JNJ vs ABBV vs MRK Stock Comparison

Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie and Merck Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
5 wins
ABBV AbbVie Inc.
$285.60 +7.7% 1M +25.1% 1Y
Market cap
$507.44B
P/E
80.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$64.39B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
5 wins
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$145.28 -1.9% 1M +66.6% 1Y
Market cap
$346.73B
P/E
109.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Johnson & Johnson leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Johnson & Johnson 5, AbbVie 5, Merck 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionJNJABBVMRKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $641.74B $507.44B $346.73B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 39.9x 80.4x 109.3x JNJ
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.5x 21.3x 58.3x ABBV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.8% +10.4% +4.6% ABBV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.2% 9.8% 4.8% JNJ
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 17.6% 18.7% 3.6% ABBV
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 2.6x 3.6x JNJ
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.02% MRK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +37.1% +25.1% +66.6% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.0%/yr +21.2%/yr +12.4%/yr ABBV
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.9% 25.9% 29.4% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 68/100 61/100 ABBV

Percentile Scorecard

JNJABBVMRK

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

AxisJNJABBVMRK
Valuation 87 #83 of 624 95 #30 of 624 79 #134 of 624
Growth 41 #354 of 603 54 #281 of 603 36 #387 of 603
Profitability 93 #38 of 555 95 #29 of 555 91 #53 of 555
Financial Health 42 #381 of 657 15 #556 of 657 20 #528 of 657
Shareholder Returns 75 #93 of 370 81 #70 of 370 81 #71 of 370
Overall 68 68 61
  • JNJ ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • ABBV ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK 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

PeriodJNJABBVMRKSPY
1 month -2.0%+7.7%-1.9% -1.0%
3 months +0.2%+10.1%+10.8% +2.9%
6 months +16.0%+43.7%+29.8% +6.4%
Year to date +27.5%+25.0%+38.0% +11.4%
1 year +37.1%+25.1%+66.6% +13.1%
3 years +74.5%+95.2%+41.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +20.4%+25.0%+12.1% +21.5%
5 years +61.2%+161.7%+79.0% +67.7%
5 years, per year +10.0%+21.2%+12.4% +10.9%
10 years +132.6%+368.4%+137.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.8%+16.7%+9.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureJNJABBVMRKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.9%25.9%29.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.0%24.8%24.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.24-0.160.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.770.972.27 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.6%-24.3%-44.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.3%-1.2%-7.1% -2.5%
52-week high $278.47$288.96$156.45 $779.14
52-week low $186.00$197.38$82.49 $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.

MultipleJNJABBVMRK
P/E now vs peer median 39.5xmedian 17.2x 80.1xmedian 17.2x 113.1xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 8.8x 7.8xmedian 8.8x 5.4xmedian 8.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.9xmedian 16.0x 22.9xmedian 16.0x 30.9xmedian 16.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 30.8xmedian 17.8x 27.7xmedian 17.8x 22.3xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median 7.8xmedian 2.1x -85.0xmedian 2.1x 8.5xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median -1.84median 0.32 -7.93median 0.32 71.19median 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 monthsJNJABBVMRK
Revenue $99.34B $64.39B $66.57B
Gross profit $67.11B $46.02B $48.57B
Operating income $25.19B $16.87B $6.38B
Net income $16.10B $6.32B $3.17B
Free cash flow $20.59B $18.21B $16.06B
R&D $16.08B $9.71B $30.45B
EPS (diluted) $6.57 $3.56 $1.28
Cash & equivalents $16.91B $6.57B $6.85B
Total debt $194.47B $282.90B $193.74B
Shares (diluted) 2.45B 1.77B 2.47B
Enterprise value $561.60B $480.55B $301.10B

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
MetricJNJABBVMRK
P/E 39.5x 80.1x 113.1x
P/FCF 30.8x 27.7x 22.3x
P/Operating cash flow 24.3x 25.9x 18.0x
P/S 6.4x 7.8x 5.4x
P/B 7.8x -85.0x 8.5x
P/Tangible book 18.2x -9.2x 21.1x
EV/EBITDA 19.9x 22.9x 30.9x
EV/EBIT 26.3x 33.7x 63.5x
EV/Revenue 6.7x 8.8x 6.1x
EV/FCF 32.2x 31.2x 25.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.3x 29.2x 20.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.84 -7.93 71.19

