NVS vs ABBV vs LLY Stock Comparison

Novartis Ag, AbbVie and Eli Lilly 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
1 win
LLY ELI LILLY & Co
$1,281.52 +8.2% 1M +55.1% 1Y
Market cap
$1.21T
P/E
42.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$79.67B
Div. yield
0.52%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
8 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Eli Lilly leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Eli Lilly 8, Novartis Ag 3, AbbVie 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNVSABBVLLYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $299.20B $506.16B $1.21T LLY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.9x 80.3x 42.8x NVS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.9x 21.4x 39.6x NVS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +10.4% +49.6% LLY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 9.8% 33.5% LLY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 18.7% 37.2% LLY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.6x 1.1x LLY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.02% 2.42% 0.52% NVS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +21.4% +25.6% +55.1% LLY
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.5%/yr +21.2%/yr +38.3%/yr LLY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.9% 25.9% 34.8% ABBV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 68/100 72/100 LLY

Percentile Scorecard

NVSABBVLLY

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

AxisNVSABBVLLY
Valuation 97 #20 of 625 95 #30 of 625 75 #156 of 625
Growth – 54 #276 of 602 98 #16 of 602
Profitability – 95 #29 of 551 98 #12 of 551
Financial Health – 16 #552 of 656 26 #484 of 656
Shareholder Returns 81 #69 of 365 81 #70 of 365 63 #137 of 365
Overall – 68 72
  • NVS ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • ABBV ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • LLY 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

PeriodNVSABBVLLYSPY
1 month +7.8%+8.4%+8.2% -0.2%
3 months -1.9%+8.8%+4.8% +3.9%
6 months +7.8%+44.9%+46.6% +8.2%
Year to date +13.7%+25.4%+19.2% +12.9%
1 year +21.4%+25.6%+55.1% +12.3%
3 years +69.9%+106.2%+128.7% +87.4%
3 years, per year +19.3%+27.3%+31.8% +23.3%
5 years +88.2%+161.2%+405.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year +13.5%+21.2%+38.3% +10.9%
10 years +119.0%+366.0%+1,582.7% +261.1%
10 years, per year +8.2%+16.6%+32.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureNVSABBVLLYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.9%25.9%34.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.7%24.8%29.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.34-0.160.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.770.991.58 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -20.4%-24.3%-34.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.0%-0.9%-1.9% -1.2%
52-week high $168.62$288.96$1,306.74 $779.14
52-week low $121.80$197.38$813.53 $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.

MultipleNVSABBVLLY
P/E now vs peer median 17.9xmedian 17.2x 80.3xmedian 17.2x 42.8xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 9.0x 7.9xmedian 9.0x 15.1xmedian 9.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 16.3x 23.0xmedian 16.3x 31.1xmedian 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 18.7x 27.8xmedian 18.7x 66.3xmedian 18.7x
P/B now vs peer median —median 2.2x -85.3xmedian 2.2x 35.6xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.33 -7.95median 0.33 0.70median 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 monthsNVSABBVLLY
Revenue – $64.39B $79.67B
Gross profit – $46.02B $66.44B
Operating income – $16.87B $38.18B
Net income – $6.32B $26.71B
Free cash flow – $18.21B $18.19B
R&D – $9.71B $14.60B
EPS (diluted) – $3.56 $29.89
Cash & equivalents $400.00M $6.57B $8.95B
Total debt – $70.82B $54.91B
Shares (diluted) 1.96B 1.77B 893.70M
Enterprise value $272.77B $479.31B $1.17T

