‘It Kills Me to Say That’: Cramer Won’t Recommend Pfizer, Even With Its Dividend

Jim Cramer stared down a stock yielding over 6% and sitting near its 52-week low, and still would not tell viewers to buy it. On the July 7 episode of CNBC’s Mad Money, a caller from Orland Park, Illinois pitched Pfizer as an income-and-value setup, and Cramer conceded the case looked tempting. He landed on a reluctant pass anyway, telling the caller, “It kills me to say that a stock that yields 7% that used to have a lot of growth is going to have growth again, but I can’t come up with where the growth is. I just can’t. I’m sorry.”

The Caller and the Setup

After a friendly exchange about Cramer’s 2:47 AM wake-up habit and a shout-out to a staffer named Sean, the Orland Park caller framed the question plainly: “I’m looking at a pharmaceutical company. You’ve had the CEO on your show several times over the past few years. Pays a high dividend. Down near the 52-week low. What do you think about Pfizer, Jim?” It is the kind of pitch that usually gets a warmer response from a host who has hosted CEO Albert Bourla repeatedly.

Cramer’s Reasoning on Pfizer

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE | PFE Price Prediction) drew a diagnosis rather than an endorsement. Cramer told the caller, “Okay, they do have earnings growth problems. They haven’t been able to make the Seagen acquisition work the way it should. The dividend is safe at 7%.” The Seagen deal, closed in December 2023 for roughly $43 billion, was supposed to seed Pfizer’s post-COVID oncology franchise. Padcev, one of the assets that came over, did grow 39% operationally in Q1 2026, but that gain has not been enough to offset a 59% drop in Comirnaty and a 63% operational decline in Paxlovid.

The headline numbers still show a company that beats expectations with regularity. Pfizer posted Q1 2026 revenue of $14.45 billion against a $13.80 billion estimate, adjusted EPS of $0.75 (a fifth consecutive beat), per the company’s 8-K filing. Net income of $2.687 billion was down 9.44% year over year, and operating income fell 31.44%. That is the growth gap Cramer is pointing at.

Since the July 7 episode aired, Pfizer has added another data point. Q2 2026 revenue came in at $15.0 billion, topping estimates of $14.41 billion, with adjusted diluted EPS of $0.77. CEO Albert Bourla noted that Pfizer has now exceeded consensus revenue expectations in nine of the past ten quarters and beaten adjusted EPS expectations in each of the past ten. The quarter was not without turbulence: a $4.3 billion non-cash intangible asset impairment charge, driven partly by disappointing late-stage lung cancer trial results for sigvotatug vedotin, pushed the company to a reported loss per share of $(0.04). On the COVID franchise, Pfizer lowered its full-year Comirnaty and Paxlovid revenue estimate to approximately $4 billion, down from roughly $5 billion.

The Core Tension: Safe Yield, No Obvious Growth Catalyst

Cramer’s stance boils down to a test that a safe payout alone does not clear. Pfizer’s quarterly dividend of $0.43 has now been declared for three consecutive quarters in 2026, extending an unbroken streak that reached its 351st consecutive quarterly payment as of September 2026. Management has signaled no buybacks in 2026 despite a $3.3 billion remaining authorization, with cash flowing to the dividend and to pipeline-building transactions.

The most consequential of those bets was the Metsera acquisition, completed in November 2025 for approximately $10 billion in total value after a bidding contest with Novo Nordisk. Metsera’s lead asset, MET-097i, is a monthly injectable GLP-1 that Bourla has said could reach the market as early as 2028. The deal is expected to be dilutive through 2030. Pfizer also signed a collaboration with Innovent Biologics in May 2026 worth up to $10.5 billion, covering 12 oncology programs across antibody-drug conjugates and multi-specific antibodies. Pfizer paid $650 million upfront, with up to $9.85 billion more tied to development and commercial milestones. The Innovent transaction closed on July 10, 2026, and will carry roughly a $0.10 per share drag on 2026 adjusted EPS. Those are bold moves to re-seed a pipeline facing a significant patent cliff. They have not yet moved the earnings needle in a way that satisfies Cramer.

What the Market Says Now

The market’s verdict has shifted meaningfully since early July. Pfizer closed at $24.05 on July 8, the day after the episode aired, down 6% over the prior month and near the low end of its 52-week range. By early September 2026, shares had climbed to roughly $28.51, putting the stock up approximately 12% year to date. The 52-week range has been reset to $23.58 on the low end and $29.09 on the high end. At current prices, the annual dividend of $1.72 per share produces a trailing yield closer to 6%, down from the 7%-plus that framed the original conversation. Pfizer raised the midpoint of its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $61.5 billion after Q2 results, and reaffirmed adjusted EPS guidance of $2.80 to $3.00. Forward P/E sits at roughly 8x, reflecting the market’s continued skepticism about Eliquis and Vyndaqel patent expirations, IRA Medicare Part D redesign pressure, and Most-Favored-Nation drug pricing risk.

Analyst sentiment has also shifted. According to 28 analysts polled by S&P Global, the consensus rating on Pfizer has moved to “Buy,” with an average price target of roughly $28.61. That represents a notable upgrade from the picture Cramer was looking at in early July, when Hold ratings dominated the board. Bourla also purchased $1 million of company stock in the open market following the Q2 earnings release, a signal that insiders see value at these levels.

For readers weighing this against other high-yield names, our ongoing Paycheck Portfolio coverage tracks how income investors are handling yield traps versus durable payers in 2026.

The Bottom Line

Cramer’s take was Cramer’s take, recorded at a specific moment on a specific chart. Income investors who care most about a covered payout may reasonably read the same facts and reach a different conclusion. Growth investors hunting a clear near-term catalyst will hear Cramer clearly, even as the stock has recovered ground since he spoke. This is reporting on his opinion, and readers should treat it as such. Do your own research before acting.

Editor’s note: This article was updated to reflect Pfizer’s Q2 2026 earnings results, a revised 52-week trading range, a current share price near $28.51, the completed Innovent Biologics collaboration and its $650 million upfront payment, and a shift in analyst consensus from Hold-dominated to a “Buy” rating per S&P Global data. The Metsera acquisition value was also corrected to approximately $10 billion in total deal value, up from the initial $7 billion enterprise value cited at signing.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.