ABBV vs MRK vs NUVB Stock Comparison

AbbVie, Merck and Nuvation Bio Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ABBV AbbVie Inc.
$290.76 +10.4% 1M +29.1% 1Y
Market cap
$521.61B
P/E
82.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$64.39B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
8 wins
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$146.34 -2.0% 1M +69.0% 1Y
Market cap
$370.97B
P/E
151.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$67.38B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
1 win
NUVB Nuvation Bio Inc.
$4.77 -15.0% 1M -9.3% 1Y
Market cap
$1.63B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$169.90M
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

AbbVie leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (AbbVie 8, Nuvation Bio 1, Merck 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionABBVMRKNUVBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $521.61B $370.97B $1.63B ABBV
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 82.7x 151.2x -10.9x ABBV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.7x 59.0x — ABBV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.4% +4.9% +1,083.6% NUVB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.8% — -88.2% ABBV
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 18.7% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.6x — 4.9x ABBV
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +29.1% +69.0% -9.3% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +20.5%/yr +10.7%/yr -12.3%/yr ABBV
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.9% 29.8% 78.9% ABBV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 61/100 64/100 ABBV

Percentile Scorecard

ABBVMRKNUVB

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisABBVMRKNUVB
Valuation 95 #32 of 624 91 #60 of 624 61 #247 of 624
Growth 54 #276 of 601 21 #478 of 601 60 #240 of 601
Profitability 95 #27 of 541 – 66 #186 of 541
Financial Health 16 #546 of 647 – 67 #216 of 647
Shareholder Returns 82 #66 of 359 71 #104 of 359 65 #128 of 359
Overall 68 61 64
  • ABBV ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • NUVB ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodABBVMRKNUVBSPY
1 month +10.4%-2.0%-15.0% +0.7%
3 months +12.9%+12.8%-28.6% +3.7%
6 months +37.6%+34.0%+7.2% +7.1%
Year to date +27.3%+39.0%-46.8% +12.8%
1 year +29.1%+69.0%-9.3% +11.9%
3 years +104.9%+42.5%+377.0% +85.2%
3 years, per year +27.0%+12.5%+68.4% +22.8%
5 years +153.6%+66.2%-48.0% +67.6%
5 years, per year +20.5%+10.7%-12.3% +10.9%
10 years +404.8%+148.7%— +262.0%
10 years, per year +17.6%+9.5%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureABBVMRKNUVBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.9%29.8%78.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.9%24.6%76.9% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.160.111.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.122.32-0.12 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -24.3%-44.7%-90.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-6.5%-50.0% -1.2%
52-week high $290.76$156.45$9.54 $779.14
52-week low $197.38$82.49$4.05 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleABBVMRKNUVB
P/E now vs peer median 81.5xmedian 17.8x 147.4xmedian 17.8x -11.1xmedian 17.8x
P/S now vs peer median 8.0xmedian 9.1x 5.4xmedian 9.1x 9.7xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.3xmedian 15.0x —median 15.0x -7.4xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.2xmedian 21.7x 22.9xmedian 21.7x -12.8xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median -86.6xmedian 2.2x —median 2.2x 6.5xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -8.07median 0.35 -8.13median 0.35 8.48median 0.35

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsABBVMRKNUVB
Revenue $64.39B $67.38B $169.90M
Gross profit $46.02B – –
Operating income $16.87B – -$137.63M
Net income $6.32B – -$149.83M
Free cash flow $18.21B – -$128.93M
R&D $9.71B $30.76B $128.85M
EPS (diluted) $3.56 $0.99 $-0.43
Cash & equivalents $6.57B – $258.60M
Total debt $70.82B – $5.89M
Shares (diluted) 1.77B 2.47B 348.77M
Enterprise value $494.72B $370.97B -$640.70M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricABBVMRKNUVB
P/E 81.5x 147.4x -11.1x
P/FCF 28.2x 22.9x -12.8x
P/Operating cash flow 26.3x – -13.7x
P/S 8.0x 5.4x 9.7x
P/B -86.6x – 6.5x
P/Tangible book -9.3x – 6.8x
EV/EBITDA 23.3x – -7.4x
EV/EBIT 34.3x – -7.2x
EV/Revenue 9.0x 5.4x 5.9x
EV/FCF 31.7x – -7.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 29.6x – -8.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -8.07 -8.13 8.48

