NVS vs ABBV vs PFE Stock Comparison

Novartis Ag, AbbVie and Pfizer Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NVS Novartis Ag
$153.75 +5.7% 1M +17.9% 1Y
Market cap
$304.05B
P/E
19.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$54.77B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins
ABBV AbbVie Inc.
$286.86 +8.5% 1M +25.8% 1Y
Market cap
$507.17B
P/E
80.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$64.39B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins
PFE Pfizer Inc
$29.79 +3.9% 1M +20.3% 1Y
Market cap
$169.97B
P/E
39.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.70B
Div. yield
0.06%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionNVSABBVPFELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $304.05B $507.17B $169.97B ABBV
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.3x 80.4x 39.2x NVS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.6x 21.4x 10.5x PFE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.8% +10.4% -0.2% ABBV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 28.8% 9.8% 6.8% NVS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 34.9% 18.7% 13.4% NVS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.6x 1.9x PFE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.06% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +17.9% +25.8% +20.3% ABBV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.2%/yr +21.5%/yr -7.1%/yr ABBV
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.8% 26.0% 21.7% PFE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 68/100 65/100 NVS

Percentile Scorecard

NVSABBVPFE

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

AxisNVSABBVPFE
Valuation 90 #63 of 626 95 #31 of 626 94 #37 of 626
Growth 54 #276 of 604 54 #281 of 604 23 #466 of 604
Profitability 96 #26 of 555 95 #30 of 555 92 #46 of 555
Financial Health 43 #377 of 658 16 #554 of 658 24 #502 of 658
Shareholder Returns 73 #99 of 368 80 #74 of 368 91 #35 of 368
Overall 71 68 65
  • NVS ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • ABBV ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • PFE ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodNVSABBVPFESPY
1 month +5.7%+8.5%+3.9% -0.8%
3 months -1.5%+11.7%+20.8% +3.5%
6 months +6.6%+45.3%+11.2% +7.0%
Year to date +11.5%+25.5%+19.6% +12.2%
1 year +17.9%+25.8%+20.3% +13.0%
3 years +66.6%+106.5%-1.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +18.6%+27.4%-0.4% +23.1%
5 years +85.8%+164.6%-30.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year +13.2%+21.5%-7.1% +11.0%
10 years +116.2%+370.1%-8.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year +8.0%+16.7%-0.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureNVSABBVPFESPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.8%26.0%21.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.7%24.9%21.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.33-0.160.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.640.990.94 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -20.4%-24.3%-64.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.8%-0.7%-2.0% -1.8%
52-week high $168.62$288.96$30.41 $779.14
52-week low $121.80$197.38$23.67 $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.

MultipleNVSABBVPFE
P/E now vs peer median 18.9xmedian 17.1x 80.4xmedian 17.1x 39.2xmedian 17.1x
P/S now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 8.8x 7.9xmedian 8.8x 2.7xmedian 8.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.1x 23.0xmedian 17.1x 8.2xmedian 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.1xmedian 18.0x 27.8xmedian 18.0x 15.5xmedian 18.0x
P/B now vs peer median 7.0xmedian 2.1x -85.4xmedian 2.1x 2.0xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.58median 0.31 -7.96median 0.31 -0.95median 0.31

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 monthsNVSABBVPFE
Revenue $54.77B $64.39B $63.70B
Gross profit $42.37B $46.02B $46.61B
Operating income $17.10B $16.87B $20.39B
Net income $12.75B $6.32B $4.36B
Free cash flow $19.38B $18.21B $10.99B
R&D $11.69B $9.71B $11.05B
EPS (diluted) $8.07 $3.56 $0.76
Cash & equivalents $7.62B $6.57B $976.00M
Total debt $31.01B $70.82B $63.19B
Shares (diluted) 1.96B 1.77B 5.70B
Enterprise value $268.04B $480.28B $116.62B

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
MetricNVSABBVPFE
P/E 18.9x 80.4x 39.2x
P/FCF 15.1x 27.8x 15.5x
P/Operating cash flow 16.0x 26.0x 12.7x
P/S 5.4x 7.9x 2.7x
P/B 7.0x -85.4x 2.0x
P/Tangible book -2,292x -9.2x 4.4x
EV/EBITDA – 23.0x 8.2x
EV/EBIT 17.3x 33.9x 10.9x
EV/Revenue 5.4x 8.9x 3.5x
EV/FCF 15.2x 31.4x 20.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.1x 29.3x 16.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.58 -7.96 -0.95

