Wyeth

Wyeth is among the world’s largest Pharmaceuticals sector businesses in the world. Wyeth’s employees generate $4.331B in profits on $20.881B of revenue. Global output in the Pharmaceuticals business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years. Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but Wyeth is determined to remain a market leader. Sectoral leadership in the Pharmaceuticals segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

Wyeth’s ticker symbol WYE has recently been trading near $57.68 a share. The Wyeth corporate headquarters in Madison NJ predicts Pharmaceuticals profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $77.589B ensures sufficient liquidity. With a beta of 0.51, the company is less volatile than the market as a whole. When the average equity moves lower, Wyeth moves less aggressively.

Schering-Plough

Schering-Plough is among the world’s largest Pharmaceuticals sector businesses in the world. Schering-Plough’s employees generate $1.336B in profits on $11.018B of revenue. Global output in the Pharmaceuticals business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years. Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but Schering-Plough is determined to remain a market leader. Sectoral leadership in the Pharmaceuticals segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

Schering-Plough’s ticker symbol SGP has recently been trading near $30.65 a share. The Schering-Plough corporate headquarters in Kenilworth NJ predicts Pharmaceuticals profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $45.650B ensures sufficient liquidity. With a beta of 0.97, the company is less volatile than the market as a whole. When the average equity moves lower, Schering-Plough moves less aggressively.

Pfizer, Inc.

Pfizer, Inc. is among the world’s largest Pharmaceuticals sector businesses in the world. Pfizer, Inc.’s employees generate $18.618B in profits on $49.098B of revenue. Global output in the Pharmaceuticals business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years. Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but Pfizer, Inc. is determined to remain a market leader. Sectoral leadership in the Pharmaceuticals segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

Pfizer, Inc.’s ticker symbol PFE has recently been trading near $25.69 a share. The Pfizer, Inc. corporate headquarters in New York NY predicts Pharmaceuticals profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $180.299B ensures sufficient liquidity. With a beta of 0.89, the company is less volatile than the market as a whole. When the average equity moves lower, Pfizer, Inc. moves less aggressively.

Lilly (Eli) and Co.

Lilly (Eli) and Co. is among the world’s largest Pharmaceuticals sector businesses in the world.  Lilly (Eli) and Co.’s employees generate $2.337B in profits on $16.202B of revenue.  Global output in the Pharmaceuticals business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years.  Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but Lilly (Eli) and Co. is determined to remain a market leader.  Sectoral leadership in the Pharmaceuticals segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

Lilly (Eli) and Co.’s ticker symbol LLY has recently been trading near $56.43 a share.  The Lilly (Eli) and Co. corporate headquarters in Indianapolis IN predicts Pharmaceuticals profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $63.994B ensures sufficient liquidity.  With a beta of 0.65, the company is less volatile than the market as a whole.  When the average equity moves lower, Lilly (Eli) and Co. moves less aggressively.

Merck and Co.

Merck and Co. is among the world’s largest Pharmaceuticals sector businesses in the world.  Merck and Co.’s employees generate $4.618B in profits on $22.996B of revenue.  Global output in the Pharmaceuticals business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years.  Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but Merck and Co. is determined to remain a market leader.  Sectoral leadership in the Pharmaceuticals segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

Merck and Co.’s ticker symbol MRK has recently been trading near $49.35 a share.  The Merck and Co. corporate headquarters in Whitehouse Station NJ predicts Pharmaceuticals profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $106.955B ensures sufficient liquidity.  With a beta of 1.11, the company is more volatile than the market as a whole.  When the average equity moves higher, Merck and Co. moves more aggressively.

King Pharmaceuticals

King Pharmaceuticals is among the world’s largest Pharmaceuticals sector businesses in the world.  King Pharmaceuticals’s employees generate $354.2M in profits on $2.020B of revenue.  Global output in the Pharmaceuticals business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years.  Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but King Pharmaceuticals is determined to remain a market leader.  Sectoral leadership in the Pharmaceuticals segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

King Pharmaceuticals’s ticker symbol KG has recently been trading near $20.66 a share.  The King Pharmaceuticals corporate headquarters in Bristol TN predicts Pharmaceuticals profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $5.034B ensures sufficient liquidity.  With a beta of 0.85, the company is less volatile than the market as a whole.  When the average equity moves lower, King Pharmaceuticals moves less aggressively.

