GILD vs VRTX Stock Comparison

Gilead Sciences and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GILD Gilead Sciences, Inc.
$158.69 +5.1% 1M +31.2% 1Y
Market cap
$196.49B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$30.46B
Div. yield
–
Biotechnology Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

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

QuestionGILDVRTXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $196.49B $131.31B GILD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -60.6x 29.8x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 28.4x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.5% +10.2% VRTX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -10.6% 35.0% VRTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -6.0% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 87.7x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +31.2% +22.8% GILD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +18.9%/yr +23.4%/yr VRTX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.0% 29.0% GILD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 76/100 VRTX

Percentile Scorecard

GILDVRTX

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

AxisGILDVRTX
Valuation 90 #62 of 626 80 #124 of 626
Growth 31 #420 of 604 60 #245 of 604
Profitability 85 #85 of 555 95 #31 of 555
Financial Health 21 #518 of 658 53 #308 of 658
Shareholder Returns 77 #85 of 368 93 #27 of 368
Overall 61 76
  • GILD ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • VRTX ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGILDVRTXSPY
1 month +5.1%-1.7% -0.8%
3 months +21.6%+8.0% +3.5%
6 months +24.2%+21.5% +7.0%
Year to date +29.3%+14.1% +12.2%
1 year +31.2%+22.8% +13.0%
3 years +107.1%+45.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +27.5%+13.4% +23.1%
5 years +137.7%+186.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year +18.9%+23.4% +11.0%
10 years +110.5%+557.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +7.7%+20.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGILDVRTXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.0%29.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.0%25.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.300.49 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.160.79 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -29.4%-29.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-7.3% -1.8%
52-week high $158.69$557.96 $779.14
52-week low $117.88$409.47 $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.

MultipleGILDVRTX
P/E now vs peer median -60.9xmedian 17.1x 29.8xmedian 17.1x
P/S now vs peer median 6.5xmedian 8.8x 10.4xmedian 8.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 836.5xmedian 17.1x 24.7xmedian 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 18.0x 34.5xmedian 18.0x
P/B now vs peer median 16.6xmedian 2.1x 6.5xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.62median 0.31 2.94median 0.31

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 monthsGILDVRTX
Revenue $30.46B $12.59B
Gross profit $24.24B $10.82B
Operating income -$2.50B $4.78B
Net income -$3.24B $4.41B
Free cash flow $12.94B $3.80B
R&D $6.07B $3.91B
EPS (diluted) $-2.61 $17.26
Cash & equivalents $3.18B $6.14B
Total debt $26.25B –
Shares (diluted) 1.24B 255.20M
Enterprise value $170.68B $103.32B

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
MetricGILDVRTX
P/E -60.9x 29.8x
P/FCF 15.2x 34.5x
P/Operating cash flow 14.5x 30.5x
P/S 6.5x 10.4x
P/B 16.6x 6.5x
P/Tangible book -89.4x 6.6x
EV/EBITDA 836.5x 24.7x
EV/EBIT -88.1x 25.8x
EV/Revenue 7.2x 9.8x
EV/FCF 17.0x 32.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.2x 28.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.62 2.94

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGILDVRTX
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.5% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.6% 9.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.9% 10.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.7% 9.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -131.0% 21.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -31.9% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -151.3% 21.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -37.3% 9.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -151.8% 22.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -37.5% 10.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 37.3% 11.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 1.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 38.1% 8.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.2% -0.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGILDVRTX
Gross margin 79.6% 86.0%
EBITDA margin 0.9% 39.7%
Operating margin -8.2% 38.0%
Pretax margin -6.4% 41.9%
Net margin -10.6% 35.0%
FCF margin 42.5% 30.2%
Operating cash flow margin 44.5% 34.1%
Return on equity -18.4% 22.2%
Return on assets -6.1% 16.3%
Return on invested capital -6.0% –
Return on capital employed -6.0% 20.8%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -4.2x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 3.0% 5.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGILDVRTX
Debt / assets 53.2% –
Debt / equity 2.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA 87.7x –
Debt / FCF 2.0x –
Liabilities / assets 76.0% 26.2%
Equity / assets 24.0% 73.8%
Interest coverage -2.5x –
Current ratio 1.3x 3.2x
Quick ratio 0.7x 2.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 2.0x
Altman Z-score 3.73 13.17

Shareholder Returns

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

ConsensusGILDVRTX
Forward P/E – 28.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.39FY2026 $18.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -104.8%FY2026 -0.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +23.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $28.65BFY2026 $12.67BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.7%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.1% +18.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGILDVRTX
Held by institutions 89.6% 95.1%
Institutions holding 2,290 1,745
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.1% +3.9%
Institutions buying 1,113 902
Institutions selling 850 605
Buyers to sellers 1.31 1.49

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.

GILDVRTX
GILD 1.00 0.48
VRTX 0.48 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GILD and VRTX?

Gilead Sciences (GILD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Gilead Sciences (GILD) $196.49B, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) $131.31B.

Which company is growing faster?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Gilead Sciences (GILD) +5.5%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has the highest net margin (Gilead Sciences (GILD) -10.6%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 35.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Gilead Sciences (GILD) returned the most: Gilead Sciences (GILD) +31.2%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +22.8%. Over five years, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) compounded fastest (Gilead Sciences (GILD) +18.9%/yr, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +23.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gilead Sciences (GILD) has been the steadiest (Gilead Sciences (GILD) 27.0%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do GILD and VRTX move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.48, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, GILD and VRTX?

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