AZN vs JNJ vs NVS Stock Comparison

Astrazeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Novartis Ag Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AZN Astrazeneca Plc
$169.54 +1.9% 1M +2.6% 1Y
Market cap
$262.79B
P/E
25.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$58.67B
Div. yield
1.41%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins
JNJ Johnson & Johnson
$271.21 -0.3% 1M +45.1% 1Y
Market cap
$652.89B
P/E
40.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$99.34B
Div. yield
1.95%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins
NVS Novartis Ag
$156.09 +6.2% 1M +26.5% 1Y
Market cap
$297.84B
P/E
17.9x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
3.04%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionAZNJNJNVSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $262.79B $652.89B $297.84B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.2x 40.6x 17.9x NVS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.0x 25.3x 16.9x NVS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.4% +7.8% — AZN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.8% 16.2% — AZN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 23.3% 17.6% — AZN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 0.8x — JNJ
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.41% 1.95% 3.04% NVS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.6% +45.1% +26.5% JNJ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.3%/yr +10.7%/yr +13.5%/yr NVS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.3% 20.8% 27.5% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 68/100 — AZN

Percentile Scorecard

AZNJNJNVS

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

AxisAZNJNJNVS
Valuation 85 #92 of 625 87 #82 of 625 97 #19 of 625
Growth 70 #183 of 602 42 #351 of 602 –
Profitability 94 #34 of 549 93 #38 of 549 –
Financial Health 36 #418 of 654 42 #379 of 654 –
Shareholder Returns 70 #112 of 367 75 #92 of 367 82 #67 of 367
Overall 71 68 –
  • AZN ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • JNJ ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • NVS ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAZNJNJNVSSPY
1 month +1.9%-0.3%+6.2% +0.9%
3 months -2.2%+2.1%-1.7% +5.9%
6 months -8.5%+19.3%+9.2% +8.5%
Year to date -7.8%+31.1%+13.2% +13.3%
1 year +2.6%+45.1%+26.5% +12.4%
3 years +37.0%+86.3%+69.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +11.1%+23.1%+19.2% +23.5%
5 years +35.9%+66.5%+88.6% +68.2%
5 years, per year +6.3%+10.7%+13.5% +11.0%
10 years +196.4%+135.2%+119.6% +263.4%
10 years, per year +11.5%+8.9%+8.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureAZNJNJNVSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.3%20.8%27.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.1%20.0%30.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.21-0.220.35 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.102.170.96 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.9%-23.6%-20.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.1%-2.6%-7.4% -0.9%
52-week high $209.48$278.47$168.62 $779.14
52-week low $155.60$186.00$121.80 $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.

MultipleAZNJNJNVS
P/E now vs peer median 25.2xmedian 17.4x 40.6xmedian 17.4x 17.9xmedian 17.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.5xmedian 9.1x 6.6xmedian 9.1x 5.1xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 17.1x 20.4xmedian 17.1x —median 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.6xmedian 19.0x 31.7xmedian 19.0x 14.3xmedian 19.0x
P/B now vs peer median 5.2xmedian 2.2x 8.0xmedian 2.2x —median 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.31median 0.34 -1.89median 0.34 —median 0.34

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 monthsAZNJNJNVS
Revenue $58.67B $99.34B –
Gross profit $50.25B $67.11B –
Operating income $13.97B $25.19B –
Net income $10.45B $16.10B –
Free cash flow $10.67B $20.59B –
R&D $15.07B $16.08B –
EPS (diluted) $6.69 $6.57 –
Cash & equivalents $4.90B $16.91B $400.00M
Total debt $32.35B $44.65B –
Shares (diluted) 1.56B 2.45B 1.96B
Enterprise value $236.55B $572.75B $271.42B

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
MetricAZNJNJNVS
P/E 25.2x 40.6x 17.9x
P/FCF 24.6x 31.7x 14.3x
P/Operating cash flow 19.2x 25.0x –
P/S 4.5x 6.6x 5.1x
P/B 5.2x 8.0x –
P/Tangible book 20.8x 18.7x –
EV/EBITDA 14.3x 20.4x –
EV/EBIT 20.8x 27.0x –
EV/Revenue 4.9x 6.8x –
EV/FCF 27.2x 33.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 21.2x 26.0x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.31 -1.89 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAZNJNJNVS
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.4% 7.8% –
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% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 23.9% 1.4% –
Net income growth (1Y) 25.9% -35.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 19.2% -22.5% –
EPS growth (1Y) 26.0% -36.4% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.2% -21.5% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.3% 8.1% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.7% 12.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -4.5% 5.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 14.5% –

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAZNJNJNVS
Debt / assets 27.9% 22.6% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 0.8x –
Debt / FCF 3.0x 2.2x –
Liabilities / assets 56.5% 58.7% –
Equity / assets 43.5% 41.3% –
Interest coverage 15.9x 25.6x –
Current ratio 0.9x 1.0x –
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.7x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x –
Altman Z-score 3.43 5.50 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAZNJNJNVS
Dividend yield 1.4% 1.9% 3.0%
Net buyback yield 0.0% 0.6% –
Shareholder yield 1.4% 2.6% 3.0%
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.

ConsensusAZNJNJNVS
Forward P/E 17.0xFY2026 25.3xFY2026 16.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.00FY2026 $10.72FY2026 $9.26FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026 +3.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.1% +5.9% +1.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.02BFY2026 $106.54BFY2026 $53.95BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.5%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026 -1.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% +7.0% +19.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAZNJNJNVS
Held by institutions 52.1% 74.7% 7.0%
Institutions holding 1,496 4,691 1,607
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.8% +1.8% -5.9%
Institutions buying 808 2,294 662
Institutions selling 468 1,895 560
Buyers to sellers 1.73 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.

AZNJNJNVS
AZN 1.00 0.48 0.56
JNJ 0.48 1.00 0.50
NVS 0.56 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AZN, JNJ and NVS?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Astrazeneca (AZN) $262.79B, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $652.89B, Novartis Ag (NVS) $297.84B.

Which stock is cheaper, AZN, JNJ and NVS?

Novartis Ag (NVS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Astrazeneca (AZN) 25.2x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 40.6x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Novartis Ag (NVS) is cheapest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.0x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 25.3x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 16.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Astrazeneca (AZN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Astrazeneca (AZN) +9.4%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Astrazeneca (AZN) has the highest net margin (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.8%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 16.2%). 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) +2.6%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +45.1%, Novartis Ag (NVS) +26.5%. Over five years, Novartis Ag (NVS) compounded fastest (Astrazeneca (AZN) +6.3%/yr, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +10.7%/yr, Novartis Ag (NVS) +13.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Novartis Ag (NVS) has the highest dividend yield: Astrazeneca (AZN) 1.41%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 1.95%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 3.04%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has been the steadiest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 27.3%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 20.8%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AZN, 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 4. 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.