BIG PHARMA EARNINGS WATCH: PFIZER AND NOVO NORDISK

Pfizer CEO Highlights Delayed Competition on Blockbuster Drug as Reason to Be Bullish on Profits

This week, brand name drug manufacturers Pfizer and Novo Nordisk reported first-quarter earnings, once again beating Wall Street expectations as both brand name drug manufacturers continue to execute a familiar Big Pharma playbook: hiking prices and blocking competition from more affordable alternatives.

During Pfizer’s earnings call, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla pointed to a recent patent settlement delaying competition for blockbuster heart drugs Vyndaqel and Vyndamax, describing the “2.5 years delay” of competition on the product as a “significant” opportunity for “cash flows, EPS and changes [to] the growth profile,” as evidence of the brand name drug company’s confidence in maintaining high profits on top money makers.

Get a full recap on Pfizer and Novo Nordisk’s first-quarter earnings fueled by consistent price hikes and anti-competitive practices below.

Pfizer

• The drugmaker reported Q1 earnings that beat Wall Street analysts’ estimates.
• Pfizer’s revenue increased to $14.45 billion, ahead of expectations of $13.84 billion.
• Pfizer’s blockbuster blood thinner drug Eliquis generated $2.17 billion in sales for the quarter, up 13 percent from the year-ago period. 
• Pfizer reaffirmed their 2026 outlook, expecting full-year revenue to total $59.5 billion to $62.5 billion.

Novo Nordisk

• Novo Nordisk beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations for the first quarter.
• The Big Pharma giant’s first-quarter sales jumped 32 percent on a constant currency basis to reach $15.2 billion.
• Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight loss drug pill Wegovy brought in sales of $353.6 million for Q1, more than double analysts’ expectations.

The companies’ strong first-quarter earnings come after they each engaged in price hikes across their portfolios earlier this year.

Pfizer

• To start off 2026, Pfizer increased the price of 70 prescription drugs by an average of five percent.
• In 2025, Pfizer hiked prices on 89 prescription drugs.
• Pfizer hiked prices on more than 92 prescription drugs in 2024.
• In 2023, Pfizer hiked drug prices on more than 103 medications, and in 2022, the company hiked prices on more than 130 prescriptions in its portfolio.

Novo Nordisk

• So far in 2026, Novo Nordisk has hiked the price of five prescription drugs.
• In 2025, Novo Nordisk increased the cost of 12 prescription drugs at an average rate of 4.7 percent.
• Novo Nordisk hiked prices on five prescription drugs in 2024, including a 3.5 percent increase on their blockbuster weight loss drug Ozempic.
• In 2023, Novo Nordisk hiked prices on 11 prescription drugs, including a 4.9 percent increase on their GLP-1 drug Ozempic.

Stay tuned as we continue to monitor first-quarter earnings calls from brand name drug companies in the coming weeks.

Read more on Q1 earnings from Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly & Merck HERE.

Read more on Q1 earnings from AbbVie, GSK & AstraZeneca HERE.

Read more on Q1 earnings from Sanofi HERE.

Read more on Q1 earnings from Johnson & Johnson HERE.

Learn more about solutions to lower prescription drug prices and hold Big Pharma accountable HERE.