Growth

14 metrics
MetricABBVMRKNUVB
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.4% 4.9% 1,084%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.7% 4.3% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.2% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.0% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 53.8% – 38.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -1.0% – -9.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 67.5% – 26.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -10.1% – -18.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 67.7% -87.0% 27.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -10.1% -18.1% -1.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1.2% – 28.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -8.6% – -14.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -0.2% – 23.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.8% – -16.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricABBVMRKNUVB
Gross margin 71.5% – –
EBITDA margin 38.5% – -79.0%
Operating margin 26.2% – -81.0%
Pretax margin 13.5% – -88.2%
Net margin 9.8% – -88.2%
FCF margin 28.3% – -75.9%
Operating cash flow margin 30.3% – -70.9%
Return on equity – – -52.3%
Return on assets 4.7% – -22.1%
Return on invested capital 18.7% – –
Return on capital employed 17.9% – -23.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x – 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.1x – 0.8x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% – 20.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricABBVMRKNUVB
Debt / assets 52.4% – 0.8%
Debt / equity -11.9x – 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.6x – 4.9x
Debt / FCF 3.9x – 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 104.4% – 65.9%
Equity / assets -4.4% – 34.1%
Interest coverage – – -5.2x
Current ratio 0.8x – 8.4x
Quick ratio 0.5x – 7.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x – 7.6x
Altman Z-score 2.82 – 0.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricABBVMRKNUVB
Dividend yield 2.4% 2.3% –
Net buyback yield 0.3% – -0.6%
Shareholder yield 2.7% 2.3% -0.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusABBVMRKNUVB
Forward P/E 21.7xFY2026 59.0xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $13.38FY2026 $2.48FY2026 $-0.38FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +33.8%FY2026 -72.4%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +25.8% +257.3% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $69.55BFY2026 $69.45BFY2026 $187.51MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.7%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026 +198.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.6% -3.8% +52.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersABBVMRKNUVB
Held by institutions 74.9% 79.9% 66.6%
Institutions holding 4,177 3,798 238
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.6% +2.6% +5.7%
Institutions buying 2,203 1,843 148
Institutions selling 1,504 1,465 50
Buyers to sellers 1.46 1.26 2.96

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ABBVMRKNUVB
ABBV 1.00 0.42 0.10
MRK 0.42 1.00 0.19
NUVB 0.10 0.19 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ABBV, MRK and NUVB?

AbbVie (ABBV) is the largest by market capitalisation: AbbVie (ABBV) $521.61B, Merck (MRK) $370.97B, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) $1.63B.

Which stock is cheaper, ABBV, MRK and NUVB?

AbbVie (ABBV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (AbbVie (ABBV) 82.7x, Merck (MRK) 151.2x, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -10.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, AbbVie (ABBV) is cheapest (AbbVie (ABBV) 21.7x, Merck (MRK) 59.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nuvation Bio (NUVB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: AbbVie (ABBV) +10.4%, Merck (MRK) +4.9%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) +1,083.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

AbbVie (ABBV) has the highest net margin (AbbVie (ABBV) 9.8%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -88.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: AbbVie (ABBV) +29.1%, Merck (MRK) +69.0%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -9.3%. Over five years, AbbVie (ABBV) compounded fastest (AbbVie (ABBV) +20.5%/yr, Merck (MRK) +10.7%/yr, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -12.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, AbbVie (ABBV) has been the steadiest (AbbVie (ABBV) 25.9%, Merck (MRK) 29.8%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) 78.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ABBV, MRK and NUVB?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, AbbVie (ABBV) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.