JNJ vs ISRG vs NVS Stock Comparison

Johnson & Johnson, Intuitive Surgical and Novartis Ag Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
JNJ Johnson & Johnson
$271.21 -0.3% 1M +45.1% 1Y
Market cap
$661.13B
P/E
41.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$99.34B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
3 wins
ISRG Intuitive Surgical Inc
$444.18 +7.1% 1M -18.6% 1Y
Market cap
$156.03B
P/E
52.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.58B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
3 wins
NVS Novartis Ag
$156.09 +6.2% 1M +26.5% 1Y
Market cap
$310.85B
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.

QuestionJNJISRGNVSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $661.13B $156.03B $310.85B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.1x 52.8x 17.9x NVS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.3x 38.7x 16.9x NVS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.8% +20.5% — ISRG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.2% 25.5% — ISRG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 17.6% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +45.1% -18.6% +26.5% JNJ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.7%/yr +4.2%/yr +13.5%/yr NVS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.8% 34.6% 27.5% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 80/100 — ISRG

Percentile Scorecard

JNJISRGNVS

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

AxisJNJISRGNVS
Valuation 87 #82 of 625 53 #107 of 227 97 #19 of 625
Growth 42 #351 of 602 80 #44 of 219 –
Profitability 93 #38 of 549 98 #6 of 205 –
Financial Health 42 #379 of 654 78 #54 of 237 –
Shareholder Returns 75 #92 of 367 91 #13 of 135 82 #67 of 367
Overall 68 80 –
  • JNJ ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • ISRG ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • 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

PeriodJNJISRGNVSSPY
1 month -0.3%+7.1%+6.2% +0.9%
3 months +2.1%+25.8%-1.7% +5.9%
6 months +19.3%-2.1%+9.2% +8.5%
Year to date +31.1%-21.6%+13.2% +13.3%
1 year +45.1%-18.6%+26.5% +12.4%
3 years +86.3%+71.5%+69.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +23.1%+19.7%+19.2% +23.5%
5 years +66.5%+23.0%+88.6% +68.2%
5 years, per year +10.7%+4.2%+13.5% +11.0%
10 years +135.2%+499.8%+119.6% +263.4%
10 years, per year +8.9%+19.6%+8.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureJNJISRGNVSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.8%34.6%27.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.0%37.4%30.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.220.890.35 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.17-0.540.96 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.6%-49.9%-20.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.6%-25.1%-7.4% -0.9%
52-week high $278.47$592.85$168.62 $779.14
52-week low $186.00$332.02$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.

MultipleJNJISRGNVS
P/E now vs peer median 40.6xmedian 17.4x 52.4xmedian 28.8x 17.9xmedian 17.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 9.1x 13.3xmedian 3.0x 5.1xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 20.4xmedian 17.1x 36.6xmedian 17.4x —median 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.7xmedian 19.0x 42.8xmedian 25.7x 14.3xmedian 19.0x
P/B now vs peer median 8.0xmedian 2.2x 9.6xmedian 2.4x —median 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -1.89median 0.34 2.04median 1.03 —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 monthsJNJISRGNVS
Revenue $99.34B $11.58B –
Gross profit $67.11B $7.78B –
Operating income $25.19B $3.28B –
Net income $16.10B $2.97B –
Free cash flow $20.59B $3.60B –
R&D $16.08B $1.49B –
EPS (diluted) $6.57 $8.41 –
Cash & equivalents $16.91B $2.98B $400.00M
Total debt $44.65B – –
Shares (diluted) 2.45B 351.60M 1.96B
Enterprise value $581.00B $136.32B $284.09B

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

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricJNJISRGNVS
Debt / assets 22.6% – –
Debt / equity 0.5x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x – –
Debt / FCF 2.2x – –
Liabilities / assets 58.7% 16.7% –
Equity / assets 41.3% 83.3% –
Interest coverage 25.6x – –
Current ratio 1.0x 3.3x –
Quick ratio 0.7x 2.3x –
Cash ratio 0.3x 1.6x –
Altman Z-score 5.50 30.44 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricJNJISRGNVS
Dividend yield 1.9% – 3.0%
Net buyback yield 0.6% 2.8% –
Shareholder yield 2.6% 2.8% 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.

ConsensusJNJISRGNVS
Forward P/E 25.3xFY2026 38.7xFY2026 16.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.72FY2026 $11.47FY2026 $9.26FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -0.6%FY2026 +28.4%FY2026 +3.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.9% +4.5% +1.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $106.54BFY2026 $11.60BFY2026 $53.95BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.1%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026 -1.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.0% +11.3% +19.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersJNJISRGNVS
Held by institutions 74.7% 86.2% 7.0%
Institutions holding 4,691 2,236 1,607
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.8% +4.6% -5.9%
Institutions buying 2,294 1,071 662
Institutions selling 1,895 877 560
Buyers to sellers 1.21 1.22 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.

JNJISRGNVS
JNJ 1.00 0.10 0.50
ISRG 0.10 1.00 0.25
NVS 0.50 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, JNJ, ISRG and NVS?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $661.13B, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) $156.03B, Novartis Ag (NVS) $310.85B.

Which stock is cheaper, JNJ, ISRG and NVS?

Novartis Ag (NVS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 41.1x, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 52.8x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Novartis Ag (NVS) is cheapest (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 25.3x, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 38.7x, 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: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +7.8%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +20.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) returned the most: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +45.1%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) -18.6%, Novartis Ag (NVS) +26.5%. Over five years, Novartis Ag (NVS) compounded fastest (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +10.7%/yr, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +4.2%/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: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 0.02%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 0.00%, 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 (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 20.8%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 34.6%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, JNJ, ISRG 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.