LLY vs NVS vs AZN Stock Comparison

Eli Lilly, Novartis Ag and Astrazeneca Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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LLY ELI LILLY & Co
$1,412.23 +23.5% 1M +63.7% 1Y
Market cap
$1.33T
P/E
45.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$86.46B
Div. yield
0.47%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
6 wins
NVS Novartis Ag
$161.48 +14.5% 1M +30.4% 1Y
Market cap
$308.13B
P/E
17.9x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
2.94%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins
AZN Astrazeneca Plc
$186.64 +18.9% 1M +13.3% 1Y
Market cap
$289.29B
P/E
26.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$59.37B
Div. yield
1.28%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Eli Lilly leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Eli Lilly 6, Novartis Ag 4, Astrazeneca 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLLYNVSAZNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.33T $308.13B $289.29B LLY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 45.7x 17.9x 26.2x NVS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 43.6x 17.4x 18.7x NVS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +45.5% — +7.8% LLY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 31.9% — 18.6% LLY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 38.2% — 24.1% LLY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.0x — -0.9x AZN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.47% 2.94% 1.28% NVS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +63.7% +30.4% +13.3% LLY
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +39.6%/yr +14.1%/yr +7.9%/yr LLY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.1% 27.6% 28.4% NVS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 72/100 — 74/100 AZN

Percentile Scorecard

LLYNVSAZN

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

AxisLLYNVSAZN
Valuation 76 #149 of 623 97 #20 of 623 85 #96 of 623
Growth 97 #19 of 601 – 59 #245 of 601
Profitability 98 #12 of 553 – 94 #36 of 553
Financial Health 29 #465 of 654 – 66 #226 of 654
Shareholder Returns 62 #139 of 367 80 #75 of 367 68 #119 of 367
Overall 72 – 74
  • LLY ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • NVS ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • AZN 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

PeriodLLYNVSAZNSPY
1 month +23.5%+14.5%+18.9% -2.3%
3 months +26.0%+5.1%+18.2% -0.7%
6 months +45.9%+11.7%+1.7% +4.8%
Year to date +31.4%+17.1%+1.5% +10.3%
1 year +63.7%+30.4%+13.3% +10.3%
3 years +148.7%+74.1%+45.9% +73.0%
3 years, per year +35.5%+20.3%+13.4% +20.1%
5 years +430.4%+93.2%+46.2% +61.9%
5 years, per year +39.6%+14.1%+7.9% +10.1%
10 years +1,843.9%+126.6%+230.8% +258.6%
10 years, per year +34.6%+8.5%+12.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureLLYNVSAZNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.1%27.6%28.4% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.0%30.1%27.2% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.200.340.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.811.100.47 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.8%-20.4%-27.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.3%-4.2%-10.9% -3.5%
52-week high $1,416.06$168.62$209.48 $779.14
52-week low $851.21$123.86$155.60 $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.

MultipleLLYNVSAZN
P/E now vs peer median 45.7xmedian 17.4x 17.9xmedian 17.4x 26.2xmedian 17.4x
P/S now vs peer median 15.4xmedian 8.9x 5.1xmedian 8.9x 4.9xmedian 8.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 30.4xmedian 17.0x —median 17.0x 12.7xmedian 17.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 67.6xmedian 21.4x 14.3xmedian 21.4x 27.2xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 33.0xmedian 2.1x —median 2.1x 5.6xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.59median 0.35 —median 0.35 1.13median 0.35

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 monthsLLYNVSAZN
Revenue $86.46B – $59.37B
Gross profit $72.31B – $51.12B
Operating income $42.95B – $14.78B
Net income $27.58B – $11.03B
Free cash flow $19.66B – $10.63B
R&D $15.38B – $15.30B
EPS (diluted) $30.87 – $7.06
Cash & equivalents $4.89B $400.00M $7.94B
Total debt $49.50B – -$11.96B
Shares (diluted) 893.40M 1.96B 1.56B
Enterprise value $1.30T $281.70B $263.27B

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
MetricLLYNVSAZN
P/E 45.7x 17.9x 26.2x
P/FCF 67.6x 14.3x 27.2x
P/Operating cash flow 43.4x – 21.9x
P/S 15.4x 5.1x 4.9x
P/B 33.0x – 5.6x
P/Tangible book 59.9x – 21.2x
EV/EBITDA 30.4x – 12.7x
EV/EBIT 32.0x – 18.2x
EV/Revenue 15.9x – 4.5x
EV/FCF 69.8x – 25.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 44.8x – 20.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.59 – 1.13

