AZN vs PFE vs NVS Stock Comparison

Astrazeneca, Pfizer and Novartis Ag Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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AZN Astrazeneca Plc
$186.64 +18.9% 1M +13.3% 1Y
Market cap
$293.01B
P/E
26.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$59.37B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
5 wins
PFE Pfizer Inc
$30.71 +10.5% 1M +24.6% 1Y
Market cap
$174.30B
P/E
40.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.70B
Div. yield
0.06%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
2 wins
NVS Novartis Ag
$161.48 +14.5% 1M +30.4% 1Y
Market cap
$319.45B
P/E
17.9x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Astrazeneca leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Astrazeneca 5, Novartis Ag 4, Pfizer 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAZNPFENVSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $293.01B $174.30B $319.45B NVS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.6x 40.2x 17.9x NVS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.4x 10.5x 17.2x PFE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.8% -0.2% — AZN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 18.6% 6.8% — AZN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 24.1% 13.4% — AZN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.9x 1.9x — AZN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.06% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +13.3% +24.6% +30.4% NVS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.9%/yr -7.3%/yr +14.1%/yr NVS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.4% 21.7% 27.6% PFE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 74/100 65/100 — AZN

Percentile Scorecard

AZNPFENVS

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

AxisAZNPFENVS
Valuation 85 #96 of 623 94 #37 of 623 97 #20 of 623
Growth 59 #245 of 601 24 #460 of 601 –
Profitability 94 #36 of 553 92 #46 of 553 –
Financial Health 66 #226 of 654 25 #493 of 654 –
Shareholder Returns 68 #119 of 367 90 #38 of 367 80 #75 of 367
Overall 74 65 –
  • AZN ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • PFE 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

PeriodAZNPFENVSSPY
1 month +18.9%+10.5%+14.5% -2.3%
3 months +18.2%+22.6%+5.1% -0.7%
6 months +1.7%+16.8%+11.7% +4.8%
Year to date +1.5%+23.3%+17.1% +10.3%
1 year +13.3%+24.6%+30.4% +10.3%
3 years +45.9%-1.8%+74.1% +73.0%
3 years, per year +13.4%-0.6%+20.3% +20.1%
5 years +46.2%-31.5%+93.2% +61.9%
5 years, per year +7.9%-7.3%+14.1% +10.1%
10 years +230.8%+0.3%+126.6% +258.6%
10 years, per year +12.7%+0.0%+8.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAZNPFENVSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.4%21.7%27.6% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.2%21.1%30.1% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.130.200.34 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.471.131.10 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.9%-64.8%-20.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.9%0.0%-4.2% -3.5%
52-week high $209.48$30.71$168.62 $779.14
52-week low $155.60$23.67$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.

MultipleAZNPFENVS
P/E now vs peer median 26.2xmedian 17.4x 40.4xmedian 17.4x 17.9xmedian 17.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 8.9x 2.7xmedian 8.9x 5.1xmedian 8.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.7xmedian 17.0x 8.4xmedian 17.0x —median 17.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 27.2xmedian 21.4x 15.9xmedian 21.4x 14.3xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 2.1x 2.0xmedian 2.1x —median 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.13median 0.35 -0.98median 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 monthsAZNPFENVS
Revenue $59.37B $63.70B –
Gross profit $51.12B $46.61B –
Operating income $14.78B $20.39B –
Net income $11.03B $4.36B –
Free cash flow $10.63B $10.99B –
R&D $15.30B $11.05B –
EPS (diluted) $7.06 $0.76 –
Cash & equivalents $7.94B $976.00M $400.00M
Total debt -$11.96B $63.19B –
Shares (diluted) 1.56B 5.70B 1.96B
Enterprise value $266.90B $120.95B $292.69B

