Pfizer Limited

Healthcare — Drug Manufacturers - General · NSE

₹3,785.00−₹25.80 (−0.68%)

DalalBaazaar Score

68 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Moderate

Driven by high debt relative to equity, small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with modest growth. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:09 pm

Mixed / neutral. No major red flags jump out, but nothing here screams "obviously cheap" either. This is a name that needs a peer comparison and a view on near-term earnings triggers before sizing a position.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Pfizer Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Pfizer Limited engages in manufacturing, marketing, trading, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in India and internationally.

IndustryDrug Manufacturers - General

SectorHealthcare

Employees1,244

Annual revenue₹2,519 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹2,519 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹29 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹43 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,244 employees supports ₹2.03 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin43.3%

Net margin28.7%

Revenue / employee₹2.03 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L, DR. REDDY S LABORATORIES, CIPLA LTD, DIVI S LABORATORIES LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND LP/E 34.9x · ROE 14.5%

DR. REDDY S LABORATORIESP/E 31.0x · ROE 8.8%

CIPLA LTDP/E 31.8x · ROE 9.8%

DIVI S LABORATORIES LTDP/E 83.0x · ROE 17.5%

What is its competitive advantage?The numbers suggest a real one

ROCE has stayed above 15% in every year available and stands at 22.9%. Returns that high normally get competed away; when they persist, something is protecting them, and its ROE of 17.2% against a peer median of 14.5% is consistent with that. What that something is — brand, scale, switching costs, regulation — the accounts cannot tell you.

ROCE22.9%

ROE17.2%

Peer median ROE14.5%

What is the outlook?

4 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 9.1% and earnings to grow about 13.1% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+9.1%

Est. earnings growth+13.1%

Analysts4

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +4% while net margin moved +11% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect+4%

Margin effect+11%

DalalBaazaar Score

68/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue CAGR of only 1.3% — barely ahead of inflation
✗ Profit CAGR of only 5.0%

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

69/ 100

Good

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

63/ 100

Fair

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A reasonable business at a reasonable price — neither the quality nor the valuation stands out in either direction.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

23.6x

3Y Median

31.0x

40 monthly readings · mean 33.4x · range 24.0x–50.3x

Sector Median

33.3x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 24% below its 3y median of 31.0x. Cheaper than its own history, which is worth a reason too: the market may be pricing in something the backward-looking numbers do not show.

🟢Against its sector it trades 29% below the peer median of 33.3x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

31.0x median over 40 months · -24%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

33.3x median of 4 peers · -29%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

P/E (Trailing)

23.6x

P/B

4.12x

EV/EBITDA

15.8x

PEG

4.70

Dividend Yield

1.98%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well6

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 37.4% to 43.3% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 48% over 3 years.
Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 224% over 3 years.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 22.9% is the mark of a business that converts capital into profit efficiently.
Valuation below its historical average
At 23.6x the stock trades 24% below its own median of 31.0x.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention1

Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 25.0% to 22.9% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

1 item require attention · 1 high

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 1.67x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 22.9% means each rupee reinvested earns well above what capital costs. If the company can keep deploying at this rate, growth creates value rather than just consuming cash.
Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 37.4% to 43.3%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 48% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 24% below its own median multiple. If the business performs as it has and simply re-rates back to normal, that gap is return on its own.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 29% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 1.67x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 1.3% a year is close to the rate prices rise, so the business is gaining little ground in real terms. That leaves the share price dependent on a re-rating rather than on earnings growth.
Size brings its own risk
Small Cap businesses are thinly traded, so exits are harder in a falling market and single events move the price more than they would for a larger company.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1EBITDA margin holds above 41%✓ 43.3%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 1.3% CAGR
Latest reported year was 8.3%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹942 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.1x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 20%✓ 22.9%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

10 / 12 checks passed

✓ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✓ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✓ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✓ Generates positive free cash flow
✗ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✓ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✓ Profit growing year-over-year
✓ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✓ Analyst consensus isn't majority-sell
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

4 good · 6 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹17,316 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

23.6x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

4.12x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹160.7

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

17.2%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

22.9%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

1.67x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

8.3%

Modest

Modest growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

6.6%

Modest

Slow profit growth

Dividend Yield

1.98%

Modest

Small cash return — most of the return has to come from the price

Free Cash Flow

₹942 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹3,785

P/E (Forward)

18.5x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

35.7%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

28.6%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

6.06

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.13

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

3913.4 / 4351.5

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

38.6

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹2,422 Cr	₹2,193 Cr	₹2,281 Cr	₹2,519 Cr	+1.3%
EBITDA	₹906 Cr	₹818 Cr	₹913 Cr	₹1,091 Cr	+6.4%
EBITDA Margin	37.4%	37.3%	40.0%	43.3%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹624 Cr	₹551 Cr	₹768 Cr	₹722 Cr	+5.0%
EPS	₹136.38	₹120.51	₹167.79	₹157.92	+5.0%
ROE	19.5%	15.3%	18.2%	17.2%	—
ROCE	25.0%	20.7%	23.6%	22.9%	—
Total Debt	₹134 Cr	₹95 Cr	₹108 Cr	₹70 Cr	-19.5%
Free Cash Flow	₹291 Cr	₹238 Cr	₹632 Cr	₹942 Cr	+48.0%

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (1.3% a year).

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 6.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 37.4% to 43.3% over 3 years (+5.9 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 5.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 5.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 19.5% to 17.2% over 3 years (-2.3 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 25.0% to 22.9% over 3 years (-2.1 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 19.5% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 48.0% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹4,922 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹719 Cr

Total Debt

₹70 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹103 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹968 Cr

Capex

-₹25 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

15.5%

Insider Holding

67.0%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

28 Oct 2026

Dividend Rate

₹75

Ex-Dividend Date

17 Jul 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

3 Buy · 1 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹6,008.5

+58.7% vs CMP

Target Range

₹4,900 – ₹7,319

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L	34.9x	14.5%
DR. REDDY S LABORATORIES	31.0x	8.8%
CIPLA LTD	31.8x	9.8%
DIVI S LABORATORIES LTD	83.0x	17.5%

Recent News

1 mixed5 general

Pfizer Ltd. Share Price Rise: Market Cap at Rs 17,435.6 Cr

Univest, 13 OctPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

Pfizer stock hits 52-week high at $29.88

Investing.com, 15 Oct

Pfizer Inc Stock (PFE) Moved Up by 3.14% on Oct 14: Drivers Behind the Movement

TradingKey, 14 Oct

Pfizer (PFE) Stock May Be Overvalued After Overseas Pricing Deal

Yahoo Finance, 23 Sept

Pfizer (PFE) Could Be 60% Below Fair Value On Tukysa Approval And Vaccine Data

Simply Wall Street, 15 Oct

Pfizer Stock Hits 52-Week High: What's Going On?

Benzinga, 15 Oct

Watch Items

Trading very close to its 52-week low — worth checking whether this reflects a temporary setback or a structural problem.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟢Business QualityStrong16.7/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong14.5/20

🔴GrowthWeak7.4/20

🟢ProfitabilityStrong12.8/15

🟢ValuationAttractive10.7/15

🟡RiskModerate5.7/10

Good business at a fair price

A sound business at a reasonable valuation. Suitable for a long-term holding, with the valuation and the direction of margins worth watching rather than the business itself. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓EBITDA margin holds above 41%43.3%
✗Revenue growth stays above 4% a year1.3% CAGR
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹942 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x0.1x
✓ROCE stays above 20%22.9%