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLLYNVSAZN
Revenue growth (1Y) 45.5% – 7.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 39.2% – 10.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 46.6% – 6.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 42.0% – 12.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 67.5% – 15.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 66.4% – 22.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 49.8% – 17.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 76.8% – 23.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 50.7% – 17.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 77.2% – 23.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 90.8% – -12.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 70.2% – –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 112.1% – -22.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 80.6% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLLYNVSAZN
Gross margin 83.6% – 86.1%
EBITDA margin 52.2% – 35.7%
Operating margin 49.7% – 24.9%
Pretax margin 40.2% – 22.4%
Net margin 31.9% – 18.6%
FCF margin 22.7% – 17.9%
Operating cash flow margin 35.4% – 22.3%
Return on equity 74.4% – 21.6%
Return on assets 19.0% – 9.4%
Return on invested capital 38.2% – 24.1%
Return on capital employed 43.7% – 9.9%
Asset turnover 0.6x – 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x – 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLLYNVSAZN
Debt / assets 33.4% – -10.0%
Debt / equity 1.2x – -0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.0x – -0.9x
Debt / FCF 2.5x – -1.1x
Liabilities / assets 72.8% – 56.8%
Equity / assets 27.2% – 43.2%
Interest coverage – – 16.1x
Current ratio 1.4x – -1.0x
Quick ratio 0.6x – -0.8x
Cash ratio 0.1x – -0.3x
Altman Z-score 9.44 – 4.24

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLLYNVSAZN
Dividend yield 0.5% 2.9% 1.3%
Net buyback yield 0.4% – 0.0%
Shareholder yield 0.9% 2.9% 1.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusLLYNVSAZN
Forward P/E 43.6xFY2026 17.4xFY2026 18.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $32.40FY2026 $9.26FY2026 $10.00FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +33.8%FY2026 +3.1%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +42.2% +1.2% +6.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $85.28BFY2026 $53.95BFY2026 $59.02BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +30.8%FY2026 -1.1%FY2026 +0.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.4% +19.1% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLLYNVSAZN
Held by institutions 83.7% 7.0% 52.1%
Institutions holding 4,630 1,609 1,498
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.5% -5.9% +7.8%
Institutions buying 2,633 662 809
Institutions selling 1,470 562 469
Buyers to sellers 1.79 1.18 1.72

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.

LLYNVSAZN
LLY 1.00 0.47 0.48
NVS 0.47 1.00 0.55
AZN 0.48 0.55 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LLY, NVS and AZN?

Eli Lilly (LLY) is the largest by market capitalisation: Eli Lilly (LLY) $1.33T, Novartis Ag (NVS) $308.13B, Astrazeneca (AZN) $289.29B.

Which stock is cheaper, LLY, NVS and AZN?

Novartis Ag (NVS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Eli Lilly (LLY) 45.7x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.9x, Astrazeneca (AZN) 26.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Novartis Ag (NVS) is cheapest (Eli Lilly (LLY) 43.6x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.4x, Astrazeneca (AZN) 18.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Eli Lilly (LLY) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Eli Lilly (LLY) +45.5%, Astrazeneca (AZN) +7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Eli Lilly (LLY) has the highest net margin (Eli Lilly (LLY) 31.9%, Astrazeneca (AZN) 18.6%). On return on invested capital, Eli Lilly (LLY) leads (Eli Lilly (LLY) 38.2%, Astrazeneca (AZN) 24.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Eli Lilly (LLY) returned the most: Eli Lilly (LLY) +63.7%, Novartis Ag (NVS) +30.4%, Astrazeneca (AZN) +13.3%. Over five years, Eli Lilly (LLY) compounded fastest (Eli Lilly (LLY) +39.6%/yr, Novartis Ag (NVS) +14.1%/yr, Astrazeneca (AZN) +7.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Novartis Ag (NVS) has the highest dividend yield: Eli Lilly (LLY) 0.47%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 2.94%, Astrazeneca (AZN) 1.28%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Novartis Ag (NVS) has been the steadiest (Eli Lilly (LLY) 35.1%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.6%, Astrazeneca (AZN) 28.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LLY, NVS and AZN?

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