Opportunities & Risks in Q2 Earnings: Almonty Industries, BioNTech, Danaher, Pfizer, and Sartorius

BioNTech and Pfizer: Two Fallen COVID-19 Stars on the Verge of the Next Turning Point

The former pandemic winners are once again in the spotlight. On August 4, Pfizer (WKN: 852009 | ISIN: US7170811035 | Ticker: PFE) and BioNTech (WKN: A2PSR2 | ISIN: US09075V1026 | Ticker: BNTX) will report their quarterly results. Although both companies continue to profit from the Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine, their starting positions could hardly be more different.

Politics has added to the uncertainty in recent months. The US has imposed tariffs of up to 100% on certain imported, patent-protected drugs. However, companies can obtain exemptions if they reach pricing agreements with the US government and increase production in the US. Pfizer has entered into such an agreement and is therefore better positioned than BioNTech. At the same time, the company is reviewing certain investments due to planned cost-cutting measures for drugs in Germany. This is no contradiction: In the United States, Pfizer receives tariff protection but, in return, makes concessions on drug prices.

Pfizer's core business also performed steadily. In the first quarter, revenue rose by 5% to USD 14.45 billion. According to the company, revenue excluding Comirnaty and the COVID-19 drug Paxlovid grew by 7%. In contrast, global Comirnaty revenue fell by 59% to USD 232 million. For 2026, Pfizer expects total revenue of USD 59.5 to USD 62.5 billion and adjusted earnings of USD 2.80 to USD 3.00 per share.

With a share price of around USD 25, investors are thus paying 8.6 times the expected annual earnings. The dividend yield currently stands at about 6.9%. The balance sheet is also stronger than the company's net debt level would suggest. According to the latest figures published at the end of March, Pfizer had assets totaling USD 207.6 billion. After deducting all liabilities, USD 90.4 billion in equity remained. Pfizer shares have remained virtually unchanged both since the start of the year and over the past 52 weeks. Its recent trading range has been between approximately USD 23.20 and USD 28.50. However, it is still far from its previous record high of about USD 61.

BioNTech shares, on the other hand, have primarily become a bet on new cancer drugs. In the first quarter, the company generated EUR 118.1 million in revenue and posted a loss of EUR 531.9 million. However, the first quarter is typically weak due to seasonal factors, as most vaccine revenue is not realized until the fall. At the same time, BioNTech held EUR 16.8 billion in cash and securities. This financial cushion enables the company to fund the expensive clinical trials and research on its own for several years. For 2026, BioNTech expects revenue of EUR 2.0 to 2.3 billion and plans to invest between EUR 2.2 and 2.5 billion in research and the development of new drugs. The stock itself is trading at around USD 92, and its market capitalization is approximately USD 23 billion. Since the beginning of the year, the share has lost 4%, bringing its total losses over the past year to 17%. This stock is also far from its all-time high during the pandemic of around USD 460.

Almonty Industries: Tungsten Production as a Geopolitical Lever

Almonty Industries (WKN: A414Q8 | ISIN: CA0203987072 | Ticker Symbol: ALI1) has established itself over the past 24 months as an indispensable player in the commodities sector from a geopolitical perspective, as the West urgently seeks to build secure supply chains for critical metals such as tungsten due to restrictive export controls. A key milestone in the implementation of the company's strategy is the Sangdong tungsten mine in South Korea. With the ramp-up phase proceeding as scheduled, the mine successfully began processing tungsten ore in July 2026. This marked the Group's transformation into a full-fledged producer in South Korea. Before this, 139.7 million metric tons of ore with an average tungsten content of 0.25% were already stockpiled there. This corresponds to a balance-sheet value of approximately USD 68 million. The highly efficient mining of tungsten ore in Sangdong now forms the company's financial foundation for the coming decades, enabling it to convert the vast tungsten reserves into significant cash flow.

The increase in operational production was recently reinforced by a massive expansion of the long-term offtake agreement with Global Tungsten & Powders. This provides both companies with long-term planning certainty, which Almonty's investors are likely to welcome. This contract, extended to 21 years, increases the guaranteed purchase volume by 40% to 4.41 million MTU, which corresponds to a minimum annual purchase of 210,000 MTU once the mine reaches full capacity in Phase 1. Almonty's profitability is further boosted by a revised pricing formula that raises the average selling price by 6.3% and is expected to secure the company at least USD 30 million in additional annual revenue. Since Phase 2 of the mine's expansion has not yet begun, management is preserving additional mining capacity for future production expansions in a market that remains in deficit.

