JNJ vs NVS Stock Comparison

Johnson & Johnson and Novartis Ag Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
4 wins
NVS Novartis Ag
$151.12 +5.9% 1M +14.8% 1Y
Market cap
$298.40B
P/E
18.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$54.77B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Novartis Ag leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Novartis Ag 6, Johnson & Johnson 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionJNJNVSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $641.74B $298.40B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 39.9x 18.9x NVS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.5x 16.3x NVS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.8% +2.8% JNJ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.2% 28.8% NVS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 17.6% 34.9% NVS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +37.1% +14.8% JNJ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.0%/yr +12.2%/yr NVS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.9% 27.8% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 71/100 NVS

Percentile Scorecard

JNJNVS

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

AxisJNJNVS
Valuation 87 #83 of 624 90 #63 of 624
Growth 41 #354 of 603 54 #276 of 603
Profitability 93 #38 of 555 96 #25 of 555
Financial Health 42 #381 of 657 42 #384 of 657
Shareholder Returns 75 #93 of 370 73 #101 of 370
Overall 68 71
  • 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

PeriodJNJNVSSPY
1 month -2.0%+5.9% -1.0%
3 months +0.2%-2.5% +2.9%
6 months +16.0%+3.9% +6.4%
Year to date +27.5%+9.6% +11.4%
1 year +37.1%+14.8% +13.1%
3 years +74.5%+59.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +20.4%+16.8% +21.5%
5 years +61.2%+78.0% +67.7%
5 years, per year +10.0%+12.2% +10.9%
10 years +132.6%+100.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.8%+7.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureJNJNVSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.9%27.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.0%30.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.240.31 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.770.53 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.6%-20.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.3%-10.4% -2.5%
52-week high $278.47$168.62 $779.14
52-week low $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.

MultipleJNJNVS
P/E now vs peer median 39.5xmedian 17.2x 18.6xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 8.8x 5.3xmedian 8.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.9xmedian 16.0x —median 16.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 30.8xmedian 17.8x 14.9xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median 7.8xmedian 2.1x 6.9xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median -1.84median 0.32 0.57median 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 monthsJNJNVS
Revenue $99.34B $54.77B
Gross profit $67.11B $42.37B
Operating income $25.19B $17.10B
Net income $16.10B $12.75B
Free cash flow $20.59B $19.38B
R&D $16.08B $11.69B
EPS (diluted) $6.57 $8.07
Cash & equivalents $16.91B $7.62B
Total debt $194.47B $31.01B
Shares (diluted) 2.45B 1.96B
Enterprise value $561.60B $262.39B

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
MetricJNJNVS
P/E 39.5x 18.6x
P/FCF 30.8x 14.9x
P/Operating cash flow 24.3x 15.7x
P/S 6.4x 5.3x
P/B 7.8x 6.9x
P/Tangible book 18.2x -2,253x
EV/EBITDA 19.9x –
EV/EBIT 26.3x 17.0x
EV/Revenue 6.7x 5.3x
EV/FCF 32.2x 15.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.3x 15.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.84 0.57

Growth

14 metrics
MetricJNJNVS
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.8% 2.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 8.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.0% 0.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 9.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 7.4% 2.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.4% 23.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -35.9% -6.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -22.5% 21.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -36.4% -9.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -21.5% 32.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.1% -11.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.4% 6.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 5.1% -10.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.5% 7.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricJNJNVS
Gross margin 67.6% 77.4%
EBITDA margin 33.5% –
Operating margin 25.4% 31.2%
Pretax margin 17.9% 28.3%
Net margin 16.2% 28.8%
FCF margin 20.7% 35.4%
Operating cash flow margin 26.3% 33.6%
Return on equity 19.3% 31.5%
Return on assets 8.1% 10.6%
Return on invested capital 17.6% 34.9%
Return on capital employed 17.5% 19.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricJNJNVS
Debt / assets 22.6% 7.9%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x –
Debt / FCF 2.2x 0.5x
Liabilities / assets 58.7% 65.6%
Equity / assets 41.3% 34.4%
Interest coverage 25.6x 36.7x
Current ratio 1.0x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 5.41 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricJNJNVS
Dividend yield 2.0% 3.1%
Net buyback yield 0.6% -1.5%
Shareholder yield 2.6% 1.6%
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.

ConsensusJNJNVS
Forward P/E 24.5xFY2026 16.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.77FY2026 $9.29FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -0.2%FY2026 +3.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.3% +1.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $106.56BFY2026 $53.94BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.1%FY2026 -1.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.2% +19.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersJNJNVS
Held by institutions 74.7% 7.0%
Institutions holding 4,688 1,607
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.8% -5.9%
Institutions buying 2,292 662
Institutions selling 1,894 560
Buyers to sellers 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.

JNJNVS
JNJ 1.00 0.50
NVS 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, JNJ and NVS?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $641.74B, Novartis Ag (NVS) $298.40B.

Which stock is cheaper, JNJ and NVS?

Novartis Ag (NVS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 39.9x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 18.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Novartis Ag (NVS) is cheapest (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 24.5x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 16.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +7.8%, Novartis Ag (NVS) +2.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Novartis Ag (NVS) has the highest net margin (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 16.2%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 28.8%). On return on invested capital, Novartis Ag (NVS) leads (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 17.6%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 34.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) returned the most: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +37.1%, Novartis Ag (NVS) +14.8%. Over five years, Novartis Ag (NVS) compounded fastest (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +10.0%/yr, Novartis Ag (NVS) +12.2%/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%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 0.00%. 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) 20.9%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do JNJ and NVS move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.50, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, 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 6. 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.