ISRG vs JNJ vs NVS Stock Comparison

Intuitive Surgical, Johnson & Johnson and Novartis Ag Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ISRG Intuitive Surgical Inc
$468.52 +15.8% 1M -14.6% 1Y
Market cap
$162.39B
P/E
55.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.58B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
3 wins
JNJ Johnson & Johnson
$272.33 +6.9% 1M +46.4% 1Y
Market cap
$655.58B
P/E
40.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$99.34B
Div. yield
1.94%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
3 wins
NVS Novartis Ag
$161.96 +15.1% 1M +29.1% 1Y
Market cap
$309.04B
P/E
17.9x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
2.93%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

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

QuestionISRGJNJNVSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $162.39B $655.58B $309.04B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 55.3x 40.8x 17.9x NVS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 40.7x 25.4x 17.4x NVS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.5% +7.8% — ISRG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 25.5% 16.2% — ISRG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 17.6% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.8x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 1.94% 2.93% NVS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -14.6% +46.4% +29.1% JNJ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.1%/yr +10.8%/yr +14.1%/yr NVS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.9% 21.3% 27.9% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 79/100 67/100 — ISRG

Percentile Scorecard

ISRGJNJNVS

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

AxisISRGJNJNVS
Valuation 47 #123 of 229 86 #93 of 634 97 #22 of 634
Growth 81 #44 of 221 43 #350 of 608 –
Profitability 97 #7 of 210 93 #39 of 557 –
Financial Health 81 #47 of 240 40 #393 of 654 –
Shareholder Returns 93 #12 of 147 73 #108 of 403 78 #90 of 403
Overall 79 67 –
  • ISRG ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • JNJ 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

PeriodISRGJNJNVSSPY
1 month +15.8%+6.9%+15.1% -5.9%
3 months +25.4%+6.0%+5.0% -4.6%
6 months +3.3%+22.4%+11.4% +0.2%
Year to date -17.3%+31.6%+17.5% +7.5%
1 year -14.6%+46.4%+29.1% +8.2%
3 years +69.0%+79.5%+73.3% +68.3%
3 years, per year +19.1%+21.6%+20.1% +19.0%
5 years +28.4%+66.6%+93.6% +56.5%
5 years, per year +5.1%+10.8%+14.1% +9.4%
10 years +528.0%+136.6%+130.5% +251.5%
10 years, per year +20.2%+9.0%+8.7% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureISRGJNJNVSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.9%21.3%27.9% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.0%20.2%30.0% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.93-0.100.38 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.412.181.04 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.9%-23.6%-20.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.0%-2.2%-3.9% -5.9%
52-week high $592.85$278.47$168.62 $779.14
52-week low $332.02$186.00$124.36 $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.

MultipleISRGJNJNVS
P/E now vs peer median 55.3xmedian 26.9x 40.8xmedian 17.8x 17.9xmedian 17.8x
P/S now vs peer median 14.0xmedian 2.9x 6.6xmedian 8.1x 5.1xmedian 8.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 38.7xmedian 17.5x 20.5xmedian 15.7x —median 15.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 45.1xmedian 26.4x 31.8xmedian 21.0x 14.3xmedian 21.0x
P/B now vs peer median 10.1xmedian 2.3x 8.0xmedian 2.0x —median 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 2.15median 0.88 -1.90median 0.36 —median 0.36

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 monthsISRGJNJNVS
Revenue $11.58B $99.34B –
Gross profit $7.78B $67.11B –
Operating income $3.28B $25.19B –
Net income $2.97B $16.10B –
Free cash flow $3.60B $20.59B –
R&D $1.49B $16.08B –
EPS (diluted) $8.41 $6.57 –
Cash & equivalents $2.98B $16.91B $400.00M
Total debt – $44.65B –
Shares (diluted) 351.60M 2.45B 1.96B
Enterprise value $142.81B $575.44B $282.62B

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
MetricISRGJNJNVS
P/E 55.3x 40.8x 17.9x
P/FCF 45.1x 31.8x 14.3x
P/Operating cash flow 39.7x 25.1x –
P/S 14.0x 6.6x 5.1x
P/B 10.1x 8.0x –
P/Tangible book 10.9x 18.8x –
EV/EBITDA 38.7x 20.5x –
EV/EBIT 48.2x 27.1x –
EV/Revenue 13.7x 6.9x –
EV/FCF 44.0x 33.2x –
EV/Operating cash flow 38.7x 26.1x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.15 -1.90 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricISRGJNJNVS
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.5% 7.8% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 19.1% 5.9% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 21.9% 7.0% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 19.5% 5.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.6% 7.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 24.8% 1.4% –
Net income growth (1Y) 7.5% -35.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 24.4% -22.5% –
EPS growth (1Y) 10.8% -36.4% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 25.7% -21.5% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 38.1% 8.1% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.4% 12.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 58.4% 5.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 42.0% 14.5% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricISRGJNJNVS
Gross margin 67.2% 67.6% –
EBITDA margin 35.3% 33.5% –
Operating margin 28.4% 25.4% –
Pretax margin 31.3% 17.9% –
Net margin 25.5% 16.2% –
FCF margin 31.1% 20.7% –
Operating cash flow margin 35.3% 26.3% –
Return on equity 17.3% 19.3% –
Return on assets 14.8% 8.1% –
Return on invested capital – 17.6% –
Return on capital employed 18.7% 17.5% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.6x –
Stock comp / revenue 7.2% 1.4% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricISRGJNJNVS
Debt / assets – 22.6% –
Debt / equity – 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.8x –
Debt / FCF – 2.2x –
Liabilities / assets 16.7% 58.7% –
Equity / assets 83.3% 41.3% –
Interest coverage – 25.6x –
Current ratio 3.3x 1.0x –
Quick ratio 2.3x 0.7x –
Cash ratio 1.6x 0.3x –
Altman Z-score 32.00 5.52 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricISRGJNJNVS
Dividend yield – 1.9% 2.9%
Net buyback yield 2.6% 0.6% –
Shareholder yield 2.6% 2.6% 2.9%
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.

ConsensusISRGJNJNVS
Forward P/E 40.7xFY2026 25.4xFY2026 17.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.51FY2026 $10.72FY2026 $9.33FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +28.9%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026 +3.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +4.5% +5.9% +1.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.61BFY2026 $106.54BFY2026 $53.89BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.4%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026 -1.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.2% +7.0% +19.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersISRGJNJNVS
Held by institutions 86.2% 74.7% 7.0%
Institutions holding 2,240 4,698 1,610
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.6% +1.8% -6.0%
Institutions buying 1,072 2,297 662
Institutions selling 879 1,899 562
Buyers to sellers 1.22 1.21 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.

ISRGJNJNVS
ISRG 1.00 0.15 0.27
JNJ 0.15 1.00 0.52
NVS 0.27 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ISRG, JNJ and NVS?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) $162.39B, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $655.58B, Novartis Ag (NVS) $309.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, ISRG, JNJ and NVS?

Novartis Ag (NVS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 55.3x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 40.8x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Novartis Ag (NVS) is cheapest (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 40.7x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 25.4x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +20.5%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) has the highest net margin (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 25.5%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 16.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) returned the most: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) -14.6%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +46.4%, Novartis Ag (NVS) +29.1%. Over five years, Novartis Ag (NVS) compounded fastest (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +5.1%/yr, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +10.8%/yr, Novartis Ag (NVS) +14.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Novartis Ag (NVS) has the highest dividend yield: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 1.94%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 2.93%. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has been the steadiest (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 35.9%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 21.3%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ISRG, JNJ 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, Novartis Ag (NVS) 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.