NVS vs ABBV vs JNJ Stock Comparison

Novartis Ag, AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NVS Novartis Ag
$156.80 +7.8% 1M +21.4% 1Y
Market cap
$299.20B
P/E
17.9x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
3.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
3 wins
ABBV AbbVie Inc.
$286.43 +8.4% 1M +25.6% 1Y
Market cap
$506.16B
P/E
80.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$64.39B
Div. yield
2.42%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins
JNJ Johnson & Johnson
$268.78 -0.9% 1M +41.2% 1Y
Market cap
$647.04B
P/E
40.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$99.34B
Div. yield
1.96%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Johnson & Johnson leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Johnson & Johnson 5, AbbVie 4, Novartis Ag 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNVSABBVJNJLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $299.20B $506.16B $647.04B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.9x 80.3x 40.2x NVS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.9x 21.4x 25.1x NVS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +10.4% +7.8% ABBV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 9.8% 16.2% JNJ
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 18.7% 17.6% ABBV
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.6x 0.8x JNJ
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.02% 2.42% 1.96% NVS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +21.4% +25.6% +41.2% JNJ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.5%/yr +21.2%/yr +10.5%/yr ABBV
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.9% 25.9% 20.9% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 68/100 68/100 ABBV

Percentile Scorecard

NVSABBVJNJ

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

AxisNVSABBVJNJ
Valuation 97 #20 of 625 95 #30 of 625 87 #81 of 625
Growth – 54 #276 of 602 42 #352 of 602
Profitability – 95 #29 of 551 93 #38 of 551
Financial Health – 16 #552 of 656 43 #374 of 656
Shareholder Returns 81 #69 of 365 81 #70 of 365 75 #92 of 365
Overall – 68 68
  • NVS ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • ABBV ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • JNJ 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

PeriodNVSABBVJNJSPY
1 month +7.8%+8.4%-0.9% -0.2%
3 months -1.9%+8.8%+0.8% +3.9%
6 months +7.8%+44.9%+18.0% +8.2%
Year to date +13.7%+25.4%+29.9% +12.9%
1 year +21.4%+25.6%+41.2% +12.3%
3 years +69.9%+106.2%+84.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +19.3%+27.3%+22.7% +23.3%
5 years +88.2%+161.2%+65.0% +67.9%
5 years, per year +13.5%+21.2%+10.5% +10.9%
10 years +119.0%+366.0%+132.3% +261.1%
10 years, per year +8.2%+16.6%+8.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureNVSABBVJNJSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.9%25.9%20.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.7%24.8%20.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.34-0.16-0.22 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.770.991.97 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -20.4%-24.3%-23.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.0%-0.9%-3.5% -1.2%
52-week high $168.62$288.96$278.47 $779.14
52-week low $121.80$197.38$186.00 $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.

MultipleNVSABBVJNJ
P/E now vs peer median 17.9xmedian 17.2x 80.3xmedian 17.2x 40.2xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 9.0x 7.9xmedian 9.0x 6.5xmedian 9.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 16.3x 23.0xmedian 16.3x 20.3xmedian 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 18.7x 27.8xmedian 18.7x 31.4xmedian 18.7x
P/B now vs peer median —median 2.2x -85.3xmedian 2.2x 7.9xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.33 -7.95median 0.33 -1.87median 0.33

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 monthsNVSABBVJNJ
Revenue – $64.39B $99.34B
Gross profit – $46.02B $67.11B
Operating income – $16.87B $25.19B
Net income – $6.32B $16.10B
Free cash flow – $18.21B $20.59B
R&D – $9.71B $16.08B
EPS (diluted) – $3.56 $6.57
Cash & equivalents $400.00M $6.57B $16.91B
Total debt – $70.82B $44.65B
Shares (diluted) 1.96B 1.77B 2.45B
Enterprise value $272.77B $479.31B $566.90B

