AZN vs VRTX vs GSK Stock Comparison

Astrazeneca, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Gsk Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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AZN Astrazeneca Plc
$183.90 +17.2% 1M +12.5% 1Y
Market cap
$293.19B
P/E
26.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$59.37B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
2 wins
GSK GSK plc
$48.73 +3.6% 1M +5.1% 1Y
Market cap
$103.42B
P/E
8.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$76.96B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Gsk leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Gsk 5, Vertex Pharmaceuticals 3, Astrazeneca 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAZNVRTXGSKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $293.19B $138.64B $103.42B AZN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.6x 34.9x 8.2x GSK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.4x 29.1x 9.6x GSK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.8% +10.5% +82.9% GSK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 18.6% 30.7% 16.4% VRTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 24.1% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.9x -0.4x — AZN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.5% +24.6% +5.1% VRTX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.6%/yr +22.3%/yr +2.5%/yr VRTX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.4% 29.6% 26.0% GSK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 75/100 74/100 79/100 GSK

Percentile Scorecard

AZNVRTXGSK

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

AxisAZNVRTXGSK
Valuation 85 #94 of 634 78 #142 of 634 91 #57 of 634
Growth 60 #246 of 607 46 #326 of 607 75 #155 of 607
Profitability 94 #36 of 557 93 #39 of 557 96 #25 of 557
Financial Health 66 #224 of 654 59 #266 of 654 52 #318 of 654
Shareholder Returns 69 #126 of 401 93 #30 of 401 82 #74 of 401
Overall 75 74 79
  • AZN ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • VRTX ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • GSK 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

PeriodAZNVRTXGSKSPY
1 month +17.2%+5.2%+3.6% -2.0%
3 months +18.2%+10.9%-5.4% -2.2%
6 months +1.5%+25.1%-3.3% +4.2%
Year to date +0.0%+17.1%-0.6% +10.6%
1 year +12.5%+24.6%+5.1% +10.4%
3 years +43.8%+41.1%+41.5% +73.6%
3 years, per year +12.9%+12.2%+12.3% +20.2%
5 years +44.1%+173.3%+13.3% +61.6%
5 years, per year +7.6%+22.3%+2.5% +10.1%
10 years +231.5%+583.2%+25.8% +261.3%
10 years, per year +12.7%+21.2%+2.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAZNVRTXGSKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.4%29.6%26.0% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.2%26.3%24.1% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.130.440.21 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.440.830.20 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.9%-29.1%-38.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -12.2%-5.0%-20.3% -3.2%
52-week high $209.48$558.71$61.18 $779.14
52-week low $155.60$409.47$46.11 $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.

MultipleAZNVRTXGSK
P/E now vs peer median 25.8xmedian 18.4x 33.8xmedian 18.4x 7.8xmedian 18.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.8xmedian 9.0x 10.4xmedian 9.0x 1.4xmedian 9.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.5xmedian 16.0x 29.2xmedian 16.0x —median 16.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.8xmedian 21.8x 42.0xmedian 21.8x —median 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 2.1x 6.4xmedian 2.1x 4.3xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.12median 0.37 6.29median 0.37 0.42median 0.37

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 monthsAZNVRTXGSK
Revenue $59.37B $12.95B $76.96B
Gross profit $51.12B $11.08B $56.19B
Operating income $14.78B $4.30B $17.15B
Net income $11.03B $3.98B $2.75B
Free cash flow $10.63B $3.20B –
R&D $15.30B $4.25B $19.61B
EPS (diluted) $7.06 $15.58 $6.12
Cash & equivalents $7.94B $4.98B $3.88B
Total debt -$11.96B $4.50B -$31.50B
Shares (diluted) 1.56B 255.20M 2.06B
Enterprise value $267.08B $110.63B $86.26B

