Stock Analysis on Net

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Cash Flow Statement
Quarterly Data

The cash flow statement provides information about a company cash receipts and cash payments during an accounting period, showing how these cash flows link the ending cash balance to the beginning balance shown on the company balance sheet.

The cash flow statement consists of three parts: cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities, cash flows provided by (used in) investing activities, and cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities.

Pfizer Inc., consolidated cash flow statement (quarterly data)

US$ in millions

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3 months ended: Mar 29, 2026 Dec 31, 2025 Sep 28, 2025 Jun 29, 2025 Mar 30, 2025 Dec 31, 2024 Sep 29, 2024 Jun 30, 2024 Mar 31, 2024 Dec 31, 2023 Oct 1, 2023 Jul 2, 2023 Apr 2, 2023 Dec 31, 2022 Oct 2, 2022 Jul 3, 2022 Apr 3, 2022 Dec 31, 2021 Oct 3, 2021 Jul 4, 2021 Apr 4, 2021
Net income (loss) before allocation to noncontrolling interests 2,696 (1,640) 3,551 2,928 2,973 418 4,473 48 3,123 (3,360) (2,376) 2,338 5,556 5,003 8,623 9,911 7,870 3,392 8,158 5,589 4,886
Discontinued operations, net of tax 13 (25) (7) 8 (17) 5 25 (12) 2 (1) (2) 21 (34) 9 186 13 236 (1)
Net income (loss) from continuing operations before allocation to noncontrolling interests 2,709 (1,640) 3,551 2,903 2,973 411 4,481 31 3,128 (3,335) (2,388) 2,340 5,555 5,001 8,644 9,877 7,879 3,578 8,171 5,825 4,885
Depreciation and amortization 1,613 1,687 1,662 1,625 1,618 1,791 1,755 1,731 1,736 1,670 1,560 1,573 1,487 1,519 1,183 1,175 1,187 1,335 1,341 1,308 1,207
Asset write-offs and impairments 32 4,406 366 154 344 3,162 649 295 136 2,909 172 57 270 263 229 27 31 183 38 31 24
Deferred taxes (12) (433) (765) (272) (663) (396) (482) (783) (441) (1,858) (113) (873) (598) (365) 62 (1,140) (2,321) (683) (3,747) (66) 203
Share-based compensation expense 272 225 201 203 170 177 274 206 220 121 151 148 105 364 135 287 86 496 293 221 172
Benefit plan contributions in excess of income/expense (173) (368) (84) (105) (229) 454 (128) (137) (201) (320) (145) (122) (200) (626) (386) 258 (404) (1,190) (1,154) (406) (373)
Inventory write-offs and related charges associated with COVID-19 products 352 5,847 707 476
Other adjustments, net (94) (119) (292) (101) 41 (1,804) (714) 411 (152) (2,749) (429) (415) 100 (723) 210 458 813 273 (542) (1,014) (291)
Other changes in assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions and divestitures (1,732) 1,590 (36) (4,989) (1,919) 2,926 879 (3,535) (3,336) 8,450 (1,199) (3,916) (5,507) 2,442 (4,585) (2,766) (730) 1,937 6,765 5,383 (1,281)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) from continuing operations before allocation to noncontrolling interests to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (94) 6,988 1,052 (3,485) (638) 6,310 2,233 (1,812) (2,038) 8,575 5,844 (3,548) (4,343) 3,581 (2,676) (1,701) (1,338) 2,351 2,994 5,457 (339)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 2,615 5,348 4,603 (582) 2,335 6,721 6,714 (1,781) 1,090 5,240 3,456 (1,208) 1,212 8,582 5,968 8,176 6,541 5,929 11,165 11,282 4,546
Purchases of property, plant and equipment (436) (845) (602) (618) (564) (917) (651) (637) (704) (1,044) (810) (914) (1,139) (1,001) (841) (751) (643) (1,002) (618) (537) (554)
Purchases of short-term investments (2,569) (4,048) (4,223) (3,262) (2,823) (6,176) (2,703) (457) (797) (836) (9,132) (14,341) (6,665) (6,683) (10,764) (10,179) (8,758) (12,177) (10,298) (9,928) (6,054)
Proceeds from redemptions/sales of short-term investments 4,576 4,723 2,736 6,545 3,955 1,498 918 1,054 658 21,246 5,424 6,194 6,400 9,734 14,936 6,730 13,421 11,595 8,280 2,107 5,465
Net (purchases of) proceeds from redemptions/sales of short-term investments with original maturities of three months or less (792) 576 (583) 1,184 (3,852) 487 (889) 4,725 (1,187) 11,276 5,115 (15,882) 4,665 10,394 (7,724) (6,562) 3,409 (936) (6,647) 491 (996)
Purchases of long-term investments (104) (79) (129) 48 (134) (105) 33 (73) (35) (38) (74) (41) (51) (286) (303) (648) (676) (207) (761) (73) (27)
Proceeds from redemptions/sales of long-term investments 88 591 359 63 82 29 1,229 7 305 1,790 17 48 124 195 220 174 52 80 272 41 256
Proceeds from sales of investment in Haleon 6,311 3,549 3,491
Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired (6,927) (43,405) (25) (16,772) (6,225)
Dividends received from Consumer Healthcare JV 3,960
Other investing activities, net 22 (137) 12 (9) 299 12 6 (19) 1 15 348 (524) (19) 9 (111) (77) (13) 64 (299) (235) 164
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities 785 (6,146) (2,430) 3,951 3,274 (1,623) (2,057) 4,600 1,732 (10,996) 888 (25,485) 3,315 (4,410) (627) (11,313) 567 (2,583) (10,071) (8,134) (1,746)
Proceeds from short-term borrowings 732 2,161 4,570 1,444 4,511 3 11 4 (125) 4,012
Payments on short-term borrowings (151) (2,048) (3,452) (2,922) (4,524) (328) (3) (3,887)
Net proceeds from (payments on) short-term borrowings with original maturities of three months or less (127) 101 6 (517) (386) (1,489) 938 (2,039) 3,267 (128) (204) 226 (1,092) 491 599 (220) (361) 764 (474) (25)
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt 5,991 3,687 30,831 997
Payments on long-term debt (3,007) (3,750) (1,000) (1,250) (1,300) (1,000) (269) (1,689) (1,609) (1,003) (1,001)
Purchases of common stock (2,000)
Cash dividends paid (2,445) (2,445) (2,444) (2,445) (2,437) (2,380) (2,380) (2,380) (2,372) (2,315) (2,314) (2,315) (2,303) (2,245) (2,245) (2,244) (2,249) (2,189) (2,185) (2,183) (2,172)
Other financing activities, net (284) (44) (39) (20) (356) (14) (6) (63) (386) (18) (37) (141) (436) 7 5 153 (500) 202 324 100 (610)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (2,856) 596 (2,477) (3,196) (5,227) (5,114) (4,636) (2,459) (4,931) 5,442 (3,779) 27,174 (2,771) (5,015) (5,761) 2,520 (6,578) (3,351) (1,101) (2,557) (2,807)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities from discontinued operations 5 (5) (15) (336) 17 (8)
Net cash used in investing activities from discontinued operations (3) (5) (4)
Net cash provided by (used in) discontinued operations 5 (5) (18) (341) 13 (8)
Effect of exchange-rate changes on cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents 19 6 3 40 (7) (29) 8 (17) (28) (2) (30) (6) (2) (26) (72) (66) (1) (27) (36) 4
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents 563 (196) (301) 213 375 (45) 29 343 (2,137) (316) 535 475 1,754 (869) (487) (688) 529 (50) (384) 608 (15)

