Key Takeaways
- Pfizer yields 6.3% and Enbridge 6.0%, after dividend growth of 2.5% and 3.1% per year from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2025.
- Pfizer’s free cash flow covered its dividend with little to spare over the 12 months to June 2026, a cash dividend payout ratio of 89%.
- Enbridge’s distributable cash flow covered its dividend 1.51x in fiscal 2025 and at least 1.44x in every fiscal year since 2016.
- Enbridge carries far more debt, at 6.3x net debt to EBITDA against Pfizer’s 2.0x.
When Pfizer (PFE) reported its second quarter on Aug. 4, CEO Albert Bourla said what income investors have wanted to hear: “So I want once and for all to make that clear to all that the dividend will be maintained.”
That’s a promise on a 6.3% yield. It came days after Enbridge (ENB) reaffirmed its 2026 guidance on July 31, behind a 6.0% yield it has raised 31 years in a row.
If only one of them gets your dividend dollars for the next 10 years, which should it be?
| Metric | Pfizer (PFE) | Enbridge (ENB) |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend yield | 6.3% | 6.0% |
| Annual dividend now | $1.72 | C$3.88 |
| Dividend growth, fiscal 2020 to 2025 | 2.5% a year | 3.1% a year (in C$) |
| Dividend coverage, on its own measure | Cash dividend payout ratio: 89% (TTM to June 28, 2026) | Distributable cash flow coverage: 1.51x (fiscal 2025) |
| Net debt / EBITDA (LTM) | 1.97x | 6.3x |
| Interest coverage (LTM) | 6.98x | 2.27x |
Source: TIKR, Oct. 9, 2026; StockAnalysis (Pfizer’s annual dividend); Enbridge’s Dec. 3, 2025 dividend release (its annualized dividend).
Pfizer: a bigger check on thinner cover
Pfizer’s newer drugs are doing the heavy lifting right now. Second-quarter 2026 revenue rose 3% to $15.0 billion from the same quarter of 2025, and launched and acquired products grew 18% operationally. Management also raised its 2026 revenue guidance by $500 million at the midpoint, to a range of $60.5 billion to $62.5 billion.
The cash behind the dividend has gone the other way. Free cash flow fell from $29.9 billion in fiscal 2021 to $9.08 billion in fiscal 2025, while dividends paid rose from $8.73 billion to $9.77 billion…
Pfizer’s free cash flow didn’t quite cover the dividend in fiscal 2025, and the same thing happened in fiscal 2023. Over the twelve months to June 28, 2026, the cash dividend payout ratio was a thin 89%, which leaves little room for a stumble.
Bourla says that “even the most stretched scenarios that we are running, we will be able to maintain our dividend.” He also tied the return of dividend growth to the end of the patent losses, which Pfizer says weigh on revenue through 2028. So the risk is a dividend that sits still for a few years.
Enbridge: steady cash, heavier debt
Pfizer’s free cash flow swings with its drugs. Enbridge’s distributable cash flow has climbed instead, from C$4.08 a share in fiscal 2016 to C$5.71 in fiscal 2025, ahead of the dividend every year…
Coverage ranged from 1.44x (fiscal 2020) to 1.92x (fiscal 2016) over that decade. A comfortable 1.51x in fiscal 2025 leaves room for raises. On Dec. 3, 2025, Enbridge declared its 31st consecutive annual increase, 3% to C$0.97 a quarter.
Enbridge’s business is still growing, too. Adjusted EBITDA rose to C$4.8 billion in the second quarter of 2026 from C$4.6 billion a year earlier, and the secured project backlog reached about C$41 billion. Management guides to about 5% a year growth in DCF per share after 2026, and CEO Greg Ebel put it this way: “We will continue to add visibility to, and extend, our 5% growth outlook further into the future.”
The risk is debt: by Enbridge’s own measure, it was 5.1x EBITDA at the end of June, above its 4.5x to 5.0x target.
Enbridge pays in Canadian dollars, so the US-dollar check moves with the exchange rate. Canada also withholds tax on dividends paid to US holders.
So which dividend wins?
Enbridge gets my dividend dollars for the next 10 years.
On the simple income math, Pfizer comes out ahead. If each dividend keeps growing at its fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2025 pace, $10,000 in Pfizer pays about $7,059 over the decade, against about $6,903 in Enbridge (figured in Canadian dollars), a gap of about $157. Enbridge’s yearly income doesn’t pass Pfizer’s until about 2035.
Pfizer’s lead leans on those 2.5% raises, though, and Bourla has tied the next round of growth to the end of the patent losses. A couple of flat years would wipe out that $157. Enbridge’s 3% raises, by contrast, come out of cash flow that covers the dividend 1.51x, with management guiding to about 5% a year growth behind it.
Pfizer’s case is real: it’s the bigger check today, it has the far stronger balance sheet, and management sees high single-digit revenue growth from the end of 2028 through 2033. It’s just that, over 10 years, I’d rather own the dividend whose cash flow already has room to keep raising it.
Of course, Enbridge still has to bring its debt back inside its target by the end of 2026, as it expects. If it can’t, those raises could slow.
So what is Enbridge stock actually worth?
TIKR lets you forecast the future price of any stock in less than a minute. Just enter a few assumptions into TIKR’s valuation model and see what Enbridge could be worth. Start from Wall Street consensus estimates, or adjust the inputs to reflect your own view of the business. It’s free to use.
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!
