Pfizer, Inc. (PFE)

The pandemic gave the company an exceptionally large but temporary revenue source — a vaccine and an antiviral. Their sales fell sharply, and for several years afterwards year-on-year comparisons looked disastrous because of the high base rather than any deterioration in the core business.

The cash earned then went into deals: oncology through the Seagen acquisition, migraine treatments, vaccines and an obesity programme. The purpose is to replace departing revenue and prepare for patent expiries on several large medicines in the second half of the decade.

The company pays one of the highest dividends in the sector, and its sustainability is a recurring investor debate: the payout sits alongside debt raised for acquisitions. The risks are the industry's usual ones — trial results, regulatory decisions and pressure on drug pricing.