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
MetricAZNVRTXGSK
P/E 25.8x 33.8x 7.8x
P/FCF 26.8x 42.0x –
P/Operating cash flow 21.5x 36.4x –
P/S 4.8x 10.4x 1.4x
P/B 5.5x 6.4x 4.3x
P/Tangible book 20.9x 10.9x -11.7x
EV/EBITDA 12.5x 29.2x –
EV/EBIT 17.9x 30.8x 4.1x
EV/Revenue 4.5x 10.2x 0.9x
EV/FCF 24.9x 41.5x –
EV/Operating cash flow 20.0x 35.9x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.12 6.29 0.42

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAZNVRTXGSK
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.8% 10.5% 82.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.3% 10.3% 28.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.7% 9.5% 84.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.3% 9.3% 29.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 15.4% 7.8% 73.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 22.4% 3.5% 20.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.3% 8.2% -70.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 23.2% 4.6% -55.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 17.5% 9.2% 75.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 23.2% 5.4% 18.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -12.6% -0.6% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -5.5% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -22.8% -4.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -8.7% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAZNVRTXGSK
Gross margin 86.1% 85.5% 73.0%
EBITDA margin 35.7% 35.1% –
Operating margin 24.9% 33.2% 22.3%
Pretax margin 22.4% 36.7% 20.5%
Net margin 18.6% 30.7% 16.4%
FCF margin 17.9% 24.7% –
Operating cash flow margin 22.3% 28.5% –
Return on equity 21.6% 19.3% 71.9%
Return on assets 9.4% 13.2% 19.2%
Return on invested capital 24.1% – –
Return on capital employed 9.9% 17.2% 14.8%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 0.9x –
Stock comp / revenue – 5.2% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAZNVRTXGSK
Debt / assets -10.0% 13.7% -33.2%
Debt / equity -0.2x 0.2x -1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.9x -0.4x –
Debt / FCF -1.1x 1.4x –
Liabilities / assets 56.8% 36.1% 74.4%
Equity / assets 43.2% 63.9% 25.6%
Interest coverage 16.1x 93.0x 10.1x
Current ratio -1.0x 2.3x -0.9x
Quick ratio -0.8x 1.7x -0.5x
Cash ratio -0.3x 1.3x -0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.20 8.60 3.19

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAZNVRTXGSK
Dividend yield 1.3% – 3.7%
Net buyback yield 0.0% 0.7% –
Shareholder yield 1.3% 0.7% 3.7%
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.

ConsensusAZNVRTXGSK
Forward P/E 18.4xFY2026 29.1xFY2026 9.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.00FY2026 $18.24FY2026 $5.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 -0.9%FY2026 +7.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.1% +23.0% +4.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.02BFY2026 $12.67BFY2026 $48.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.5%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% +18.8% +1.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAZNVRTXGSK
Held by institutions 52.1% 95.1% 16.0%
Institutions holding 1,498 1,747 1,040
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.8% +3.9% -7.4%
Institutions buying 809 904 484
Institutions selling 469 605 336
Buyers to sellers 1.72 1.49 1.44

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.

AZNVRTXGSK
AZN 1.00 0.46 0.59
VRTX 0.46 1.00 0.44
GSK 0.59 0.44 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AZN, VRTX and GSK?

Astrazeneca (AZN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Astrazeneca (AZN) $293.19B, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) $138.64B, Gsk (GSK) $103.42B.

Which stock is cheaper, AZN, VRTX and GSK?

Gsk (GSK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Astrazeneca (AZN) 26.6x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 34.9x, Gsk (GSK) 8.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gsk (GSK) is cheapest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 18.4x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.1x, Gsk (GSK) 9.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Gsk (GSK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Astrazeneca (AZN) +7.8%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +10.5%, Gsk (GSK) +82.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has the highest net margin (Astrazeneca (AZN) 18.6%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 30.7%, Gsk (GSK) 16.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) returned the most: Astrazeneca (AZN) +12.5%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +24.6%, Gsk (GSK) +5.1%. Over five years, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) compounded fastest (Astrazeneca (AZN) +7.6%/yr, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +22.3%/yr, Gsk (GSK) +2.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gsk (GSK) has been the steadiest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 28.4%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.6%, Gsk (GSK) 26.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AZN, VRTX and GSK?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Gsk (GSK) 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.