Who are Moderna’s competitors?
Moderna names 5 companies as competitors in its latest annual report, on 3 fronts. 2 companies name Moderna back.
Skip to the field, head to head ↓Moderna company profile
Moderna's rivals vary by vaccine, but Pfizer meets it on several fronts
Moderna names 5 competitors, yet the list is less crowded than it looks. Pfizer is the rival in COVID and in RSV, where Moderna says Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline "entered the U.S. market prior to us". Novavax also describes mRNA flu vaccines as coming from companies including Moderna and Pfizer. Other names appear once. Pfizer keeps coming back.
The two companies are not the same size. Moderna had revenue of $1.9 billion, down 40%, with a net margin of -145%. Pfizer had $62.6 billion, down 2%, with a net margin of 12%. Pfizer also completed its Seagen acquisition on December 14, 2023, which added cancer medicines to a business that already reaches well beyond vaccines.
So it is the same fight with different stakes. For Moderna, each vaccine contest is a large part of the company's future. For Pfizer, a vaccine contest is one bet among many. Moderna's strategic question is less about who the rivals are than about who can afford to stay in the fight longest.
Where Moderna says it competes
“We largely compete against Pfizer and BioNTech for sales of our COVID vaccines, whose vaccine is also based on mRNA technology.”
“With respect to our RSV vaccine, we compete against Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline, who entered the U.S. market prior to us”
“We also compete against other vaccines, including Sanofi and Novavax’s.”
Who names Moderna as a competitor
“A number of competitors currently have programs to develop COVID-19 vaccine candidates, including vaccines developed by Moderna, Inc. and Novavax, Inc .”
20-F for 2025“Several competitors are working on developing seasonal influenza vaccines using different technologies than those in existing marketed vaccines, the most notable being mRNA from companies including Moderna and Pfizer.”
10-K for 2025The field, from the filings
| Company | Fiscal year | Revenue | Growth | Net margin | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moderna | 2025 | $1.9B | −40% | −145% | 4,700 |
| Pfizer | 2025 | $62.6B | −2% | 12% | – |
| Novavax | 2025 | $1.1B | +65% | 39% | 1,543 |
Each company’s latest fiscal year as reported to the SEC, in US dollars; fiscal years end in different months. Rivals that report outside the US or in other currencies are not shown.
What the rivals have done lately
Decisions that shaped the field
| Pfizer Made $57 Billion From COVID. Then It Spent $43 Billion to Replace Itself. | 2023 | Never undone |
Asked about Moderna’s competitors
Who are Moderna's competitors?
In its annual report for fiscal 2025, Moderna names 5 competitors across 3 fronts: competitors in covid vaccine sales, rival rsv vaccine makers and rival vaccine makers. 10-K for fiscal 2025
Which companies name Moderna as a competitor?
2 companies in our coverage name it in their own annual reports: BioNTech and Novavax.
How does Moderna compare with its rivals?
Moderna reported $1.9B in revenue in its latest fiscal year, −40% on a year, with a −145% net margin. Pfizer: $62.6B, 12% net margin; Novavax: $1.1B, 39% net margin.
What are the alternatives to Moderna?
The companies Moderna itself names as competitors are listed above, front by front, each in its own report’s words. Which matters for a given buyer depends on the job, not the list.
What would it actually cost a challenger to take your customer?
Sources: Moderna’s annual report for fiscal 2025; the annual reports of the companies that name it; each company’s financial data as reported to the SEC; Stratrix Decision Records. Analysis and data, not advice.
Keep going
Tools to try
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- Business model canvas builderFramework: Business Model Canvas
- Change readiness checkFramework: Kotter's 8-Step Change Model
- Five Forces scorerFramework: Porter's Five Forces
- SMART goal builderFramework: SMART Goals
- SWOT builderFramework: SWOT Analysis
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