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNVSABBVPFE
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.8% 10.4% -0.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.1% 4.7% -7.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 0.7% 11.2% 1.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.5% 6.0% -5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 2.5% 53.8% 1.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 23.8% -1.0% -9.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -6.5% 67.5% -59.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 21.7% -10.1% -41.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -9.6% 67.7% -59.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 32.3% -10.1% -41.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -11.5% 1.2% -11.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.2% -8.6% -2.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -10.2% -0.2% -11.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.0% -9.8% 1.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNVSABBVPFE
Gross margin 77.4% 71.5% 73.2%
EBITDA margin – 38.5% 42.4%
Operating margin 31.2% 26.2% 32.0%
Pretax margin 28.3% 13.5% 6.6%
Net margin 28.8% 9.8% 6.8%
FCF margin 35.4% 28.3% 17.2%
Operating cash flow margin 33.6% 30.3% 21.0%
Return on equity 31.5% – 5.0%
Return on assets 10.6% 4.7% 2.1%
Return on invested capital 34.9% 18.7% 13.4%
Return on capital employed 19.3% 17.9% 11.9%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 3.1x 3.1x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.5% 1.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNVSABBVPFE
Debt / assets 7.9% 52.4% 31.4%
Debt / equity 0.2x -11.9x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.6x 1.9x
Debt / FCF 0.5x 3.9x 5.8x
Liabilities / assets 65.6% 104.4% 57.5%
Equity / assets 34.4% -4.4% 42.5%
Interest coverage 36.7x – –
Current ratio 0.9x 0.8x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.4x
Altman Z-score – 2.79 2.36

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNVSABBVPFE
Dividend yield 3.1% 2.4% 5.8%
Net buyback yield -1.5% 0.3% –
Shareholder yield 1.6% 2.7% 5.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 224.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 89.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 1.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 2.4%

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.

ConsensusNVSABBVPFE
Forward P/E 16.6xFY2026 21.4xFY2026 10.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.26FY2026 $13.38FY2026 $2.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.1%FY2026 +33.8%FY2026 -11.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +1.2% +25.8% -4.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.95BFY2026 $69.55BFY2026 $60.59BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.1%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026 -3.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.1% -0.6% +3.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNVSABBVPFE
Held by institutions 7.0% 74.9% 66.9%
Institutions holding 1,607 4,173 2,835
Change in shares held, QoQ -5.9% +2.6% +2.0%
Institutions buying 662 2,201 1,324
Institutions selling 560 1,502 1,204
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.47 1.10

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.

NVSABBVPFE
NVS 1.00 0.50 0.49
ABBV 0.50 1.00 0.34
PFE 0.49 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NVS, ABBV and PFE?

AbbVie (ABBV) is the largest by market capitalisation: Novartis Ag (NVS) $304.05B, AbbVie (ABBV) $507.17B, Pfizer (PFE) $169.97B.

Which stock is cheaper, NVS, ABBV and PFE?

Novartis Ag (NVS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Novartis Ag (NVS) 19.3x, AbbVie (ABBV) 80.4x, Pfizer (PFE) 39.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Pfizer (PFE) is cheapest (Novartis Ag (NVS) 16.6x, AbbVie (ABBV) 21.4x, Pfizer (PFE) 10.5x). 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: Novartis Ag (NVS) +2.8%, AbbVie (ABBV) +10.4%, Pfizer (PFE) -0.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Novartis Ag (NVS) has the highest net margin (Novartis Ag (NVS) 28.8%, AbbVie (ABBV) 9.8%, Pfizer (PFE) 6.8%). On return on invested capital, Novartis Ag (NVS) leads (Novartis Ag (NVS) 34.9%, AbbVie (ABBV) 18.7%, Pfizer (PFE) 13.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year AbbVie (ABBV) returned the most: Novartis Ag (NVS) +17.9%, AbbVie (ABBV) +25.8%, Pfizer (PFE) +20.3%. Over five years, AbbVie (ABBV) compounded fastest (Novartis Ag (NVS) +13.2%/yr, AbbVie (ABBV) +21.5%/yr, Pfizer (PFE) -7.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Novartis Ag (NVS) 0.00%, AbbVie (ABBV) 0.00%, Pfizer (PFE) 0.06%. Novartis Ag (NVS) and AbbVie (ABBV) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Pfizer (PFE) has been the steadiest (Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.8%, AbbVie (ABBV) 26.0%, Pfizer (PFE) 21.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, AbbVie (ABBV) leads on 4. 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.