AZN vs VRTX vs LLY Stock Comparison

Astrazeneca, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly 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
LLY ELI LILLY & Co
$1,274.22 +10.5% 1M +55.2% 1Y
Market cap
$1.14T
P/E
42.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$79.67B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Eli Lilly leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Eli Lilly 6, Astrazeneca 3, Vertex Pharmaceuticals 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAZNVRTXLLYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $266.58B $131.27B $1.14T LLY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.5x 29.8x 42.7x AZN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.1x 28.8x 38.7x AZN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.4% +10.2% +49.6% LLY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.8% 35.0% 33.5% VRTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 23.3% — 37.2% LLY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.4x — 1.1x LLY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.8% +24.0% +55.2% LLY
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.8%/yr +23.4%/yr +39.2%/yr LLY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.4% 29.0% 34.8% AZN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 76/100 72/100 VRTX

Percentile Scorecard

AZNVRTXLLY

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

AxisAZNVRTXLLY
Valuation 85 #94 of 624 80 #128 of 624 75 #160 of 624
Growth 69 #185 of 603 60 #245 of 603 98 #15 of 603
Profitability 94 #34 of 555 95 #30 of 555 98 #11 of 555
Financial Health 36 #424 of 657 53 #307 of 657 26 #488 of 657
Shareholder Returns 68 #120 of 370 92 #29 of 370 62 #141 of 370
Overall 70 76 72
  • AZN ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • VRTX ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • LLY 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

PeriodAZNVRTXLLYSPY
1 month +5.0%+1.5%+10.5% -1.0%
3 months +1.4%+9.8%+6.5% +2.9%
6 months -9.6%+21.8%+44.1% +6.4%
Year to date -6.7%+15.6%+18.6% +11.4%
1 year +2.8%+24.0%+55.2% +13.1%
3 years +32.8%+41.8%+115.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +9.9%+12.4%+29.1% +21.5%
5 years +38.8%+185.5%+422.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +6.8%+23.4%+39.2% +10.9%
10 years +179.1%+548.7%+1,528.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year +10.8%+20.6%+32.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAZNVRTXLLYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.4%29.0%34.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.2%25.6%29.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.220.490.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.100.831.59 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.9%-29.1%-34.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.1%-6.1%-2.5% -2.5%
52-week high $209.48$557.96$1,306.74 $779.14
52-week low $155.60$409.47$813.53 $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.

MultipleAZNVRTXLLY
P/E now vs peer median 25.4xmedian 17.2x 30.2xmedian 17.2x 42.6xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 4.5xmedian 8.8x 10.5xmedian 8.8x 15.1xmedian 8.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.4xmedian 16.0x 25.0xmedian 16.0x 30.9xmedian 16.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.9xmedian 17.8x 35.0xmedian 17.8x 65.9xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 2.1x 6.6xmedian 2.1x 35.4xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.33median 0.32 2.98median 0.32 0.70median 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 monthsAZNVRTXLLY
Revenue $58.67B $12.59B $79.67B
Gross profit $50.25B $10.82B $66.44B
Operating income $13.97B $4.78B $38.18B
Net income $10.45B $4.41B $26.71B
Free cash flow $10.67B $3.80B $18.19B
R&D $15.07B $3.91B $14.60B
EPS (diluted) $6.69 $17.26 $29.89
Cash & equivalents $4.90B $6.14B $8.95B
Total debt $106.76B – $54.91B
Shares (diluted) 1.56B 255.20M 893.70M
Enterprise value $240.27B $103.28B $1.11T