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
MetricAZNPFENVS
P/E 26.2x 40.4x 17.9x
P/FCF 27.2x 15.9x 14.3x
P/Operating cash flow 21.9x 13.1x –
P/S 4.9x 2.7x 5.1x
P/B 5.6x 2.0x –
P/Tangible book 21.2x 4.6x –
EV/EBITDA 12.7x 8.4x –
EV/EBIT 18.2x 11.1x –
EV/Revenue 4.5x 3.6x –
EV/FCF 25.3x 20.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow 20.4x 16.9x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.13 -0.98 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAZNPFENVS
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.8% -0.2% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.3% -7.0% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.7% 1.2% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.3% -5.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 15.4% 1.5% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 22.4% -9.9% –
Net income growth (1Y) 17.3% -59.6% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 23.2% -41.3% –
EPS growth (1Y) 17.5% -59.7% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 23.2% -41.3% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -12.6% -11.8% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -2.7% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -22.8% -11.7% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 1.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAZNPFENVS
Gross margin 86.1% 73.2% –
EBITDA margin 35.7% 42.4% –
Operating margin 24.9% 32.0% –
Pretax margin 22.4% 6.6% –
Net margin 18.6% 6.8% –
FCF margin 17.9% 17.2% –
Operating cash flow margin 22.3% 21.0% –
Return on equity 21.6% 5.0% –
Return on assets 9.4% 2.1% –
Return on invested capital 24.1% 13.4% –
Return on capital employed 9.9% 11.9% –
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.3x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 3.1x –
Stock comp / revenue – 1.5% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAZNPFENVS
Debt / assets -10.0% 31.4% –
Debt / equity -0.2x 0.7x –
Net debt / EBITDA -0.9x 1.9x –
Debt / FCF -1.1x 5.8x –
Liabilities / assets 56.8% 57.5% –
Equity / assets 43.2% 42.5% –
Interest coverage 16.1x – –
Current ratio -1.0x 1.3x –
Quick ratio -0.8x 0.7x –
Cash ratio -0.3x 0.4x –
Altman Z-score 4.24 2.39 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAZNPFENVS
Dividend yield 1.3% 5.6% 2.9%
Net buyback yield 0.0% – –
Shareholder yield 1.3% 5.6% 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 224.5% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 89.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 2.4% –

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.

ConsensusAZNPFENVS
Forward P/E 18.4xFY2026 10.5xFY2026 17.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.00FY2026 $2.85FY2026 $9.26FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 -11.5%FY2026 +3.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.1% -4.6% +1.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.02BFY2026 $60.59BFY2026 $53.95BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.5%FY2026 -3.2%FY2026 -1.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% +3.9% +19.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAZNPFENVS
Held by institutions 52.1% 66.9% 7.0%
Institutions holding 1,498 2,838 1,609
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.8% +2.0% -5.9%
Institutions buying 809 1,326 662
Institutions selling 469 1,205 562
Buyers to sellers 1.72 1.10 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.

AZNPFENVS
AZN 1.00 0.44 0.55
PFE 0.44 1.00 0.49
NVS 0.55 0.49 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AZN, PFE and NVS?

Novartis Ag (NVS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Astrazeneca (AZN) $293.01B, Pfizer (PFE) $174.30B, Novartis Ag (NVS) $319.45B.

Which stock is cheaper, AZN, PFE and NVS?

Novartis Ag (NVS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Astrazeneca (AZN) 26.6x, Pfizer (PFE) 40.2x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Pfizer (PFE) is cheapest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 18.4x, Pfizer (PFE) 10.5x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.2x). 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) +7.8%, Pfizer (PFE) -0.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Astrazeneca (AZN) has the highest net margin (Astrazeneca (AZN) 18.6%, Pfizer (PFE) 6.8%). On return on invested capital, Astrazeneca (AZN) leads (Astrazeneca (AZN) 24.1%, Pfizer (PFE) 13.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Novartis Ag (NVS) returned the most: Astrazeneca (AZN) +13.3%, Pfizer (PFE) +24.6%, Novartis Ag (NVS) +30.4%. Over five years, Novartis Ag (NVS) compounded fastest (Astrazeneca (AZN) +7.9%/yr, Pfizer (PFE) -7.3%/yr, Novartis Ag (NVS) +14.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Astrazeneca (AZN) 0.00%, Pfizer (PFE) 0.06%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 0.00%. Astrazeneca (AZN) and Novartis Ag (NVS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Pfizer (PFE) has been the steadiest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 28.4%, Pfizer (PFE) 21.7%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AZN, PFE 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, Astrazeneca (AZN) leads on 5. 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.