JNJ vs VRTX Stock Comparison

Johnson & Johnson and Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Vertex Pharmaceuticals leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Vertex Pharmaceuticals 5, Johnson & Johnson 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionJNJVRTXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $641.74B $131.27B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 39.9x 29.8x VRTX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.5x 28.8x JNJ
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.8% +10.2% VRTX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.2% 35.0% VRTX
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% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +37.1% +24.0% JNJ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.0%/yr +23.4%/yr VRTX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.9% 29.0% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 76/100 VRTX

Percentile Scorecard

JNJVRTX

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

AxisJNJVRTX
Valuation 87 #83 of 624 80 #128 of 624
Growth 41 #354 of 603 60 #245 of 603
Profitability 93 #38 of 555 95 #30 of 555
Financial Health 42 #381 of 657 53 #307 of 657
Shareholder Returns 75 #93 of 370 92 #29 of 370
Overall 68 76
  • JNJ ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • VRTX 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

PeriodJNJVRTXSPY
1 month -2.0%+1.5% -1.0%
3 months +0.2%+9.8% +2.9%
6 months +16.0%+21.8% +6.4%
Year to date +27.5%+15.6% +11.4%
1 year +37.1%+24.0% +13.1%
3 years +74.5%+41.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +20.4%+12.4% +21.5%
5 years +61.2%+185.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year +10.0%+23.4% +10.9%
10 years +132.6%+548.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.8%+20.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureJNJVRTXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.9%29.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.0%25.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.240.49 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.770.83 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.6%-29.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.3%-6.1% -2.5%
52-week high $278.47$557.96 $779.14
52-week low $186.00$409.47 $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.

MultipleJNJVRTX
P/E now vs peer median 39.5xmedian 17.2x 30.2xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 8.8x 10.5xmedian 8.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.9xmedian 16.0x 25.0xmedian 16.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 30.8xmedian 17.8x 35.0xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median 7.8xmedian 2.1x 6.6xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median -1.84median 0.32 2.98median 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 monthsJNJVRTX
Revenue $99.34B $12.59B
Gross profit $67.11B $10.82B
Operating income $25.19B $4.78B
Net income $16.10B $4.41B
Free cash flow $20.59B $3.80B
R&D $16.08B $3.91B
EPS (diluted) $6.57 $17.26
Cash & equivalents $16.91B $6.14B
Total debt $194.47B –
Shares (diluted) 2.45B 255.20M
Enterprise value $561.60B $103.28B

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
MetricJNJVRTX
P/E 39.5x 30.2x
P/FCF 30.8x 35.0x
P/Operating cash flow 24.3x 30.9x
P/S 6.4x 10.5x
P/B 7.8x 6.6x
P/Tangible book 18.2x 6.7x
EV/EBITDA 19.9x 25.0x
EV/EBIT 26.3x 26.1x
EV/Revenue 6.7x 9.9x
EV/FCF 32.2x 32.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.3x 29.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.84 2.98

Growth

14 metrics
MetricJNJVRTX
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.8% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 9.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.0% 10.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 9.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 7.4% 21.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.4% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -35.9% 21.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -22.5% 9.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -36.4% 22.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -21.5% 10.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.1% 11.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.4% 1.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 5.1% 8.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.5% -0.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricJNJVRTX
Gross margin 67.6% 86.0%
EBITDA margin 33.5% 39.7%
Operating margin 25.4% 38.0%
Pretax margin 17.9% 41.9%
Net margin 16.2% 35.0%
FCF margin 20.7% 30.2%
Operating cash flow margin 26.3% 34.1%
Return on equity 19.3% 22.2%
Return on assets 8.1% 16.3%
Return on invested capital 17.6% –
Return on capital employed 17.5% 20.8%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% 5.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricJNJVRTX
Debt / assets 22.6% –
Debt / equity 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x –
Debt / FCF 2.2x –
Liabilities / assets 58.7% 26.2%
Equity / assets 41.3% 73.8%
Interest coverage 25.6x –
Current ratio 1.0x 3.2x
Quick ratio 0.7x 2.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 2.0x
Altman Z-score 5.41 13.31

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricJNJVRTX
Dividend yield 2.0% –
Net buyback yield 0.6% 1.4%
Shareholder yield 2.6% 1.4%
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.

ConsensusJNJVRTX
Forward P/E 24.5xFY2026 28.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.77FY2026 $18.20FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -0.2%FY2026 -1.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.3% +23.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $106.56BFY2026 $12.66BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.1%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.2% +18.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersJNJVRTX
Held by institutions 74.7% 95.1%
Institutions holding 4,688 1,745
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.8% +3.9%
Institutions buying 2,292 902
Institutions selling 1,894 605
Buyers to sellers 1.21 1.49

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.

JNJVRTX
JNJ 1.00 0.39
VRTX 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, JNJ and VRTX?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $641.74B, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) $131.27B.

Which stock is cheaper, JNJ and VRTX?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 39.9x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is cheapest (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 24.5x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 28.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +7.8%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has the highest net margin (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 16.2%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 35.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) returned the most: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +37.1%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +24.0%. Over five years, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) compounded fastest (Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +10.0%/yr, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +23.4%/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%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 0.00%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 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%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do JNJ and VRTX move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.39, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, JNJ and VRTX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 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.