The next three years have just become a bigger question mark for (NYSE: PFE) than they were before. There are two competing factors taking shape, one internal to the drugmaker; the other is external, even though it was expected to be a possible answer to Pfizer's internal problems.

Here's what's happening for Pfizer right now, and why investors still might want to take the long view with this high-yield stock.

In some ways, the pharmaceutical industry is pretty simple: You make a drug, and you sell a drug. But this isn't a simple manufacturing business, and there are a lot of subtleties that have to be taken into consideration. For example, finding a new drug to sell is a long, complex, competitive, and capital-intensive process. That's why drugmakers are given a period of time when they can exclusively sell a new drug. Revenue and profits for new drugs can be huge, but there's an end date to that revenue stream.

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Source Fool.com