AZN vs JNJ vs NUVB Stock Comparison

Astrazeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Nuvation Bio Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AZN Astrazeneca Plc
$174.51 +6.3% 1M +6.1% 1Y
Market cap
$270.49B
P/E
25.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$58.67B
Div. yield
1.37%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
5 wins
JNJ Johnson & Johnson
$275.17 +2.8% 1M +47.5% 1Y
Market cap
$662.42B
P/E
41.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$99.34B
Div. yield
1.92%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
6 wins
NUVB Nuvation Bio Inc.
$4.77 -15.0% 1M -9.3% 1Y
Market cap
$1.65B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$169.90M
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Johnson & Johnson leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Johnson & Johnson 6, Astrazeneca 5, Nuvation Bio 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAZNJNJNUVBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $270.49B $662.42B $1.65B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.9x 41.2x -11.1x AZN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.5x 25.7x — AZN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.4% +7.8% +1,083.6% NUVB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.8% 16.2% -88.2% AZN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 23.3% 17.6% — AZN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 0.8x 4.9x JNJ
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.37% 1.92% — JNJ
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.1% +47.5% -9.3% JNJ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.9%/yr +11.1%/yr -12.3%/yr JNJ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.5% 20.9% 78.9% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 68/100 64/100 AZN

Percentile Scorecard

AZNJNJNUVB

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

AxisAZNJNJNUVB
Valuation 85 #96 of 624 86 #88 of 624 61 #247 of 624
Growth 70 #183 of 601 42 #351 of 601 60 #240 of 601
Profitability 94 #33 of 541 93 #37 of 541 66 #186 of 541
Financial Health 36 #415 of 647 41 #380 of 647 67 #216 of 647
Shareholder Returns 70 #110 of 359 76 #88 of 359 65 #128 of 359
Overall 71 68 64
  • AZN ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • JNJ 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

PeriodAZNJNJNUVBSPY
1 month +6.3%+2.8%-15.0% +0.7%
3 months +1.8%+7.5%-28.6% +3.7%
6 months -6.9%+19.7%+7.2% +7.1%
Year to date -5.1%+33.0%-46.8% +12.8%
1 year +6.1%+47.5%-9.3% +11.9%
3 years +38.6%+87.2%+377.0% +85.2%
3 years, per year +11.5%+23.3%+68.4% +22.8%
5 years +39.9%+68.9%-48.0% +67.6%
5 years, per year +6.9%+11.1%-12.3% +10.9%
10 years +205.1%+138.6%— +262.0%
10 years, per year +11.8%+9.1%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAZNJNJNUVBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.5%20.9%78.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.2%20.1%76.9% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.21-0.221.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.222.28-0.12 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.9%-23.6%-90.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.7%-1.2%-50.0% -1.2%
52-week high $209.48$278.47$9.54 $779.14
52-week low $155.60$186.00$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.

MultipleAZNJNJNUVB
P/E now vs peer median 25.9xmedian 17.8x 41.2xmedian 17.8x -11.1xmedian 17.8x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 9.1x 6.7xmedian 9.1x 9.7xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 15.0x 20.7xmedian 15.0x -7.4xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.4xmedian 21.7x 32.2xmedian 21.7x -12.8xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 2.2x 8.1xmedian 2.2x 6.5xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.35median 0.35 -1.92median 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 monthsAZNJNJNUVB
Revenue $58.67B $99.34B $169.90M
Gross profit $50.25B $67.11B –
Operating income $13.97B $25.19B -$137.63M
Net income $10.45B $16.10B -$149.83M
Free cash flow $10.67B $20.59B -$128.93M
R&D $15.07B $16.08B $128.85M
EPS (diluted) $6.69 $6.57 $-0.43
Cash & equivalents $4.90B $16.91B $258.60M
Total debt $32.35B $44.65B $5.89M
Shares (diluted) 1.56B 2.45B 348.77M
Enterprise value $244.25B $582.28B -$620.12M