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
MetricNVSABBVLLY
P/E 17.9x 80.3x 42.8x
P/FCF 14.3x 27.8x 66.3x
P/Operating cash flow – 25.9x 43.0x
P/S 5.1x 7.9x 15.1x
P/B – -85.3x 35.6x
P/Tangible book – -9.2x 76.5x
EV/EBITDA – 23.0x 31.1x
EV/EBIT – 33.8x 32.8x
EV/Revenue – 8.9x 15.7x
EV/FCF – 31.3x 68.8x
EV/Operating cash flow – 29.2x 44.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – -7.95 0.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNVSABBVLLY
Revenue growth (1Y) – 10.4% 49.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 4.7% 39.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 11.2% 51.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 6.0% 42.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 53.8% 73.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -1.0% 71.0%
Net income growth (1Y) – 67.5% 93.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – -10.1% 60.2%
EPS growth (1Y) – 67.7% 94.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – -10.1% 60.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 1.2% 156.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -8.6% 65.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -0.2% 272.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -9.8% 69.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNVSABBVLLY
Gross margin – 71.5% 83.4%
EBITDA margin – 38.5% 50.6%
Operating margin – 26.2% 47.9%
Pretax margin – 13.5% 42.2%
Net margin – 9.8% 33.5%
FCF margin – 28.3% 22.8%
Operating cash flow margin – 30.3% 35.3%
Return on equity – – 82.1%
Return on assets – 4.7% 20.6%
Return on invested capital – 18.7% 37.2%
Return on capital employed – 17.9% 46.7%
Asset turnover – 0.5x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 3.1x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.5% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNVSABBVLLY
Debt / assets – 52.4% 38.6%
Debt / equity – -11.9x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.6x 1.1x
Debt / FCF – 3.9x 3.0x
Liabilities / assets – 104.4% 76.2%
Equity / assets – -4.4% 23.8%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio – 0.8x 1.4x
Quick ratio – 0.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio – 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – 2.79 8.58

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNVSABBVLLY
Dividend yield 3.0% 2.4% 0.5%
Net buyback yield – 0.3% 0.5%
Shareholder yield 3.0% 2.7% 1.0%
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.

ConsensusNVSABBVLLY
Forward P/E 16.9xFY2026 21.4xFY2026 39.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.26FY2026 $13.38FY2026 $32.40FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.1%FY2026 +33.8%FY2026 +33.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +1.2% +25.8% +42.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.95BFY2026 $69.55BFY2026 $85.28BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.1%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026 +30.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.1% -0.6% +17.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNVSABBVLLY
Held by institutions 7.0% 74.9% 83.7%
Institutions holding 1,607 4,175 4,627
Change in shares held, QoQ -5.9% +2.6% +1.5%
Institutions buying 662 2,202 2,631
Institutions selling 560 1,503 1,469
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.47 1.79

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.

NVSABBVLLY
NVS 1.00 0.50 0.46
ABBV 0.50 1.00 0.39
LLY 0.46 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NVS, ABBV and LLY?

Eli Lilly (LLY) is the largest by market capitalisation: Novartis Ag (NVS) $299.20B, AbbVie (ABBV) $506.16B, Eli Lilly (LLY) $1.21T.

Which stock is cheaper, NVS, ABBV and LLY?

Novartis Ag (NVS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.9x, AbbVie (ABBV) 80.3x, Eli Lilly (LLY) 42.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Novartis Ag (NVS) is cheapest (Novartis Ag (NVS) 16.9x, AbbVie (ABBV) 21.4x, Eli Lilly (LLY) 39.6x). 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: AbbVie (ABBV) +10.4%, Eli Lilly (LLY) +49.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Eli Lilly (LLY) has the highest net margin (AbbVie (ABBV) 9.8%, Eli Lilly (LLY) 33.5%). On return on invested capital, Eli Lilly (LLY) leads (AbbVie (ABBV) 18.7%, Eli Lilly (LLY) 37.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Eli Lilly (LLY) returned the most: Novartis Ag (NVS) +21.4%, AbbVie (ABBV) +25.6%, Eli Lilly (LLY) +55.1%. Over five years, Eli Lilly (LLY) compounded fastest (Novartis Ag (NVS) +13.5%/yr, AbbVie (ABBV) +21.2%/yr, Eli Lilly (LLY) +38.3%/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%, Eli Lilly (LLY) 0.52%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, AbbVie (ABBV) has been the steadiest (Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.9%, AbbVie (ABBV) 25.9%, Eli Lilly (LLY) 34.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 8. 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.