NVS vs AZN vs TAK Stock Comparison

Novartis Ag, Astrazeneca and Takeda Pharmaceutical Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NVS Novartis Ag
$156.80 +7.8% 1M +21.4% 1Y
Market cap
$302.85B
P/E
17.9x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins
AZN Astrazeneca Plc
$170.02 +2.1% 1M +1.1% 1Y
Market cap
$263.95B
P/E
25.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$58.67B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Astrazeneca leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Astrazeneca 5, Novartis Ag 4, Takeda Pharmaceutical 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNVSAZNTAKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $302.85B $263.95B $63.33B NVS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.9x 25.3x 110.3x NVS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.9x 17.0x 50.7x NVS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +9.4% +0.7% AZN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 17.8% 1.2% AZN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 23.3% 3.5% AZN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.4x 3.5x AZN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +21.4% +1.1% +43.2% TAK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.5%/yr +6.5%/yr +7.5%/yr NVS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.9% 27.4% 21.5% TAK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 71/100 62/100 AZN

Percentile Scorecard

NVSAZNTAK

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

AxisNVSAZNTAK
Valuation 97 #20 of 625 86 #91 of 625 97 #17 of 625
Growth – 70 #183 of 602 21 #478 of 602
Profitability – 94 #34 of 551 85 #82 of 551
Financial Health – 36 #420 of 656 34 #431 of 656
Shareholder Returns 81 #69 of 365 70 #111 of 365 73 #98 of 365
Overall – 71 62
  • NVS ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • AZN ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • TAK 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

PeriodNVSAZNTAKSPY
1 month +7.8%+2.1%+7.6% -0.2%
3 months -1.9%-1.4%+15.6% +3.9%
6 months +7.8%-8.9%+23.6% +8.2%
Year to date +13.7%-7.5%+30.1% +12.9%
1 year +21.4%+1.1%+43.2% +12.3%
3 years +69.9%+37.4%+50.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +19.3%+11.2%+14.6% +23.3%
5 years +88.2%+36.7%+43.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year +13.5%+6.5%+7.5% +10.9%
10 years +119.0%+197.9%-10.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year +8.2%+11.5%-1.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureNVSAZNTAKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.9%27.4%21.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.7%27.2%20.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.340.210.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.770.042.01 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -20.4%-27.9%-26.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.0%-18.8%-0.7% -1.2%
52-week high $168.62$209.48$20.43 $779.14
52-week low $121.80$155.60$13.23 $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.

MultipleNVSAZNTAK
P/E now vs peer median 17.9xmedian 17.2x 25.2xmedian 17.2x 111.3xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 9.0x 4.5xmedian 9.0x 1.4xmedian 9.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 16.3x 14.3xmedian 16.3x 12.4xmedian 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 18.7x 24.7xmedian 18.7x 12.4xmedian 18.7x
P/B now vs peer median —median 2.2x 5.2xmedian 2.2x 1.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.33 1.31median 0.33 -2.74median 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 monthsNVSAZNTAK
Revenue – $58.67B $46.49B
Gross profit – $50.25B $30.58B
Operating income – $13.97B $2.71B
Net income – $10.45B -$1.04B
Free cash flow – $10.67B $5.20B
R&D – $15.07B $4.53B
EPS (diluted) – $6.69 $0.18
Cash & equivalents $400.00M $4.90B $2.85B
Total debt – $32.35B $126.30B
Shares (diluted) 1.96B 1.56B 3.15B
Enterprise value $276.09B $237.64B $39.70B

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
MetricNVSAZNTAK
P/E 17.9x 25.2x 111.3x
P/FCF 14.3x 24.7x 12.4x
P/Operating cash flow – 19.2x 10.3x
P/S 5.1x 4.5x 1.4x
P/B – 5.2x 1.4x
P/Tangible book – 20.8x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA – 14.3x 12.4x
EV/EBIT – 20.8x 33.2x
EV/Revenue – 5.0x 1.9x
EV/FCF – 27.3x 17.3x
EV/Operating cash flow – 21.2x 14.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 1.31 -2.74

