Pfizer PFE

Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and his cousin, Charles Erhart, Pfizer started as a humble fine chemicals business in Brooklyn and has since swaggered its way into the pharmaceutical big leagues with all the grace of a high-stakes gambler. Known for its blockbuster drugs and occasional PR blunders, Pfizer's defining moment came with the creation of Viagra in 1998—a little blue pill that turned a world of limp sales into a financial rocket ride. The company's recent brush with glory—or infamy—was its high-profile role in developing the COVID-19 vaccine, which, despite being a scientific triumph, also sparked a slew of controversies over vaccine mandates and patent politics. With a valuation hovering around $400 billion, Pfizer's portfolio is a pharmacopeia of both wonder drugs and scandalous side effects. Under the leadership of CEO Albert Bourla, Pfizer has both dazzled with innovation and stumbled through legal spats, most notably its $2.3 billion settlement in 2009 for illegal marketing practices. As it navigates the murky waters of global health and corporate ethics, Pfizer continues to remind us that in the world of big pharma, the stakes are as high as the profits.