This ongoing expansion strategy is supported by a USD 800 million offering of convertible senior notes issued in June 2026. After deducting placement costs, a total of USD 772.7 million in net proceeds remained, which were allocated to debt refinancing, further project development and/or investments in other companies and tungsten projects. The current market environment provides significant tailwinds for this, as prices for ammonium paratungstate (APT), for example, have risen to USD 3.125 per MTU due to rising defence demand and structural market shortages. In this strategically driven buyer's market, analysts see a fundamental revaluation of the stock. The corresponding price targets have recently been revised upward repeatedly and now stand at CAD 38.90 (approximately EUR 24.31).

Sartorius Shares After Price Drop: Will a Decision Be Made Now?

The Sartorius share (WKN: 716563 | ISIN: DE0007165631 | Ticker: SRT3) is facing a pivotal trading day. On Tuesday, July 21, the stock came under pressure, falling by more than 10% at times, and closed about 8.5% lower at EUR 217.20. On Wednesday and Thursday, the price stabilized again in the EUR 223 range. This was not triggered by company-specific news, but rather by the quarterly results of US competitor Danaher (WKN: 866197 | ISIN: US2358511028 | Ticker Symbol: DAP).

To avoid misunderstandings, there are two classes of shares at Sartorius: the common stock with voting rights (ticker SRT) and the preferred stock SRT3 without regular voting rights. Both perform very similarly, but the preferred stock has a higher free float and is traded much more actively. The company is listed on the German MDAX and TecDAX indices, and when we refer to the Sartorius stock below, we are therefore referring to the preferred stock SRT3.

Now to the catalyst for the sell-off. Danaher increased its Q2 revenue by 5.5% to USD 6.27 billion, while adjusted earnings per share rose by 8% to USD 1.94. However, cautious signals from the important bioprocessing business caused concern. Project delays at customers weighed on the company's revenue, even though order intake grew in the mid-teens. For the third quarter, Danaher expects organic revenue growth of only 2 to 3%, and the full-year forecast range has been narrowed to 3 to 4%. As a result, Danaher's stock lost about 11%.

Since bioprocessing is Sartorius's largest business segment, investors extended these concerns to the Göttingen-based group. Danaher is currently valued at approximately USD 126 billion. The stock is down 22% year-to-date and 6% over the past 52 weeks. Sartorius shares have lost about 9% so far in 2026, but are trading about 16% higher on a 52-week basis. The company's market capitalization stands at approximately EUR 15.2 billion.

However, the half-year results show that the negative reaction was somewhat exaggerated. In the second quarter, Sartorius increased revenue by 3.1% on a currency-adjusted basis to EUR 911.8 million. Adjusted EBIT rose by 24.3% to EUR 164 million. For the full year, management continues to expect revenue growth of 5% to 9% and an EBITDA margin of slightly over 30%.

From a technical analysis perspective, SRT3 has been trading within a broad range between approximately EUR 200 and 250 since April 2025. In the short term, the EUR 200 level represents the key support, while EUR 240 to 250 constitutes the critical resistance zone. The outlook would only brighten above EUR 250; a breakout above the 52-week high of just under EUR 267 would be a strong bullish signal that investors should watch for. Below EUR 200, however, the area around EUR 176 could come back into focus. The record high of around EUR 630 from 2021 remains a distant prospect for now.

On August 4, we will see whether Pfizer can maintain its outlook and whether BioNTech has made progress on its cancer programs. For more conservative investors, Pfizer remains the better choice among dividend stocks. BioNTech, on the other hand, offers more scientific opportunities but also carries a correspondingly much higher development risk.

With production ramping up, reliable offtake partners in place, and a strong cash position, Almonty Industries is emerging as a scalable investment opportunity tied to the global tungsten shortage. Analysts see further upside potential of over 90%.

To reach its previous all-time highs again, Sartorius shares would need to rise by nearly 188% from its current level of EUR 219. Investors should therefore take a closer look at the latest Q2 figures, as these could provide clues about whether order trends, margins, and the outlook signal the next major move toward new highs or lows.