Growth

14 metrics
MetricJNJABBVMRK
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.8% 10.4% 4.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 4.7% 4.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.0% 11.2% -0.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 6.0% 4.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 7.4% 53.8% -66.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.4% -1.0% 1.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -35.9% 67.5% -80.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -22.5% -10.1% 0.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -36.4% 67.7% -80.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -21.5% -10.1% 1.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.1% 1.2% 7.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.4% -8.6% 9.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 5.1% -0.2% 9.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.5% -9.8% 14.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricJNJABBVMRK
Gross margin 67.6% 71.5% 73.0%
EBITDA margin 33.5% 38.5% 19.7%
Operating margin 25.4% 26.2% 9.6%
Pretax margin 17.9% 13.5% 8.9%
Net margin 16.2% 9.8% 4.8%
FCF margin 20.7% 28.3% 24.1%
Operating cash flow margin 26.3% 30.3% 30.0%
Return on equity 19.3% – 7.2%
Return on assets 8.1% 4.7% 2.5%
Return on invested capital 17.6% 18.7% 3.6%
Return on capital employed 17.5% 17.9% 6.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 3.1x 6.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% 1.5% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricJNJABBVMRK
Debt / assets 22.6% 52.4% 41.5%
Debt / equity 0.5x -11.9x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 2.6x 3.6x
Debt / FCF 2.2x 3.9x 3.4x
Liabilities / assets 58.7% 104.4% 67.7%
Equity / assets 41.3% -4.4% 32.3%
Interest coverage 25.6x – –
Current ratio 1.0x 0.8x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 5.41 2.78 3.89

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricJNJABBVMRK
Dividend yield 2.0% 2.4% 2.3%
Net buyback yield 0.6% 0.3% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 2.6% 2.7% 3.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 79.0% – 261.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) 61.8% – 51.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.9% – 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.0% – 4.7%

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.

ConsensusJNJABBVMRK
Forward P/E 24.5xFY2026 21.3xFY2026 58.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.77FY2026 $13.38FY2026 $2.49FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -0.2%FY2026 +33.8%FY2026 -72.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.3% +25.8% +257.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $106.56BFY2026 $69.55BFY2026 $69.45BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.1%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.2% -0.6% -3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersJNJABBVMRK
Held by institutions 74.7% 74.9% 79.9%
Institutions holding 4,688 4,173 3,794
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.8% +2.6% +2.6%
Institutions buying 2,292 2,201 1,840
Institutions selling 1,894 1,502 1,464
Buyers to sellers 1.21 1.47 1.26

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.

JNJABBVMRK
JNJ 1.00 0.51 0.49
ABBV 0.51 1.00 0.42
MRK 0.49 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, JNJ, ABBV and MRK?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $641.74B, AbbVie (ABBV) $507.44B, Merck (MRK) $346.73B.

Which stock is cheaper, JNJ, ABBV and MRK?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 39.9x, AbbVie (ABBV) 80.4x, Merck (MRK) 109.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, AbbVie (ABBV) is cheapest (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 24.5x, AbbVie (ABBV) 21.3x, Merck (MRK) 58.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

AbbVie (ABBV) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +7.8%, AbbVie (ABBV) +10.4%, Merck (MRK) +4.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has the highest net margin (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 16.2%, AbbVie (ABBV) 9.8%, Merck (MRK) 4.8%). On return on invested capital, AbbVie (ABBV) leads (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 17.6%, AbbVie (ABBV) 18.7%, Merck (MRK) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +37.1%, AbbVie (ABBV) +25.1%, Merck (MRK) +66.6%. Over five years, AbbVie (ABBV) compounded fastest (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +10.0%/yr, AbbVie (ABBV) +21.2%/yr, Merck (MRK) +12.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Merck (MRK) has the highest dividend yield: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 0.02%, AbbVie (ABBV) 0.00%, Merck (MRK) 0.02%. AbbVie (ABBV) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has been the steadiest (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 20.9%, AbbVie (ABBV) 25.9%, Merck (MRK) 29.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, JNJ, ABBV and MRK?

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 5. 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.