ISRG vs JNJ vs NVS Stock Comparison

Intuitive Surgical, Johnson & Johnson and Novartis Ag Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ISRG Intuitive Surgical Inc
$444.18 +7.1% 1M -18.6% 1Y
Market cap
$156.90B
P/E
53.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.58B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
3 wins
JNJ Johnson & Johnson
$271.21 -0.3% 1M +45.1% 1Y
Market cap
$664.23B
P/E
41.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$99.34B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
3 wins
NVS Novartis Ag
$156.09 +6.2% 1M +26.5% 1Y
Market cap
$312.26B
P/E
17.9x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Johnson & Johnson leads on 3 of the 12 questions below (Johnson & Johnson 3, Novartis Ag 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 $156.90B $664.23B $312.26B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 53.1x 41.3x 17.9x NVS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 38.7x 25.3x 16.9x 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 0.00% 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -18.6% +45.1% +26.5% JNJ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.2%/yr +10.7%/yr +13.5%/yr NVS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 34.6% 20.8% 27.5% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 80/100 68/100 — 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 53 #107 of 227 87 #82 of 625 97 #19 of 625
Growth 80 #44 of 219 42 #351 of 602 –
Profitability 98 #6 of 205 93 #38 of 549 –
Financial Health 78 #54 of 237 42 #379 of 654 –
Shareholder Returns 91 #13 of 135 75 #92 of 367 82 #67 of 367
Overall 80 68 –
  • ISRG ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • JNJ ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • NVS ranked among 672 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 +7.1%-0.3%+6.2% +0.9%
3 months +25.8%+2.1%-1.7% +5.9%
6 months -2.1%+19.3%+9.2% +8.5%
Year to date -21.6%+31.1%+13.2% +13.3%
1 year -18.6%+45.1%+26.5% +12.4%
3 years +71.5%+86.3%+69.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +19.7%+23.1%+19.2% +23.5%
5 years +23.0%+66.5%+88.6% +68.2%
5 years, per year +4.2%+10.7%+13.5% +11.0%
10 years +499.8%+135.2%+119.6% +263.4%
10 years, per year +19.6%+8.9%+8.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureISRGJNJNVSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 34.6%20.8%27.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.4%20.0%30.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.89-0.220.35 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.542.170.96 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.9%-23.6%-20.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.1%-2.6%-7.4% -0.9%
52-week high $592.85$278.47$168.62 $779.14
52-week low $332.02$186.00$121.80 $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 52.4xmedian 28.8x 40.6xmedian 17.4x 17.9xmedian 17.4x
P/S now vs peer median 13.3xmedian 3.0x 6.6xmedian 9.1x 5.1xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 36.6xmedian 17.4x 20.4xmedian 17.1x —median 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.8xmedian 25.7x 31.7xmedian 19.0x 14.3xmedian 19.0x
P/B now vs peer median 9.6xmedian 2.4x 8.0xmedian 2.2x —median 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.04median 1.03 -1.89median 0.34 —median 0.34

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 $137.19B $584.09B $285.49B

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 52.4x 40.6x 17.9x
P/FCF 42.8x 31.7x 14.3x
P/Operating cash flow 37.6x 25.0x –
P/S 13.3x 6.6x 5.1x
P/B 9.6x 8.0x –
P/Tangible book 10.3x 18.7x –
EV/EBITDA 36.6x 20.4x –
EV/EBIT 45.6x 27.0x –
EV/Revenue 12.9x 6.8x –
EV/FCF 41.7x 33.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 36.7x 26.0x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.04 -1.89 –

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 30.44 5.50 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricISRGJNJNVS
Dividend yield – 1.9% 3.0%
Net buyback yield 2.8% 0.6% –
Shareholder yield 2.8% 2.6% 3.0%
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 38.7xFY2026 25.3xFY2026 16.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.47FY2026 $10.72FY2026 $9.26FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +28.4%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026 +3.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +4.5% +5.9% +1.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.60BFY2026 $106.54BFY2026 $53.95BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.3%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026 -1.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.3% +7.0% +19.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersISRGJNJNVS
Held by institutions 86.2% 74.7% 7.0%
Institutions holding 2,236 4,691 1,607
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.6% +1.8% -5.9%
Institutions buying 1,071 2,294 662
Institutions selling 877 1,895 560
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 0.10 0.25
JNJ 0.10 1.00 0.50
NVS 0.25 0.50 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) $156.90B, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $664.23B, Novartis Ag (NVS) $312.26B.

Which stock is cheaper, ISRG, JNJ and NVS?

Novartis Ag (NVS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 53.1x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 41.3x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Novartis Ag (NVS) is cheapest (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 38.7x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 25.3x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 16.9x). 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) -18.6%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +45.1%, Novartis Ag (NVS) +26.5%. Over five years, Novartis Ag (NVS) compounded fastest (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +4.2%/yr, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +10.7%/yr, Novartis Ag (NVS) +13.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 0.00%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 0.02%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 0.00%. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Novartis Ag (NVS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has been the steadiest (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 34.6%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 20.8%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.5%). 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, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) leads on 3. 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.