action. A key drug in its obesity pipeline is a once-daily oral GLP-1 small molecule called orforglipron.
Lilly has announced positive data across six studies on orforglipron in obesity and type II diabetes. It filed regulatory applications seeking approval for orforglipron in obesity in December, setting up the timeline for a potential launch this year. An oral pill like orforglipron has the potential to be a more convenient alternative to injectable treatments like Zepbound and rival Novo Nordisk’s (NVO - Free Report) Wegovy. NVO’s oral version of Wegovy was approved by the FDA in December and NVO launched it in January. Wegovy is the first oral GLP-1 drug to be approved in the United States, ushering in a new era of obesity treatment.
Lilly’s another key obesity candidate, triple-acting incretin, retatrutide (which combines GLP-1, GIP and glucagon), delivered significant weight loss with substantial relief from osteoarthritis pain in a phase III study in patients with obesity and knee osteoarthritis pain. Lilly expects data readouts from three phase III studies on retatrutide for treating obesity in the second half of 2026.
The company is also working to diversify beyond GLP-1 drugs by expanding into cardiovascular, oncology, and neuroscience areas. In 2025, it announced several M&A deals.
Lilly has its share of problems. Prices of most of Lilly’s products are declining in the United States. Rising competition in the GLP-1 diabetes/obesity market is a key headwind.
The Wegovy pill gives NVO the first-to-market advantage and will initially bring in additional revenues and hurt Lilly’s market share. Though NVO has the lead in the oral obesity market, Lilly may be able to close the gap fast once orforglipron is approved by the FDA in 2026. Smaller biotechs like Structure Therapeutics and Viking Therapeutics are also developing oral GLP-1 drugs for treating obesity.
The Case for PFE
Pfizer is one of the largest and most successful drugmakers in oncology. Its oncology sales comprise around 28% of its total revenues. Its oncology revenues have risen 7% in the first nine months of 2025, driven by drugs like Xtandi, Lorbrena, the Braftovi-Mektovi combination and Padcev.
Pfizer’s dependence on its COVID business has now reduced. Pfizer’s non-COVID operational revenues are improving, driven by its key in-line products like Vyndaqel, Padcev and Eliquis, new launches and newly acquired products like Nurtec and those from Seagen (December 2023). Pfizer's recently launched and acquired products rose approximately 9% operationally in the nine months of 2025, with the momentum expected to continue. Pfizer expects its new and acquired products to deliver double-digit growth in 2026.
Pfizer is also trying to rebuild its pipeline through acquisitions. The recent $10 billion Metsera acquisition has brought Pfizer back into the lucrative obesity space after it scrapped the development of danuglipron, a weight-loss pill, earlier this year. The acquisition will add Metsera’s four novel clinical-stage incretin and amylin programs, which are expected to generate billions of dollars in peak sales. However, the Metsera candidates are in early- to mid-stage development and still some years away from commercialization.
Its significant cost reduction and efforts to improve R&D productivity measures are also driving profit growth. Pfizer expects cost cuts and internal restructuring to deliver savings of $7.7 billion by the end of 2027. Pfizer’s dividend yield stands at around 7%, which is impressive.
However, Pfizer faces its share of challenges. It is seeing declining sales of its COVID products, Comirnaty and Paxlovid, due to lower vaccination rates and COVID infection rates. In 2026, Pfizer expects its COVID revenues to be around $5 billion, $1.5 billion less than expected sales of about $6.5 billion in 2025, as COVID infection rates are expected to continue to decline.
Pfizer expects a significant negative impact on revenues from the loss of exclusivity (“LOE”) in the 2026-2030 period as several of its key products, including Eliquis, Vyndaqel, Ibrance, Xeljanz and Xtandi, face patent expirations. The LOE cliff is expected to hurt sales by approximately $1.5 billion in 2026.
Unfavorable impact from the Medicare Part D redesign under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) hurt Pfizer’s revenues in 2025. Higher-priced drugs, including Eliquis, Vyndaqel, Ibrance, Xtandi and Xeljanz, are most affected by the IRA. The negative impact is expected to continue in 2026.
How Do Estimates Compare for LLY & PFE?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LLY’s 2026 sales and EPS implies a year-over-year increase of 22.6% and 39.5%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2026 have risen from $32.06 per share to $33.41 per share over the past 60 days.
LLY Estimate Movement
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Pfizer’s 2026 sales and EPS implies a year-over-year decline of 2.1% and 4.2%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2026 have declined from $3.14 per share to $3.00 per share over the past 60 days.
PFE Estimate Movement
Price Performance and Valuation of LLY & PFE
In the past year, Lilly’s stock has risen 28.3%, while Pfizer’s stock has rallied 3.8% compared with the industry's increase of 13.5%
Pfizer looks more attractive than LLY from a valuation standpoint. Going by the price/earnings ratio, LLY’s shares currently trade at 30.64 forward earnings, much higher than 17.72 for the industry. However, LLY’s stock is trading below its 5-year mean of 34.57. Pfizer’s shares currently trade at 8.58 forward earnings, significantly lower than the industry and the stock’s 5-year mean of 10.31.
Lilly’s dividend yield is 0.6%, while Pfizer's is 6.7%.
PFE or LLY: Which is a Better Pick?
Lilly has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), while Pfizer has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), which clearly makes Lilly the winner. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Pfizer’s stock has taken a beating for the past three years as its revenues have declined substantially due to lower sales of its COVID products. In addition to fading COVID-19 product-related revenues, Pfizer faces some other challenges, like U.S. Medicare Part D headwinds and the upcoming LOE cliff in the 2026-2030 period. The company’s recent lukewarm guidance has built a negative sentiment around the stock.
On the other hand, exceptional growth from Mounjaro and Zepbound has made Lilly the largest drugmaker. Despite its expensive valuation, Lilly’s significant price appreciation, its product and pipeline portfolio in high-growth therapeutic areas like obesity, robust growth prospects and bullish analyst sentiment make it a clear winner over Pfizer.