Mylan Laboratories

Mylan Laboratories is among the world’s largest Pharmaceuticals sector businesses in the world.  Mylan Laboratories’s employees generate $217.3M in profits on $1.612B of revenue.  Global output in the Pharmaceuticals business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years.  Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but Mylan Laboratories is determined to remain a market leader.  Sectoral leadership in the Pharmaceuticals segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

Mylan Laboratories’s ticker symbol MYL has recently been trading near $18.05 a share.  The Mylan Laboratories corporate headquarters in Canonsburg PA predicts Pharmaceuticals profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $4.488B ensures sufficient liquidity.  With a beta of 0.80, the company is less volatile than the market as a whole.  When the average equity moves lower, Mylan Laboratories moves less aggressively.

Johnson and Johnson

Johnson and Johnson is among the world’s largest Pharmaceuticals sector businesses in the world. Johnson and Johnson’s employees generate $10.321B in profits on $55.369B of revenue. Global output in the Pharmaceuticals business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years. Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but Johnson and Johnson is determined to remain a market leader. Sectoral leadership in the Pharmaceuticals segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

Johnson and Johnson’s ticker symbol JNJ has recently been trading near $61.72 a share. The Johnson and Johnson corporate headquarters in New Brunswick NJ predicts Pharmaceuticals profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $178.776B ensures sufficient liquidity. With a beta of 0.21, the company is less volatile than the market as a whole. When the average equity moves lower, Johnson and Johnson moves less aggressively.

Forest Laboratories

Forest Laboratories is among the world’s largest Pharmaceuticals sector businesses in the world.  Forest Laboratories’s employees generate $454.1M in profits on $3.360B of revenue.  Global output in the Pharmaceuticals business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years.  Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but Forest Laboratories is determined to remain a market leader.  Sectoral leadership in the Pharmaceuticals segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

Forest Laboratories’s ticker symbol FRX has recently been trading near $45.87 a share.  The Forest Laboratories corporate headquarters in New York NY predicts Pharmaceuticals profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $14.679B ensures sufficient liquidity.  With a beta of 1.35, the company is more volatile than the market as a whole.  When the average equity moves higher, Forest Laboratories moves more aggressively.

Celgene Corp.

Celgene Corp. is among the world’s largest Biotechnology sector businesses in the world. Celgene Corp.’s employees generate $110.4M in profits on $1.010B of revenue. Global output in the Biotechnology business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years. Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but Celgene Corp. is determined to remain a market leader. Sectoral leadership in the Biotechnology segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

Celgene Corp.’s ticker symbol CELG has recently been trading near $58.05 a share. The Celgene Corp. corporate headquarters in Summit, NJ predicts Biotechnology profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $22.052B ensures sufficient liquidity. With a beta of 0.44, the company is less volatile than the market as a whole. When the average equity moves lower, Celgene Corp. moves less aggressively.

BIOGEN IDEC Inc.

BIOGEN IDEC Inc. is among the world’s largest Biotechnology sector businesses in the world. BIOGEN IDEC Inc.’s employees generate $226.0M in profits on $1.953B of revenue. Global output in the Biotechnology business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years. Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but BIOGEN IDEC Inc. is determined to remain a market leader. Sectoral leadership in the Biotechnology segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

BIOGEN IDEC Inc.’s ticker symbol BIIB has recently been trading near $53.43 a share. The BIOGEN IDEC Inc. corporate headquarters in Cambridge, MA predicts Biotechnology profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $18.282B ensures sufficient liquidity. With a beta of 1.09, the company is more volatile than the market as a whole. When the average equity moves higher, BIOGEN IDEC Inc. moves more aggressively.

Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is among the world’s largest Pharmaceuticals sector businesses in the world. Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s employees generate $222.7M in profits on $2.105B of revenue. Global output in the Pharmaceuticals business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years. Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is determined to remain a market leader. Sectoral leadership in the Pharmaceuticals segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s ticker symbol BRL has recently been trading near $50.76 a share. The Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. corporate headquarters in Pomona, NY predicts Pharmaceuticals profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $5.571B ensures sufficient liquidity. With a beta of 0.35, the company is less volatile than the market as a whole. When the average equity moves lower, Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. moves less aggressively.

Bristol-Myers Squibb

Bristol-Myers Squibb is among the world’s largest Pharmaceuticals sector businesses in the world. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s employees generate $1.561B in profits on $17.714B of revenue. Global output in the Pharmaceuticals business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years. Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but Bristol-Myers Squibb is determined to remain a market leader. Sectoral leadership in the Pharmaceuticals segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

Bristol-Myers Squibb’s ticker symbol BMY has recently been trading near $31.50 a share. The Bristol-Myers Squibb corporate headquarters in New York, NY predicts Pharmaceuticals profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $61.994B ensures sufficient liquidity. With a beta of 1.19, the company is more volatile than the market as a whole. When the average equity moves higher, Bristol-Myers Squibb moves more aggressively.

Allergan, Inc.

