AZN vs VRTX vs JNJ Stock Comparison

Astrazeneca, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AZN Astrazeneca Plc
$171.47 +5.0% 1M +2.8% 1Y
Market cap
$266.58B
P/E
25.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$58.67B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
3 wins
JNJ Johnson & Johnson
$263.85 -2.0% 1M +37.1% 1Y
Market cap
$641.74B
P/E
39.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$99.34B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Johnson & Johnson leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Johnson & Johnson 4, Vertex Pharmaceuticals 4, Astrazeneca 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAZNVRTXJNJLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $266.58B $131.27B $641.74B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.5x 29.8x 39.9x AZN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.1x 28.8x 24.5x AZN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.4% +10.2% +7.8% VRTX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.8% 35.0% 16.2% VRTX
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 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.8% +24.0% +37.1% JNJ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.8%/yr +23.4%/yr +10.0%/yr VRTX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.4% 29.0% 20.9% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 76/100 68/100 VRTX

Percentile Scorecard

AZNVRTXJNJ

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

AxisAZNVRTXJNJ
Valuation 85 #94 of 624 80 #128 of 624 87 #83 of 624
Growth 69 #185 of 603 60 #245 of 603 41 #354 of 603
Profitability 94 #34 of 555 95 #30 of 555 93 #38 of 555
Financial Health 36 #424 of 657 53 #307 of 657 42 #381 of 657
Shareholder Returns 68 #120 of 370 92 #29 of 370 75 #93 of 370
Overall 70 76 68
  • AZN ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • VRTX ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • JNJ 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

PeriodAZNVRTXJNJSPY
1 month +5.0%+1.5%-2.0% -1.0%
3 months +1.4%+9.8%+0.2% +2.9%
6 months -9.6%+21.8%+16.0% +6.4%
Year to date -6.7%+15.6%+27.5% +11.4%
1 year +2.8%+24.0%+37.1% +13.1%
3 years +32.8%+41.8%+74.5% +79.4%
3 years, per year +9.9%+12.4%+20.4% +21.5%
5 years +38.8%+185.5%+61.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year +6.8%+23.4%+10.0% +10.9%
10 years +179.1%+548.7%+132.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +10.8%+20.6%+8.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAZNVRTXJNJSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.4%29.0%20.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.2%25.6%20.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.220.49-0.24 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.100.831.77 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.9%-29.1%-23.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.1%-6.1%-5.3% -2.5%
52-week high $209.48$557.96$278.47 $779.14
52-week low $155.60$409.47$186.00 $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.

MultipleAZNVRTXJNJ
P/E now vs peer median 25.4xmedian 17.2x 30.2xmedian 17.2x 39.5xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 4.5xmedian 8.8x 10.5xmedian 8.8x 6.4xmedian 8.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.4xmedian 16.0x 25.0xmedian 16.0x 19.9xmedian 16.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.9xmedian 17.8x 35.0xmedian 17.8x 30.8xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 2.1x 6.6xmedian 2.1x 7.8xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.33median 0.32 2.98median 0.32 -1.84median 0.32

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 monthsAZNVRTXJNJ
Revenue $58.67B $12.59B $99.34B
Gross profit $50.25B $10.82B $67.11B
Operating income $13.97B $4.78B $25.19B
Net income $10.45B $4.41B $16.10B
Free cash flow $10.67B $3.80B $20.59B
R&D $15.07B $3.91B $16.08B
EPS (diluted) $6.69 $17.26 $6.57
Cash & equivalents $4.90B $6.14B $16.91B
Total debt $106.76B – $194.47B
Shares (diluted) 1.56B 255.20M 2.45B
Enterprise value $240.27B $103.28B $561.60B

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
MetricAZNVRTXJNJ
P/E 25.4x 30.2x 39.5x
P/FCF 24.9x 35.0x 30.8x
P/Operating cash flow 19.4x 30.9x 24.3x
P/S 4.5x 10.5x 6.4x
P/B 5.3x 6.6x 7.8x
P/Tangible book 21.0x 6.7x 18.2x
EV/EBITDA 14.4x 25.0x 19.9x
EV/EBIT 21.0x 26.1x 26.3x
EV/Revenue 5.0x 9.9x 6.7x
EV/FCF 27.5x 32.9x 32.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.4x 29.1x 25.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.33 2.98 -1.84

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAZNVRTXJNJ
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.4% 10.2% 7.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 9.8% 5.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.3% 10.1% 7.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.1% 9.0% 5.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 23.4% 21.8% 7.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 23.9% 6.4% 1.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 25.9% 21.1% -35.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 19.2% 9.4% -22.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 26.0% 22.9% -36.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.2% 10.1% -21.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.3% 11.6% 8.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.7% 1.8% 12.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -4.5% 8.5% 5.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.5% -0.7% 14.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAZNVRTXJNJ
Gross margin 85.6% 86.0% 67.6%
EBITDA margin 34.6% 39.7% 33.5%
Operating margin 23.8% 38.0% 25.4%
Pretax margin 21.5% 41.9% 17.9%
Net margin 17.8% 35.0% 16.2%
FCF margin 18.2% 30.2% 20.7%
Operating cash flow margin 23.3% 34.1% 26.3%
Return on equity 21.4% 22.2% 19.3%
Return on assets 9.1% 16.3% 8.1%
Return on invested capital 23.3% – 17.6%
Return on capital employed 16.8% 20.8% 17.5%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.0x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue – 5.5% 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAZNVRTXJNJ
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% 26.2% 58.7%
Equity / assets 43.5% 73.8% 41.3%
Interest coverage 15.9x – 25.6x
Current ratio 0.9x 3.2x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.7x 2.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 2.0x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 3.46 13.31 5.41

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAZNVRTXJNJ
Dividend yield 1.4% – 2.0%
Net buyback yield 0.0% 1.4% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 1.4% 1.4% 2.6%
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.

ConsensusAZNVRTXJNJ
Forward P/E 17.1xFY2026 28.8xFY2026 24.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.00FY2026 $18.20FY2026 $10.77FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 -1.1%FY2026 -0.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.2% +23.5% +7.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.09BFY2026 $12.66BFY2026 $106.56BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.6%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.7% +18.7% +7.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAZNVRTXJNJ
Held by institutions 52.1% 95.1% 74.7%
Institutions holding 1,496 1,745 4,688
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.8% +3.9% +1.8%
Institutions buying 808 902 2,292
Institutions selling 468 605 1,894
Buyers to sellers 1.73 1.49 1.21

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.

AZNVRTXJNJ
AZN 1.00 0.44 0.49
VRTX 0.44 1.00 0.39
JNJ 0.49 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AZN, VRTX and JNJ?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Astrazeneca (AZN) $266.58B, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) $131.27B, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $641.74B.

Which stock is cheaper, AZN, VRTX and JNJ?

Astrazeneca (AZN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Astrazeneca (AZN) 25.5x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.8x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 39.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Astrazeneca (AZN) is cheapest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.1x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 28.8x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 24.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Astrazeneca (AZN) +9.4%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +10.2%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has the highest net margin (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.8%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 35.0%, 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) +2.8%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +24.0%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +37.1%. Over five years, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) compounded fastest (Astrazeneca (AZN) +6.8%/yr, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +23.4%/yr, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +10.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Astrazeneca (AZN) 0.00%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 0.00%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 0.02%. Astrazeneca (AZN) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has been the steadiest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 27.4%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.0%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 20.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.