Based on: 10-Q (reporting date: 2026-03-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2025-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-09-28), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-06-29), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-03-30), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-09-29), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-10-01), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-07-02), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-04-02), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-10-02), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-07-03), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-04-03), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-10-03), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-07-04), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-04-04).


An analysis of the quarterly cash flow data reveals a period of significant volatility in operational performance, characterized by a transition from high pandemic-related earnings to a phase of aggressive strategic acquisition and asset restructuring. Operational cash flows show a general downward trend from the peaks of 2021 and 2022, with intermittent negative quarters occurring in 2023 and 2024.

Operating Cash Flow and Earnings Volatility
Net income exhibited extreme fluctuations, peaking in 2021 and early 2022 before experiencing sharp declines, including negative results in the second half of 2023 and the fourth quarter of 2025. This volatility is closely linked to significant non-cash adjustments. Notably, a substantial inventory write-off associated with COVID-19 products totaling 5.8 billion US dollars in October 2023 heavily impacted operational results. Net cash provided by operating activities followed a similar unstable pattern, fluctuating from highs exceeding 11 billion US dollars per quarter to deficits, such as the 1.78 billion US dollar outflow recorded in June 2024.
Strategic Investment and Acquisition Activity
Investing activities are dominated by large-scale business acquisitions and the management of short-term investments. A pattern of aggressive expansion is evident, with major cash outflows for acquisitions in December 2022 (16.77 billion US dollars) and December 2023 (43.4 billion US dollars), and again in December 2025 (6.9 billion US dollars). These outflows were partially offset by the sale of investments in Haleon, which provided significant inflows throughout 2024 and 2025. Capital expenditures for property, plant, and equipment remained relatively stable, generally ranging between 400 million and 1.1 billion US dollars per quarter.
Financing and Liquidity Management
To sustain high acquisition spending and consistent shareholder returns, the company utilized substantial debt issuance. A major influx of 30.8 billion US dollars from long-term debt in July 2023 provided necessary liquidity during a period of declining operational cash flow. Shareholder distributions remained a priority, with cash dividends paid showing a steady incremental increase from approximately 2.1 billion US dollars per quarter in 2021 to 2.4 billion US dollars per quarter by 2025. Short-term borrowing and the redemption of short-term investments were used frequently to manage quarterly liquidity gaps.
Asset Impairments and Write-offs
A recurring pattern of significant asset write-offs and impairments is observed, typically concentrated in the fourth quarter of the year. These impairments escalated over time, with 2.9 billion US dollars in December 2023, 3.1 billion US dollars in December 2024, and 4.4 billion US dollars in December 2025. These periodic adjustments suggest a consistent re-evaluation of asset values or goodwill following the aforementioned large-scale acquisitions.

In summary, the financial trajectory indicates a shift from organic cash generation driven by pandemic-era demand toward a capital-intensive strategy funded by debt and divestitures. While dividend payments remain stable, the reliance on external financing and the frequency of large asset impairments highlight a period of structural transition and portfolio realignment.

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