Allergan, Inc. is among the world’s largest Pharmaceuticals sector businesses in the world. Allergan, Inc.’s employees generate $361.2M in profits on $3.324B of revenue. Global output in the Pharmaceuticals business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years. Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but Allergan, Inc. is determined to remain a market leader. Sectoral leadership in the Pharmaceuticals segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

Allergan, Inc.’s ticker symbol AGN has recently been trading near $57.44 a share. The Allergan, Inc. corporate headquarters in Irvine, CA predicts Pharmaceuticals profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $17.524B ensures sufficient liquidity. With a beta of 1.88, the company is more volatile than the market as a whole. When the average equity moves higher, Allergan, Inc. moves more aggressively.

AmerisourceBergen Corp.

AmerisourceBergen Corp. is among the world’s largest Health Care Distributors sector businesses in the world. AmerisourceBergen Corp.’s employees generate $493.1M in profits on $64.567B of revenue. Global output in the Health Care Distributors business will likely rise substantially over the next 10 years. Long-term economic growth may lift all boats, but AmerisourceBergen Corp. is determined to remain a market leader. Sectoral leadership in the Health Care Distributors segment takes dedication and consistency, but management seeks out-sized growth.

AmerisourceBergen Corp.’s ticker symbol ABC has recently been trading near $49.63 a share. The AmerisourceBergen Corp. corporate headquarters in Chesterbrook, PA predicts Health Care Distributors profits will satisfy shareholders in search of risk-appropriate returns.

The significance of market volume is sometimes ignored, but with a total market capitalization of $9.483B ensures sufficient liquidity. With a beta of 0.59, the company is less volatile than the market as a whole. When the average equity moves lower, AmerisourceBergen Corp. moves less aggressively.

Amgen Inc.

Amgen is a biotechnology powerhouse with more than 16,000 employees. The company's impressive business model is built around developing and marketing new pharmaceutical products. The process of drug discovery is notoriously fickle, and there is no such thing as a sure winner. Amgen has distinguished itself by making an unprecedented commitment to research and development. More than half of the company's total costs in any given year are research and development combined with capital spending.

A relatively young company, some of Amgen's early successes are still under patent protection. This gives the company a large lift in the competitive race to develop new treatments. Margins in the biopharmaceuticals niche are high, with $12.4 billion in revenue leading to more than $3.6 billion in net income.

Amgen is a highly profitable company that works every day for the betterment of mankind. And the company's commitment to investment dramatically increases the odds that Amgen will score big again soon. Stocks purchased on the hope of FDA approval for new drugs amount entirely to speculation. Yet the odds favor companies with many drugs under development to eventually find a winner. And Amgen knows how to play those odds.

Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories markets diversified pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The company's more than 60,000 employees create over $1.7 billion in net income on revenue of more than $22.4 billion. While Abbott's net profit margin doesn't seem very large by industry standards, the company isn't a pure play pharma stock. Rather, the company has a profitable but much lower margin business selling nutritional supplements like Ensure, a flavored shake with more medicinal marketing than Slimfast that is nonetheless substantially the same product.

Abbott Labs has been particularly vulnerable to an industry-wide trend toward class-action lawsuits centering around drugs that the FDA allows on the market but later finds to be toxic or somehow unsafe. Cancer drug Humira, weight loss drug Meridia, and painkiller OxyContin are all prominent examples of drugs that already have or will cost Abbott hundreds of millions of dollars to settle lawsuits.

Abbott Laboratories has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on basic research and development, clinical trials, and other expenses related to bringing new medications to market. The fact that many of the drugs that ultimately blew up in Abbott's face passed FDA review suggests that just getting medications onto the market may not be enough to guarantee massive profits. Abbott Laboratories might be the canary in the coal mine, or not, but investors considering the pharma sector should pay careful attention.

Merck

Ever since the Vioxx scare caused Merck's stock to collapse, one of America's pre-eminent pharmaceutical giants has been on a tear. The companies legal strategy - to fight thousands of individual lawsuits instead of settling - has proven to be a stunning success. New product development in the pharma sphere is notoriously fraught with risk, yet Merck's history of aggressive internal research and development combined with a willingness to join in strategic partnerships puts the company on sure footing.

With a company of Merck's size, the ability of any single product to significantly shift the bottom line is minimized. Yet, some risks to the company's long-run growth do have that potential. In particular, any universal health care proposal put forward in the coming election cycle is likely to put a big brake on earnings growth. It's easy to underestimate health care costs in a society where nearly 50 million people forgo any form of health insurance. No more people will get sick or injured as a result of changed payment mechanisms, but sticker shock is going to set in quickly when many people move to take advantage of mid-tier services for the first time.