JNJ vs MRK vs NUVB Stock Comparison

Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Nuvation Bio Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
JNJ Johnson & Johnson
$271.21 -0.3% 1M +45.1% 1Y
Market cap
$661.50B
P/E
41.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$99.34B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
9 wins
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$141.04 -5.2% 1M +62.1% 1Y
Market cap
$363.91B
P/E
114.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
2 wins
NUVB Nuvation Bio Inc.
$4.60 -18.0% 1M -14.3% 1Y
Market cap
$1.66B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$169.90M
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Johnson & Johnson leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Johnson & Johnson 9, Merck 2, Nuvation Bio 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionJNJMRKNUVBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $661.50B $363.91B $1.66B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.1x 114.7x -11.1x JNJ
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.3x 56.9x — JNJ
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.8% +4.6% +1,083.6% NUVB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.2% 4.8% -88.2% JNJ
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 17.6% 3.6% — JNJ
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 3.6x 4.9x JNJ
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.02% 0.00% MRK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +45.1% +62.1% -14.3% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.7%/yr +9.9%/yr -12.9%/yr JNJ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.8% 29.6% 78.8% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 62/100 63/100 JNJ

Percentile Scorecard

JNJMRKNUVB

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

AxisJNJMRKNUVB
Valuation 87 #82 of 625 81 #120 of 625 59 #257 of 625
Growth 42 #351 of 602 36 #383 of 602 60 #239 of 602
Profitability 93 #38 of 549 91 #53 of 549 65 #191 of 549
Financial Health 42 #379 of 654 20 #523 of 654 67 #218 of 654
Shareholder Returns 75 #92 of 367 81 #69 of 367 65 #131 of 367
Overall 68 62 63
  • JNJ ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • NUVB 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

PeriodJNJMRKNUVBSPY
1 month -0.3%-5.2%-18.0% +0.9%
3 months +2.1%+8.2%-30.1% +5.9%
6 months +19.3%+27.1%+6.0% +8.5%
Year to date +31.1%+34.0%-48.7% +13.3%
1 year +45.1%+62.1%-14.3% +12.4%
3 years +86.3%+37.2%+351.0% +88.1%
3 years, per year +23.1%+11.1%+65.3% +23.5%
5 years +66.5%+60.2%-49.8% +68.2%
5 years, per year +10.7%+9.9%-12.9% +11.0%
10 years +135.2%+139.7%— +263.4%
10 years, per year +8.9%+9.1%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureJNJMRKNUVBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.8%29.6%78.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.0%24.5%76.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.220.121.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.172.10-0.18 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.6%-44.7%-90.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.6%-9.8%-51.8% -0.9%
52-week high $278.47$156.45$9.54 $779.14
52-week low $186.00$82.49$4.05 $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.

MultipleJNJMRKNUVB
P/E now vs peer median 40.6xmedian 17.4x 109.8xmedian 17.4x -10.7xmedian 17.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 9.1x 5.2xmedian 9.1x 9.4xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 20.4xmedian 17.1x 30.1xmedian 17.1x -7.0xmedian 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.7xmedian 19.0x 21.7xmedian 19.0x -12.4xmedian 19.0x
P/B now vs peer median 8.0xmedian 2.2x 8.3xmedian 2.2x 6.3xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -1.89median 0.34 69.11median 0.34 8.17median 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 monthsJNJMRKNUVB
Revenue $99.34B $66.57B $169.90M
Gross profit $67.11B $48.57B –
Operating income $25.19B $6.38B -$137.63M
Net income $16.10B $3.17B -$149.83M
Free cash flow $20.59B $16.06B -$128.93M
R&D $16.08B $30.45B $128.85M
EPS (diluted) $6.57 $1.28 $-0.43
Cash & equivalents $16.91B $6.85B $258.60M
Total debt $44.65B $53.91B $5.89M
Shares (diluted) 2.45B 2.47B 348.77M
Enterprise value $581.36B $318.28B -$609.31M

