- Pays: quarterly — ex-dividend dates usually in late January, early May, late July, and early November.
- Paying since: our chart runs from 1972 — including the one blemish: a halved dividend in 2009 to fund the Wyeth acquisition.
- The comeback: raised every year since 2010 — fifteen consecutive increases, visible right in the data.
- Today's yield: around 7% — the highest of any major pharma, because the stock price round-tripped its COVID boom.
- What the yield means: the market doubts the pipeline can replace expiring patents. The dividend is the bet investors get paid to wait on.
PFE's high yield is a price story, not a raise story — the payout grew ~2%/yr while the share price fell from its COVID peak, mechanically inflating the percentage.
PFE pays quarterly. Each point below is one dividend since 1972 — note the 2009 halving and the unbroken staircase since 2010.
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Each point is one payment; the line ends at the most recent payout. The table below totals them by year.
| Recent Ex-Dividend Dates | Dividend / Share |
|---|
"Next expected" is estimated from PFE's recent payment rhythm — the fund announces exact dates shortly before each payout, and the data feed can lag a few days. You must own shares before the ex-dividend date to receive that payout; the cash typically arrives days later. See every fund's upcoming date on the live dividend calendar.
A real total-return estimate, assuming every payout was reinvested — including what happened to the share price. Before taxes and fees. Past performance does not predict the future.
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Pfizer is this page's rare honest teacher about blue-chip dividend risk: in 2009 — after four decades of payments — it halved the dividend overnight to help swallow Wyeth. Shareholders who assumed 'big pharma never cuts' learned that streaks are policies, not laws. The fifteen annual raises since rebuilt both the payout and, slowly, the trust.
Today's ~7% yield is the market's skepticism made visible: COVID windfalls faded, key patents expire late this decade, and the price paid for it. Management insists the dividend is untouchable; free cash flow currently covers it; and the 2009 chart is right there reminding you what 'untouchable' can mean under enough pressure. Size positions accordingly.
| Year | Total Dividends / Share | Payments | Change vs Prior Year |
|---|
Data source: Yahoo Finance. Figures are per share; the current year may be partial and figures should be verified against official sources.
Calculated from complete calendar years in the data above. Past results don't guarantee future payments.
When Is PFE's Next Ex-Dividend Date?
PFE pays quarterly — with ex-dividend dates usually in late January, early May, late July, and early November. The exact date of each payout is announced by the fund only shortly beforehand, so no site can promise the next date — but the live schedule box above shows the most recent ex-dividend date and the expected window for the next one, computed from PFE's actual payment rhythm. Remember: you must own shares before the ex-dividend date to receive that payout.
Five Decades, One Scar
Our chart runs from 1972, and its shape tells Pfizer's whole story: decades of climb, the 2009 halving (a cash-preservation move for the Wyeth deal), and then fifteen straight annual raises from 2010's reset through 2025's $1.72. The 2009 notch is the most instructive pixel on this site — proof that dividend 'safety' at any single company is a management decision that can change in one board meeting.
The 7% Signal
In 2021 Pfizer was a $60 pandemic hero; today it trades near $25 while paying a slightly larger dividend — which is the entire explanation of the 7% yield. The market is pricing a specific fear: blockbuster patents (Eliquis, Ibrance, and others) expire late this decade, and the acquisitions meant to replace them haven't convinced anyone yet. If the pipeline delivers, buyers here collected 7% while waiting for a re-rating. If it doesn't, coverage tightens and 2009 becomes relevant history. That's the actual bet — stated plainly.
Where PFE Fits
PFE belongs in the 'paid to wait' bucket: a genuine 7% qualified yield from a real business, carrying genuine single-company risk that diversified funds like VYM or SCHD don't. A common approach: hold the diversified fund as the core and size single names like PFE small enough that a 2009 rerun stings instead of wounds. Next expected date on the live calendar.
How to Choose Dividend Stocks
Yield signals, payout coverage, and the difference between paid-to-wait and yield-trap — in plain English.
Read: How to Choose Dividend Stocks