GREED WATCH: Big Drug Companies Make Record-Breaking Sales While Seniors With Cancer Get Sold Out Thanks to Donald Trump

Ten Top Drugmakers Collectively Raked In Nearly $300 Billion, A Record High, In the Wake of Trump’s Blockbuster Bailouts and Sham Deals 

In the wealthiest nation on earth, no one should have to choose between putting food on the table and affording the medications they need to survive. A record-high 59 percent of Americans say they are struggling to afford their prescription drugs, yet big drug companies are having a banner year under Donald Trump. Collectively, ten of the top drugmakers made a stunning $298 billion in revenue in just the first half of 2026, more than the economies of the countries of Monaco, Croatia, Iceland, Latvia, and Luxembourg combined. And while Trump touts his so-called deals, the reality is his policies have done nothing but allow drug companies to save face, dodge tariffs, and escape future drug pricing efforts while at the same time hiking the price of prescription drug coverage for millions.

Big Pharma’s pay-to-play multimillion-dollar investments at Mar-a-Lago paid off after Republicans allowed them to bypass Medicare drug price negotiations and raise prices on drugs that millions of vulnerable Americans rely on. Republicans designed these policies to carve out the industry’s top-selling products from Medicare drug price negotiation, allowing big drug companies to charge seniors even more for highly expensive and lifesaving drugs. This includes the most commonly prescribed cancer immunotherapy in the country, Keytruda, and the breakthrough treatment for multiple sclerosis, Kesimpta. Thanks to the GOP’s blockbuster giveaway, seniors with conditions from anemia to cancer to autoimmune diseases will be forced to pay thousands more out of pocket for their prescriptions while big drug companies rake in revenue. The message from Trump and Republicans couldn’t be clearer: when faced with a choice between protecting big drug company profits and protecting the American people, the GOP is all in for Big Pharma, no matter the price for everyday Americans. 

In response, Protect Our Care Director of Policy Programs Vaishu Jawahar released the following statement:

“Instead of lowering drug prices for seniors, Trump is holding backroom deals with big drug companies and handing them blockbuster giveaways. He has created loopholes for industry giants to evade price negotiations and jack up drug prices for seniors. The numbers speak for themselves. While big drug companies make record-breaking sales, raking in billions more than they did last year, a growing number of Americans are struggling to afford their prescription drugs. Yet again, Trump has betrayed the American people and put billionaires ahead of working families.”

Big Drug Companies Have a Banner Year While Seniors Nationwide Will Struggle to Afford Drugs Thanks to Trump’s Industry Giveaways

We followed the 2026 H1 earnings reports of 10 top publicly traded drug companies that made deals with the Trump administration, are benefitting from provisions in H.R. 1, and/or are suing to stop Medicare from negotiating drug prices. 

• These 10 companies reported $298 billion in global revenue in only the first half of 2026, a $24 billion increase from the same time last year, and boosted their dividend payments and stock buybacks to a total of $63 billion. 
• Johnson and Johnson is raking in even more revenue than the company did at the height of the pandemic under Trump and is on track to be the first drug company in history to make more than $100 billion in sales in one year.

Data obtained from SEC filings and quarterly reports. Shareholder compensation includes stock buybacks and dividends.
*This includes the nearly $15 billion Merck spent on acquisitions since January.
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Drug Companies’ Blockbuster Revenues Are Driven By Lifesaving Drugs Trump Exempted From Medicare Drug Price Negotiation

In the wake of Trump’s blockbuster drug giveaways, many companies are making even more than they did during the pandemic and showering their shareholders with stock buybacks and dividends. While executives boast to their wealthy shareholders about sales from their best-selling cancer drugs, they neglect to mention that these drugs will cost seniors and taxpayers thousands more each year thanks to Trump carving them out from Medicare drug price negotiation. The following quotes from drug company earnings calls exemplify how the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” is beautiful for corporations and executives and a nightmare for everyone else:

