Key Takeaways
- Pfizer yields 6% and Comcast 5.4%, and both kept their quarterly dividends unchanged when they last declared them in October.
- Comcast’s dividend took 24% of its free cash flow over the twelve months to Sept. 30, against 89% for Pfizer over the twelve months to June 28.
- Comcast raised its dividend 7.5% a year from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2025, against 2.5% a year for Pfizer.
- What to watch: Comcast’s spin-off of NBCUniversal, due by mid-2027, and Pfizer’s patent losses, which analysts expect to cut its revenue to $55.4 billion in fiscal 2028.
Pfizer (PFE) raised its 2026 revenue guidance on Nov. 3, and its stock yields 6.0%. Comcast (CMCSA) yields 5.4% and expects to finish splitting off NBCUniversal by the middle of next year.
Both checks are big, and both companies are under pressure. Pfizer is working through patent losses on key drugs, while Comcast is fighting for broadband customers. So if I could only own one of them for the next 10 years, which would it be?
| Metric | Comcast (CMCSA) | Pfizer (PFE) |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend yield | 5.4% | 6.0% |
| Annual dividend | $1.32 | $1.72 |
| Dividend growth, fiscal 2020-2025 | 7.5% a year | 2.5% a year |
| Cash dividend payout ratio (TTM) | 24% | 89% |
| Net debt/EBITDA | 2.3x | 1.9x |
| Interest coverage | 4.3x | 7.0x |
| Forward P/E | 7.2x | 10x |
Source: TIKR and StockAnalysis, Nov. 9, 2026. Payout ratios are for the twelve months to Sept. 30, 2026 (Comcast) and June 28, 2026 (Pfizer).
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Comcast has room to spare
Comcast’s dividend took a well-covered 24% of its free cash flow over the twelve months to Sept. 30, 2026. Free cash flow has run far above dividends paid every year for a decade, rising from $10.5 billion in fiscal 2016 to $21.9 billion in fiscal 2025:
Over the last five fiscal years, dividends never took more than 31.3% of it.
The third-quarter report on Oct. 22 had soft spots. Comcast lost 144,000 domestic broadband customers, and quarterly free cash flow fell 14.8% to $4.21 billion. But it added 368,000 wireless lines, and Peacock earned $261 million of adjusted EBITDA, after a $217 million loss a year earlier. Comcast still paid $1.2 billion of dividends in the quarter, even with buybacks paused since July 1.
The split brings costs of its own. Comcast expects a charge of more than $1 billion in the fourth quarter as it cuts costs, including jobs. It also said on Oct. 22 that Michael Angelakis, its former CFO, will run the remaining Comcast after the spin-off.
Pfizer’s dividend eats nearly all its cash
Pfizer pays the bigger check, but its dividend leans much harder on its cash. Over the twelve months to June 28, 2026, it took a risky 89% of free cash flow. Free cash flow fell from $29.9 billion in fiscal 2021 to $9.08 billion in fiscal 2025, below the $9.77 billion Pfizer paid out that year:
Dividends took 192.9% of free cash flow in fiscal 2023 and 107.7% in fiscal 2025.
Pfizer says it aims to maintain its dividend and grow it over the long term. CEO Albert Bourla said on its second-quarter call in August that “even the most stretched scenarios that we are running, we will be able to maintain our dividend.” With 89% of free cash flow already going out, keeping it where it is looks like the realistic goal for now.
The business is improving. Launched and acquired products such as Padcev, Nurtec and Lorbrena grew 32% operationally in the third quarter, offsetting weaker COVID-19 sales. On Nov. 3, Pfizer raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $62.0-$64.0 billion, from $60.5-$62.5 billion, and made interim CFO Cecile Guegan’s role permanent. A week earlier, on Oct. 27, its multiple myeloma drug ELREXFIO met its primary endpoint in a Phase 3 trial.
So which dividend wins?
I’d hold Comcast for the next 10 years. At each company’s dividend growth rate from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2025, $10,000 in Comcast today pays about $7,677 over the decade, against about $6,723 from Pfizer. Comcast’s yearly income would pass Pfizer’s by 2029, and by year 10 it would pay about $1,040, a 10.4% yield on your original $10,000.
Neither company has raised its dividend this year. Comcast’s current $1.32 a share and Pfizer’s $1.72 are what each paid in fiscal 2025. But at 24% of free cash flow, Comcast has plenty of room to start raising again. Pfizer has far less, and analysts expect its revenue to fall from $62.6 billion in fiscal 2025 to $55.4 billion in fiscal 2028 as patents expire on IBRANCE, XTANDI and Eliquis outside the US:
This isn’t to say Pfizer’s dividend is in trouble. Its check is bigger today ($600 a year on $10,000, against $543 for Comcast). It declared its 352nd consecutive quarterly dividend on Oct. 6, and it carries less debt, at 1.9x net debt to EBITDA against Comcast’s 2.3x. It’s also aiming for high single-digit yearly revenue growth from the end of 2028 through 2033. It’s just that, over 10 years, I’d rather own the dividend with room to grow.
Of course, neither company’s dividend policy is set for after the spin-off. CFO Jason Armstrong said on Comcast’s second-quarter call in July that management will “take the coming months, obviously, to work through capital allocation, capital structure policies.”
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