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNVSAZNTAK
Revenue growth (1Y) – 9.4% 0.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 10.6% 14.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 9.3% -0.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 13.1% -0.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 23.4% -43.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 23.9% -14.3%
Net income growth (1Y) – 25.9% -209.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 19.2% -35.3%
EPS growth (1Y) – 26.0% -75.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 19.2% -40.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 2.3% -14.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 13.7% -4.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -4.5% -13.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 8.5% -5.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNVSAZNTAK
Gross margin – 85.6% 65.8%
EBITDA margin – 34.6% 15.6%
Operating margin – 23.8% 5.8%
Pretax margin – 21.5% 2.6%
Net margin – 17.8% 1.2%
FCF margin – 18.2% 11.2%
Operating cash flow margin – 23.3% 13.5%
Return on equity – 21.4% 1.2%
Return on assets – 9.1% 0.6%
Return on invested capital – 23.3% 3.5%
Return on capital employed – 16.8% 3.0%
Asset turnover – 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.3x -6.0x
Stock comp / revenue – – 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNVSAZNTAK
Debt / assets – 27.9% 32.0%
Debt / equity – 0.6x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.4x 3.5x
Debt / FCF – 3.0x 6.0x
Liabilities / assets – 56.5% 51.7%
Equity / assets – 43.5% 48.3%
Interest coverage – 15.9x 0.8x
Current ratio – 0.9x 3.2x
Quick ratio – 0.7x 1.9x
Cash ratio – 0.2x 0.9x
Altman Z-score – 3.43 1.57

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNVSAZNTAK
Dividend yield 3.0% 1.4% 1.5%
Net buyback yield – 0.0% 1.0%
Shareholder yield 3.0% 1.4% 2.5%
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.

ConsensusNVSAZNTAK
Forward P/E 16.9xFY2026 17.0xFY2026 50.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.26FY2026 $10.00FY2026 $0.40FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.1%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026 +5.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +1.2% +6.1% +62.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.95BFY2026 $59.02BFY2026 $28.27BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.1%FY2026 +0.5%FY2026 -0.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.1% +8.0% +11.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNVSAZNTAK
Held by institutions 7.0% 52.1% 3.3%
Institutions holding 1,607 1,496 378
Change in shares held, QoQ -5.9% +7.8% +6.2%
Institutions buying 662 808 212
Institutions selling 560 468 98
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.73 2.16

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.

NVSAZNTAK
NVS 1.00 0.56 0.49
AZN 0.56 1.00 0.52
TAK 0.49 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NVS, AZN and TAK?

Novartis Ag (NVS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Novartis Ag (NVS) $302.85B, Astrazeneca (AZN) $263.95B, Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) $63.33B.

Which stock is cheaper, NVS, AZN and TAK?

Novartis Ag (NVS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.9x, Astrazeneca (AZN) 25.3x, Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) 110.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Novartis Ag (NVS) is cheapest (Novartis Ag (NVS) 16.9x, Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.0x, Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) 50.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Astrazeneca (AZN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Astrazeneca (AZN) +9.4%, Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) +0.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Astrazeneca (AZN) has the highest net margin (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.8%, Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) 1.2%). On return on invested capital, Astrazeneca (AZN) leads (Astrazeneca (AZN) 23.3%, Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) 3.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) returned the most: Novartis Ag (NVS) +21.4%, Astrazeneca (AZN) +1.1%, Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) +43.2%. Over five years, Novartis Ag (NVS) compounded fastest (Novartis Ag (NVS) +13.5%/yr, Astrazeneca (AZN) +6.5%/yr, Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) +7.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) has been the steadiest (Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.9%, Astrazeneca (AZN) 27.4%, Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) 21.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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