• “We have the strongest portfolio and pipeline in our 140 year history, with 28 products and platforms that each deliver more than $1 billion in annual sales…With sales in the quarter of more than $25 billion, we are on track to meet our 2026 target of more than $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time in our company’s 140 year history…We are on track to be the number one oncology company by 2030, with sales projected to exceed $50 billion. Leading the way in Q2 is DARZALEX, the foundational treatment for multiple myeloma, which continues to be our largest product.”- Joaquin Duato, Chief Executive Officer of Johnson and Johnson on 7/17/26, bragging J&J is on track to have the best year in the history of their company thanks to sales from Darzalex, a lifesaving cancer drug seniors will pay thousands more a year for thanks to Trump and may never be eligible for Medicare drug price negotiation as a result of Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill”
• “We delivered growth in the quarter led by continued strength in oncology and animal health, along with increasing contributions from our diverse and compelling new products across an array of therapeutic areas. Our strong commercial and operational execution continues to drive near-term performance while we invest in our outstanding pipeline to create long-term value for patients, customers, and shareholders. Turning to our second quarter results. Total company revenues were $16.6 billion, an increase of 5%, or 4% excluding the impact of foreign exchange. The following revenue comments will be on an ex-exchange basis. In oncology, sales of the KEYTRUDA family of products, which includes KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX, increased 4% to $8.4 billion, with global growth driven by strong uptake in earlier stage cancers and continued robust demand for metastatic indications. Strong utilization in tumors that primarily affect women, including breast and cervical cancers, and increased use of KEYTRUDA in combination with PADCEV in locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer were key contributors to growth.” –Caroline Litchfield, Chief Financial Officer of Merck, on 8/4/26, highlighting growth in sales was driven by their best-selling cancer drug, Keytruda, which Trump delayed from Medicare drug price negotiation 
• “We delivered another excellent quarter, driven by disciplined execution across the business. Our progress towards transitioning the portfolio to fuel durable long-term growth is reflected in our growth portfolio’s strong Q2 performance. At the same time, we’re delivering strong performance from our existing business. We’re also advancing a broad and differentiated pipeline while maintaining financial flexibility to invest in the highest value opportunities for patients and shareholders. Together, these efforts continue to strengthen the foundation we’re building and increase our confidence in our ability to grow the company as we exit the decade.” – Chris Boerner, Chief Executive Officer of Bristol Myers-Squibb, on 7/28/26, highlighting their financial success in yet another year the company made their highest revenue from a cancer drug that Trump delayed from negotiations, Opdivo

The Industry’s Worst-Kept Secret Is That Trump’s Backroom Deals Are Nothing But Smoke And Mirrors

Trump’s deals with drug companies are nothing but gimmicks. The proof is in the pudding: at the end of last year, drug companies celebrated Trump’s scam deals, and now they are making record-breaking revenues and Wall Street analysts rarely ask how it will affect their bottom lines. Even the partner that powers the TrumpRx website, GoodRx, admitted “Based on preliminary data, this utilization appears to be incremental, expanding access to new patients rather than displacing existing demand, and has not had a material impact on our business to date” in their SEC filing. TrumpRx and his scam deals are failing to save the vast majority of Americans a single penny while big drug companies shower in sales boosts and tax breaks handed to them by the administration:

• “You remember this memorable day that we resolved the MFN and tariffs altogether for the industry, I think. No, the agreements are very consistent with what you have seen for other companies and for us, and we are very pleased with the agreements.” –Albert Bourla, Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer on 8/4/26 celebrating “resolving MFN and tariffs”
• “AbbVie delivered another excellent quarter, with results once again exceeding our expectations. I’m especially pleased with the execution across our business, including double-digit sales growth from our diverse portfolio, the advancement of our compelling pipeline of innovative medicines, and our planned acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics, which represents an exciting opportunity to bolster AbbVie’s leading immunology portfolio…Based on this momentum, we are raising our full-year revenue guidance by $300 million and have now raised total revenue by $600 million since the start of the year.” –Rob Michael, Chief Executive Officer of AbbVie on 7/31/26 highlighting another great year for the company and no impacts from Trump administration deals
• “Q2 continued Lilly’s strong momentum. We delivered robust revenue across all key products and major geographies. We raised our full-year annual guidance. We advanced our pipeline across each of our therapeutic areas and expanded our pipeline through business development…Revenue grew 48% compared to Q2 2025. Our key products increased by almost $6.8 billion. Within key products, our oncology, immunology, and neuroscience medicines collectively grew 121% compared to the same quarter last year, as we continue to expand our presence across the portfolio.” –Dave Ricks, Chief Executive Officer of Eli Lilly, on 8/5/26, boasting about revenues