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
MetricAZNVRTXLLY
P/E 25.4x 30.2x 42.6x
P/FCF 24.9x 35.0x 65.9x
P/Operating cash flow 19.4x 30.9x 42.7x
P/S 4.5x 10.5x 15.1x
P/B 5.3x 6.6x 35.4x
P/Tangible book 21.0x 6.7x 76.1x
EV/EBITDA 14.4x 25.0x 30.9x
EV/EBIT 21.0x 26.1x 32.6x
EV/Revenue 5.0x 9.9x 15.6x
EV/FCF 27.5x 32.9x 68.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.4x 29.1x 44.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.33 2.98 0.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAZNVRTXLLY
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.4% 10.2% 49.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 9.8% 39.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.3% 10.1% 51.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.1% 9.0% 42.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 23.4% 21.8% 73.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 23.9% 6.4% 71.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 25.9% 21.1% 93.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 19.2% 9.4% 60.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 26.0% 22.9% 94.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.2% 10.1% 60.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.3% 11.6% 156.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.7% 1.8% 65.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -4.5% 8.5% 272.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.5% -0.7% 69.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAZNVRTXLLY
Gross margin 85.6% 86.0% 83.4%
EBITDA margin 34.6% 39.7% 50.6%
Operating margin 23.8% 38.0% 47.9%
Pretax margin 21.5% 41.9% 42.2%
Net margin 17.8% 35.0% 33.5%
FCF margin 18.2% 30.2% 22.8%
Operating cash flow margin 23.3% 34.1% 35.3%
Return on equity 21.4% 22.2% 82.1%
Return on assets 9.1% 16.3% 20.6%
Return on invested capital 23.3% – 37.2%
Return on capital employed 16.8% 20.8% 46.7%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.0x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue – 5.5% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAZNVRTXLLY
Debt / assets 27.9% – 38.6%
Debt / equity 0.6x – 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.4x – 1.1x
Debt / FCF 3.0x – 3.0x
Liabilities / assets 56.5% 26.2% 76.2%
Equity / assets 43.5% 73.8% 23.8%
Interest coverage 15.9x – –
Current ratio 0.9x 3.2x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.7x 2.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 2.0x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.46 13.31 8.54

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAZNVRTXLLY
Dividend yield 1.4% – 0.5%
Net buyback yield 0.0% 1.4% 0.5%
Shareholder yield 1.4% 1.4% 1.0%
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.

ConsensusAZNVRTXLLY
Forward P/E 17.1xFY2026 28.8xFY2026 38.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.00FY2026 $18.20FY2026 $32.95FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 -1.1%FY2026 +36.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.2% +23.5% +40.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.09BFY2026 $12.66BFY2026 $85.18BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.6%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026 +30.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.7% +18.7% +17.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAZNVRTXLLY
Held by institutions 52.1% 95.1% 83.7%
Institutions holding 1,496 1,745 4,625
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.8% +3.9% +1.5%
Institutions buying 808 902 2,629
Institutions selling 468 605 1,469
Buyers to sellers 1.73 1.49 1.79

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.

AZNVRTXLLY
AZN 1.00 0.44 0.46
VRTX 0.44 1.00 0.49
LLY 0.46 0.49 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AZN, VRTX and LLY?

Eli Lilly (LLY) is the largest by market capitalisation: Astrazeneca (AZN) $266.58B, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) $131.27B, Eli Lilly (LLY) $1.14T.

Which stock is cheaper, AZN, VRTX and LLY?

Astrazeneca (AZN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Astrazeneca (AZN) 25.5x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.8x, Eli Lilly (LLY) 42.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Astrazeneca (AZN) is cheapest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.1x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 28.8x, Eli Lilly (LLY) 38.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Eli Lilly (LLY) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Astrazeneca (AZN) +9.4%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +10.2%, Eli Lilly (LLY) +49.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has the highest net margin (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.8%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 35.0%, Eli Lilly (LLY) 33.5%). On return on invested capital, Eli Lilly (LLY) leads (Astrazeneca (AZN) 23.3%, Eli Lilly (LLY) 37.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Eli Lilly (LLY) returned the most: Astrazeneca (AZN) +2.8%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +24.0%, Eli Lilly (LLY) +55.2%. Over five years, Eli Lilly (LLY) compounded fastest (Astrazeneca (AZN) +6.8%/yr, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +23.4%/yr, Eli Lilly (LLY) +39.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Astrazeneca (AZN) has been the steadiest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 27.4%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.0%, Eli Lilly (LLY) 34.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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