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
MetricAZNJNJNUVB
P/E 25.9x 41.2x -11.1x
P/FCF 25.4x 32.2x -12.8x
P/Operating cash flow 19.7x 25.3x -13.7x
P/S 4.6x 6.7x 9.7x
P/B 5.4x 8.1x 6.5x
P/Tangible book 21.4x 19.0x 6.8x
EV/EBITDA 14.7x 20.7x -7.4x
EV/EBIT 21.3x 27.4x -7.2x
EV/Revenue 5.1x 6.9x 5.9x
EV/FCF 27.9x 33.5x -7.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.7x 26.4x -8.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.35 -1.92 8.48

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAZNJNJNUVB
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.4% 7.8% 1,084%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 5.9% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.3% 7.0% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.1% 5.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 23.4% 7.4% 38.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 23.9% 1.4% -9.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 25.9% -35.9% 26.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 19.2% -22.5% -18.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 26.0% -36.4% 27.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.2% -21.5% -1.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.3% 8.1% 28.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.7% 12.4% -14.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -4.5% 5.1% 23.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 14.5% -16.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAZNJNJNUVB
Gross margin 85.6% 67.6% –
EBITDA margin 34.6% 33.5% -79.0%
Operating margin 23.8% 25.4% -81.0%
Pretax margin 21.5% 17.9% -88.2%
Net margin 17.8% 16.2% -88.2%
FCF margin 18.2% 20.7% -75.9%
Operating cash flow margin 23.3% 26.3% -70.9%
Return on equity 21.4% 19.3% -52.3%
Return on assets 9.1% 8.1% -22.1%
Return on invested capital 23.3% 17.6% –
Return on capital employed 16.8% 17.5% -23.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.6x 0.8x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.4% 20.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAZNJNJNUVB
Debt / assets 27.9% 22.6% 0.8%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.5x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 0.8x 4.9x
Debt / FCF 3.0x 2.2x 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 56.5% 58.7% 65.9%
Equity / assets 43.5% 41.3% 34.1%
Interest coverage 15.9x 25.6x -5.2x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.0x 8.4x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.7x 7.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 7.6x
Altman Z-score 3.50 5.55 0.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAZNJNJNUVB
Dividend yield 1.4% 1.9% –
Net buyback yield 0.0% 0.6% -0.6%
Shareholder yield 1.4% 2.5% -0.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 79.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 61.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.9% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 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.

ConsensusAZNJNJNUVB
Forward P/E 17.5xFY2026 25.7xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $10.00FY2026 $10.72FY2026 $-0.38FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +6.1% +5.9% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.02BFY2026 $106.54BFY2026 $187.51MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.5%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026 +198.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% +7.0% +52.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAZNJNJNUVB
Held by institutions 52.1% 74.7% 66.6%
Institutions holding 1,497 4,692 238
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.8% +1.8% +5.7%
Institutions buying 809 2,294 148
Institutions selling 468 1,896 50
Buyers to sellers 1.73 1.21 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.

AZNJNJNUVB
AZN 1.00 0.48 0.15
JNJ 0.48 1.00 0.10
NUVB 0.15 0.10 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AZN, JNJ and NUVB?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Astrazeneca (AZN) $270.49B, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $662.42B, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) $1.65B.

Which stock is cheaper, AZN, JNJ and NUVB?

Astrazeneca (AZN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Astrazeneca (AZN) 25.9x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 41.2x, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -11.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Astrazeneca (AZN) is cheapest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.5x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 25.7x). 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: Astrazeneca (AZN) +9.4%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +7.8%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) +1,083.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Astrazeneca (AZN) has the highest net margin (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.8%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 16.2%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -88.2%). On return on invested capital, Astrazeneca (AZN) leads (Astrazeneca (AZN) 23.3%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 17.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) returned the most: Astrazeneca (AZN) +6.1%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +47.5%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -9.3%. Over five years, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) compounded fastest (Astrazeneca (AZN) +6.9%/yr, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +11.1%/yr, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -12.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has the highest dividend yield: Astrazeneca (AZN) 1.37%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 1.92%. Nuvation Bio (NUVB) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has been the steadiest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 27.5%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 20.9%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) 78.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AZN, JNJ 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, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) leads on 6. 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.