Shares of Pfizer (PFE) are always known for the ample yield they pay - currently around 3.5% - but in terms of price appreciation, PFE has never been a stock that moved much. It has produced a slow grind higher in the past few years and that's great, but I think PFE's margins have played a significant part in not only its earnings, but the way investors view those earnings going out into the future. In this article, using data from Seeking Alpha, I'll take a look at PFE's operating earnings to see what we can glean about the stock going forward from its margin behavior.
We'll begin with a look at the past five years of operating margin data as well as what has happened in the first half of 2017.