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
MetricNVSABBVJNJ
P/E 17.9x 80.3x 40.2x
P/FCF 14.3x 27.8x 31.4x
P/Operating cash flow – 25.9x 24.7x
P/S 5.1x 7.9x 6.5x
P/B – -85.3x 7.9x
P/Tangible book – -9.2x 18.6x
EV/EBITDA – 23.0x 20.3x
EV/EBIT – 33.8x 26.8x
EV/Revenue – 8.9x 6.8x
EV/FCF – 31.3x 32.8x
EV/Operating cash flow – 29.2x 25.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – -7.95 -1.87

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNVSABBVJNJ
Revenue growth (1Y) – 10.4% 7.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 4.7% 5.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 11.2% 7.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 6.0% 5.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 53.8% 7.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -1.0% 1.4%
Net income growth (1Y) – 67.5% -35.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – -10.1% -22.5%
EPS growth (1Y) – 67.7% -36.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – -10.1% -21.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 1.2% 8.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -8.6% 12.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -0.2% 5.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -9.8% 14.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNVSABBVJNJ
Gross margin – 71.5% 67.6%
EBITDA margin – 38.5% 33.5%
Operating margin – 26.2% 25.4%
Pretax margin – 13.5% 17.9%
Net margin – 9.8% 16.2%
FCF margin – 28.3% 20.7%
Operating cash flow margin – 30.3% 26.3%
Return on equity – – 19.3%
Return on assets – 4.7% 8.1%
Return on invested capital – 18.7% 17.6%
Return on capital employed – 17.9% 17.5%
Asset turnover – 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 3.1x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.5% 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNVSABBVJNJ
Debt / assets – 52.4% 22.6%
Debt / equity – -11.9x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.6x 0.8x
Debt / FCF – 3.9x 2.2x
Liabilities / assets – 104.4% 58.7%
Equity / assets – -4.4% 41.3%
Interest coverage – – 25.6x
Current ratio – 0.8x 1.0x
Quick ratio – 0.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio – 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score – 2.79 5.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNVSABBVJNJ
Dividend yield 3.0% 2.4% 2.0%
Net buyback yield – 0.3% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 3.0% 2.7% 2.6%
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.

ConsensusNVSABBVJNJ
Forward P/E 16.9xFY2026 21.4xFY2026 25.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.26FY2026 $13.38FY2026 $10.72FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.1%FY2026 +33.8%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +1.2% +25.8% +5.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.95BFY2026 $69.55BFY2026 $106.54BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.1%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.1% -0.6% +7.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNVSABBVJNJ
Held by institutions 7.0% 74.9% 74.7%
Institutions holding 1,607 4,175 4,690
Change in shares held, QoQ -5.9% +2.6% +1.8%
Institutions buying 662 2,202 2,293
Institutions selling 560 1,503 1,895
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.47 1.21

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.

NVSABBVJNJ
NVS 1.00 0.50 0.50
ABBV 0.50 1.00 0.51
JNJ 0.50 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NVS, ABBV and JNJ?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Novartis Ag (NVS) $299.20B, AbbVie (ABBV) $506.16B, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $647.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, NVS, ABBV and JNJ?

Novartis Ag (NVS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.9x, AbbVie (ABBV) 80.3x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 40.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Novartis Ag (NVS) is cheapest (Novartis Ag (NVS) 16.9x, AbbVie (ABBV) 21.4x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 25.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

AbbVie (ABBV) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: AbbVie (ABBV) +10.4%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has the highest net margin (AbbVie (ABBV) 9.8%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 16.2%). On return on invested capital, AbbVie (ABBV) leads (AbbVie (ABBV) 18.7%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 17.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) returned the most: Novartis Ag (NVS) +21.4%, AbbVie (ABBV) +25.6%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +41.2%. Over five years, AbbVie (ABBV) compounded fastest (Novartis Ag (NVS) +13.5%/yr, AbbVie (ABBV) +21.2%/yr, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +10.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Novartis Ag (NVS) has the highest dividend yield: Novartis Ag (NVS) 3.02%, AbbVie (ABBV) 2.42%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 1.96%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has been the steadiest (Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.9%, AbbVie (ABBV) 25.9%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 20.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NVS, ABBV and JNJ?

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 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.