Johnson & Johnson vs NOVO NORDISK A/S, two Drug Manufacturers stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Johnson & Johnson carries 0.68 turns of debt across its pharmaceutical-and-devices estate; Novo Nordisk carries none, and the leaner sheet belongs to the massively better income statement: a 41.3% operating margin and 33.1% net against J&J's 21.8% net, returns on equity of 52.8% against 25.9%. The market prices them upside down from the economics, 29.5 times earnings for J&J against 14.2 for Novo, a doubled multiple for half the margins. What J&J's premium buys is diversification and dividend royalty, 2% yield, sixty years of increases; what Novo's discount prices is GLP-1 competition arriving faster than the franchise can widen. Rarely does the sector offer its best operator at half the price of its safest.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | JNJ | NVO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $254.36 | $48.01 |
| Market cap | $622.0B | $213.3B |
| Sector | Drug Manufacturers | Drug Manufacturers |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| P/E | 29.5 | 14.2 |
| P/B | 7.66 | 7.47 |
| P/S | 6.45 | 4.69 |
| EV/EBITDA | 326.8 | 10.0 |
| Revenue growth | +7.9% | +22.1% |
| Gross margin | 66.3% | 81.0% |
| Operating margin | — | 41.3% |
| Net margin | 21.8% | 33.1% |
| Return on equity | 25.9% | 52.8% |
| Return on assets | 10.5% | 18.9% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 51.6% |
| FCF yield | 2.9% | 4.1% |
| Dividend yield | 2.0% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.68 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 1.03 | 0.80 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 4.78 | 4.25 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 5 / 9 | 4 / 9 |
Each week boothcheck ranks the stocks whose prices are betting on the most. Read the most stretched bets archive →
boothcheck is also on Android. Get the app on Google Play →
The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.