ABT vs JNJ vs NVS Stock Comparison

Abbott Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson and Novartis Ag Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ABT Abbott Laboratories
$110.27 +13.1% 1M -10.8% 1Y
Market cap
$190.81B
P/E
35.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$46.59B
Div. yield
2.29%
Medical Devices Healthcare
1 win
JNJ Johnson & Johnson
$270.62 +5.7% 1M +43.3% 1Y
Market cap
$651.47B
P/E
40.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$99.34B
Div. yield
1.95%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
7 wins
NVS Novartis Ag
$161.48 +14.5% 1M +30.4% 1Y
Market cap
$308.13B
P/E
17.9x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
2.94%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Johnson & Johnson leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Johnson & Johnson 7, Novartis Ag 4, Abbott Laboratories 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionABTJNJNVSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $190.81B $651.47B $308.13B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 35.4x 40.5x 17.9x NVS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.4x 25.2x 17.4x NVS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.1% +7.8% — ABT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.6% 16.2% — JNJ
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.2% 17.6% — JNJ
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 0.8x — JNJ
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.29% 1.95% 2.94% NVS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -10.8% +43.3% +30.4% JNJ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.0%/yr +10.4%/yr +14.1%/yr NVS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.8% 20.9% 27.6% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 68/100 — JNJ

Percentile Scorecard

ABTJNJNVS

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

AxisABTJNJNVS
Valuation 67 #76 of 227 86 #89 of 623 97 #20 of 623
Growth 28 #158 of 220 42 #350 of 601 –
Profitability 85 #33 of 209 93 #38 of 553 –
Financial Health 37 #152 of 240 42 #381 of 654 –
Shareholder Returns 66 #47 of 138 76 #88 of 367 80 #75 of 367
Overall 57 68 –
  • ABT ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • JNJ ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • NVS 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

PeriodABTJNJNVSSPY
1 month +13.1%+5.7%+14.5% -2.3%
3 months +2.9%+6.4%+5.1% -0.7%
6 months +26.0%+20.7%+11.7% +4.8%
Year to date -12.0%+30.8%+17.1% +10.3%
1 year -10.8%+43.3%+30.4% +10.3%
3 years +15.1%+78.8%+74.1% +73.0%
3 years, per year +4.8%+21.4%+20.3% +20.1%
5 years -14.3%+64.0%+93.2% +61.9%
5 years, per year -3.0%+10.4%+14.1% +10.1%
10 years +184.9%+135.6%+126.6% +258.6%
10 years, per year +11.0%+8.9%+8.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureABTJNJNVSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.8%20.9%27.6% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.6%20.0%30.1% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.04-0.200.34 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.392.081.10 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.6%-23.6%-20.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.6%-2.8%-4.2% -3.5%
52-week high $130.59$278.47$168.62 $779.14
52-week low $82.56$186.00$123.86 $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.

MultipleABTJNJNVS
P/E now vs peer median 35.4xmedian 28.4x 40.5xmedian 17.4x 17.9xmedian 17.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 3.0x 6.6xmedian 8.9x 5.1xmedian 8.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 20.2xmedian 18.0x 20.4xmedian 17.0x —median 17.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.4xmedian 25.0x 31.6xmedian 21.4x 14.3xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 2.3x 8.0xmedian 2.1x —median 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 19.46median 0.93 -1.89median 0.35 —median 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 monthsABTJNJNVS
Revenue $46.59B $99.34B –
Gross profit $26.37B $67.11B –
Operating income $7.35B $25.19B –
Net income $5.43B $16.10B –
Free cash flow $7.82B $20.59B –
R&D $3.16B $16.08B –
EPS (diluted) $3.11 $6.57 –
Cash & equivalents $5.10B $16.91B $400.00M
Total debt $32.61B $44.65B –
Shares (diluted) 1.74B 2.45B 1.96B
Enterprise value $161.89B $571.33B $281.70B

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
MetricABTJNJNVS
P/E 35.4x 40.5x 17.9x
P/FCF 24.4x 31.6x 14.3x
P/Operating cash flow 19.3x 24.9x –
P/S 4.1x 6.6x 5.1x
P/B 3.7x 8.0x –
P/Tangible book 5.5x 18.7x –
EV/EBITDA 20.2x 20.4x –
EV/EBIT 29.7x 26.9x –
EV/Revenue 4.7x 6.8x –
EV/FCF 27.8x 33.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 22.0x 26.0x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 19.46 -1.89 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricABTJNJNVS
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.1% 7.8% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 5.9% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.2% 7.0% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 5.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -2.2% 7.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 1.4% –
Net income growth (1Y) -61.2% -35.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.7% -22.5% –
EPS growth (1Y) -61.0% -36.4% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.8% -21.5% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.6% 8.1% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.9% 12.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 15.5% 5.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 14.5% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricABTJNJNVS
Gross margin 56.6% 67.6% –
EBITDA margin 23.2% 33.5% –
Operating margin 15.8% 25.4% –
Pretax margin 16.1% 17.9% –
Net margin 11.6% 16.2% –
FCF margin 16.8% 20.7% –
Operating cash flow margin 21.3% 26.3% –
Return on equity 10.4% 19.3% –
Return on assets 4.9% 8.1% –
Return on invested capital 6.2% 17.6% –
Return on capital employed 8.0% 17.5% –
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 1.6x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 1.4% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricABTJNJNVS
Debt / assets 29.9% 22.6% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 0.8x –
Debt / FCF 4.2x 2.2x –
Liabilities / assets 52.6% 58.7% –
Equity / assets 47.4% 41.3% –
Interest coverage 9.6x 25.6x –
Current ratio 1.4x 1.0x –
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.7x –
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x –
Altman Z-score 3.35 5.50 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricABTJNJNVS
Dividend yield 2.3% 2.0% 2.9%
Net buyback yield 0.9% 0.6% –
Shareholder yield 3.1% 2.6% 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 78.5% 79.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 54.5% 61.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 7.2% 3.9% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 7.5% 1.0% –

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.

ConsensusABTJNJNVS
Forward P/E 19.4xFY2026 25.2xFY2026 17.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.69FY2026 $10.72FY2026 $9.26FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026 +3.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% +5.9% +1.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.00BFY2026 $106.54BFY2026 $53.95BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.5%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026 -1.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.2% +7.0% +19.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersABTJNJNVS
Held by institutions 79.2% 74.7% 7.0%
Institutions holding 2,982 4,693 1,609
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% +1.8% -5.9%
Institutions buying 1,260 2,294 662
Institutions selling 1,379 1,897 562
Buyers to sellers 0.91 1.21 1.18

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.

ABTJNJNVS
ABT 1.00 0.27 0.30
JNJ 0.27 1.00 0.50
NVS 0.30 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ABT, JNJ and NVS?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $190.81B, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $651.47B, Novartis Ag (NVS) $308.13B.

Which stock is cheaper, ABT, JNJ and NVS?

Novartis Ag (NVS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 35.4x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 40.5x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Novartis Ag (NVS) is cheapest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 19.4x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 25.2x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) +8.1%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has the highest net margin (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 11.6%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 16.2%). On return on invested capital, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) leads (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 6.2%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 17.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) returned the most: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -10.8%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +43.3%, Novartis Ag (NVS) +30.4%. Over five years, Novartis Ag (NVS) compounded fastest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -3.0%/yr, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +10.4%/yr, Novartis Ag (NVS) +14.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Novartis Ag (NVS) has the highest dividend yield: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 2.29%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 1.95%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 2.94%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has been the steadiest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 27.8%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 20.9%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ABT, JNJ and NVS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) leads on 7. 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.