Home › Stock screens › pharmaceutical stocks
Best pharmaceutical stocks
Large pharma is a patent-cliff management business: today's cash flow is known, the question is always what replaces it.
The screen: 5 US exchange-listed companies in Health Care, 5 of which pay a dividend. Size mix: 3 mega-cap, 2 large-cap.
What separates the winners from the losers here
- Loss-of-exclusivity dates for the top three products
- Phase III readouts inside the next 24 months
- Whether M&A is filling the gap at sensible prices
The full list
| Ticker | Company | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| LLY | Eli Lilly | Incretin franchise driving obesity and diabetes growth. |
| JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | Pharma and medtech with a long dividend record. |
| ABBV | AbbVie | Immunology portfolio replacing Humira revenue. |
| MRK | Merck | Oncology concentration around a single blockbuster. |
| PFE | Pfizer | Post-pandemic pipeline rebuild with a high payout. |
Where to buy them
To hold these as real shares you need a stockbroker rather than a CFD provider. If you only want exposure to the price movement, a share CFD does that with leverage — and without ownership.
Compare every broker for US stocks →
Frequently asked questions
How many pharmaceutical stocks are in this list?
5, drawn from our US exchange-listed universe and spread across 1 sector. 5 of them pay a dividend.
Is this a list of pharmaceutical stocks to buy?
No. It is a screen — a defined, reproducible filter over a stated universe. A screen tells you which companies share a characteristic; it says nothing about whether the price you would pay today is a sensible one. Nothing here is investment advice.
What is the main risk with pharmaceutical stocks?
One failed trial or one adverse label change can remove a decade of expected cash flow overnight.
How do I actually buy these from outside the US?
You need a broker that accepts your country of residence and gives you access to US exchanges. To own the shares outright, that usually means an international stockbroker plus a W-8BEN form to claim your treaty rate on dividend withholding.
Screen definition reviewed August 2026. Universe: US exchange-listed securities tracked by InvestingTrading. This page is information, not investment advice.