Pfizer Stock Is Doing Something It Hasn't Done Since 2022

By David Jagielski, CPA – Mar 23, 2026 at 4:00PM ESTKey PointsPfizer has underperformed the market in each of the past three years. The stock is doing well of late as investors have been turning to safer investments amid uncertainty.Pfizer has been struggling to grow in recent years, and it faces plenty of uncertainty ahead.Pfizer (PFE 0.74%) stock hasn't made for a good investment over the past five years. It has declined by 25% in value over that stretch, while the S&P 500 has climbed by 68%. Investors have lost confidence in the company's ability to grow, as it loses patent protection on key drugs and faces an uncertain future. Besides a dividend, there hasn't been a compelling reason for investors to buy shares of Pfizer. But this year, with there being more concern in the markets and investors piling into dividend stocks, Pfizer has suddenly become a more enticing option. As a result, the stock is doing something it hasn't done in multiple years -- it's outperforming the S&P 500. Image source: Getty Images. The last time Pfizer's stock outperformed the S&P 500 was in 2022 As growth stocks have been in high demand over the past couple of years, investors have largely looked past Pfizer due to the question marks surrounding the company's future. In 2025, shares of the healthcare giant fell by 6%. The year before that, they were down by 8%, after crashing 44% in 2023. Even in 2022, the stock declined by 13%, but that was a year when the S&P 500 fell by 19% as high inflation weighed on the markets as a whole. And that was the last time that Pfizer proved to be a market-beating stock. This year is playing out the same way, and for comparable reasons. Investors are worried about the state of the economy, commodity prices are rising, and there are multiple wars taking place. There are an abundance of reasons for investors to look for safety these days, and Pfizer, with its 6.4%-yielding dividend, makes for an attractive option of late. ExpandNYSE: PFEPfizerToday's Change(-0.74%) $-0.20Current Price$26.77Key Data PointsMarket Cap$153BDay's Range$26.64 - $27.1952wk Range$20.91 - $27.94Volume940KAvg Vol45MGross Margin66.23%Dividend Yield6.38% Is Pfizer a good stock to buy right now? Pfizer's gains are still relatively modest this year. It's only up 8%, and while that's technically far better than the S&P 500's decline of 4%, the healthcare stock is nowhere near making up for its losses in recent years. In fact, it still looks incredibly cheap, with its forward price-to-earnings multiple being extremely low at just over nine. This is a severely discounted stock. And while there are question marks about Pfizer's future growth, the business remains, at the very least, a stable one to invest in. This past year, the company's revenue came in at $62.6 billion, which is a 2% operational decline from the previous year. That's not great, but it's also not terribly awful, either. For a heavily discounted stock, it's also what you might expect. But in the long run, it may have room to grow from all the acquisitions it has made in recent years. Pfizer faces some uncertainty ahead, but with such a low valuation, it offers investors a margin of safety that's hard to find these days. Plus, it pays a high dividend. Overall, this may be one of the better stocks to buy right now, as Pfizer may be due for a prolonged rally this year.Read NextMar 19, 2026 •By Prosper Junior BakinyPfizer vs Moderna: Which Pharma Stock Has More Upside?Mar 18, 2026 •By Prosper Junior BakinyThe Best Healthcare Stocks to Buy With $50 Right NowMar 17, 2026 •By Adria CiminoShould You Avoid Pfizer? Here's the Key Risk to WatchMar 10, 2026 •By Prosper Junior Bakiny2 Healthcare Stocks That Are Too Cheap to IgnoreMar 10, 2026 •By James Brumley3 Healthcare Stocks Paying the Highest Dividends of 2026Mar 9, 2026 •By David Jagielski, CPAPfizer's Payout Ratio Is Still Over 100%. Is a Dividend Cut Inevitable?About the AuthorDavid Jagielski, CPA, has been a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering healthcare, consumer staples, consumer discretionary, and technology stocks since 2017. David has more than 10 years of experience in finance roles across businesses of different sizes and sectors. He holds a Certified Public Accountant designation in Canada.TMFdjagielskiStocks MentionedPfizerNYSE: PFE$26.77(-0.74%)-$0.20*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.