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
MetricJNJMRKNUVB
P/E 40.6x 109.8x -10.7x
P/FCF 31.7x 21.7x -12.4x
P/Operating cash flow 25.0x 17.4x -13.2x
P/S 6.6x 5.2x 9.4x
P/B 8.0x 8.3x 6.3x
P/Tangible book 18.7x 20.5x 6.5x
EV/EBITDA 20.4x 30.1x -7.0x
EV/EBIT 27.0x 61.9x -6.8x
EV/Revenue 6.8x 5.9x 5.5x
EV/FCF 33.0x 24.6x -7.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.0x 19.8x -7.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.89 69.11 8.17

Growth

14 metrics
MetricJNJMRKNUVB
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.8% 4.6% 1,084%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 4.5% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.0% -0.3% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 4.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 7.4% -66.6% 38.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.4% 1.9% -9.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -35.9% -80.7% 26.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -22.5% 0.5% -18.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -36.4% -80.3% 27.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -21.5% 1.6% -1.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.1% 7.7% 28.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.4% 9.8% -14.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 5.1% 9.1% 23.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.5% 14.0% -16.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricJNJMRKNUVB
Gross margin 67.6% 73.0% –
EBITDA margin 33.5% 19.7% -79.0%
Operating margin 25.4% 9.6% -81.0%
Pretax margin 17.9% 8.9% -88.2%
Net margin 16.2% 4.8% -88.2%
FCF margin 20.7% 24.1% -75.9%
Operating cash flow margin 26.3% 30.0% -70.9%
Return on equity 19.3% 7.2% -52.3%
Return on assets 8.1% 2.5% -22.1%
Return on invested capital 17.6% 3.6% –
Return on capital employed 17.5% 6.3% -23.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 6.3x 0.8x
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% 1.3% 20.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricJNJMRKNUVB
Debt / assets 22.6% 41.5% 0.8%
Debt / equity 0.5x 1.3x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 3.6x 4.9x
Debt / FCF 2.2x 3.4x 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 58.7% 67.7% 65.9%
Equity / assets 41.3% 32.3% 34.1%
Interest coverage 25.6x – -5.2x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.3x 8.4x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.7x 7.9x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 7.6x
Altman Z-score 5.50 3.82 0.39

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricJNJMRKNUVB
Dividend yield 1.9% 2.4% –
Net buyback yield 0.6% 1.1% -0.7%
Shareholder yield 2.6% 3.5% -0.7%
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.

ConsensusJNJMRKNUVB
Forward P/E 25.3xFY2026 56.9xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $10.72FY2026 $2.48FY2026 $-0.38FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -0.6%FY2026 -72.4%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +5.9% +257.3% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $106.54BFY2026 $69.45BFY2026 $187.51MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.1%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026 +198.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.0% -3.8% +52.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersJNJMRKNUVB
Held by institutions 74.7% 79.9% 66.6%
Institutions holding 4,691 3,797 238
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.8% +2.6% +5.7%
Institutions buying 2,294 1,843 148
Institutions selling 1,895 1,464 50
Buyers to sellers 1.21 1.26 2.96

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.

JNJMRKNUVB
JNJ 1.00 0.48 0.10
MRK 0.48 1.00 0.19
NUVB 0.10 0.19 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, JNJ, MRK and NUVB?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $661.50B, Merck (MRK) $363.91B, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) $1.66B.

Which stock is cheaper, JNJ, MRK and NUVB?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 41.1x, Merck (MRK) 114.7x, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -11.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is cheapest (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 25.3x, Merck (MRK) 56.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nuvation Bio (NUVB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +7.8%, Merck (MRK) +4.6%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) +1,083.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has the highest net margin (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 16.2%, Merck (MRK) 4.8%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -88.2%). On return on invested capital, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) leads (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 17.6%, Merck (MRK) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +45.1%, Merck (MRK) +62.1%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -14.3%. Over five years, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) compounded fastest (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +10.7%/yr, Merck (MRK) +9.9%/yr, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -12.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Merck (MRK) has the highest dividend yield: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 0.02%, Merck (MRK) 0.02%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) 0.00%. Nuvation Bio (NUVB) 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%, Merck (MRK) 29.6%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) 78.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 9. 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.