JNJ vs PFE Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
J&J and Pfizer are both large-cap pharma stalwarts but occupy very different investment narratives in 2024. J&J is a steady compounder diversified across pharma and medical devices with a prized dividend history, while Pfizer is a turnaround story rebuilding its revenue base after a massive COVID-driven boom-and-bust cycle. The choice between them is essentially stability and consistency (JNJ) versus higher risk and potential recovery upside (PFE).
Investors should evaluate whether they want J&J's proven dividend compounding and pipeline stability or Pfizer's deep valuation discount and recovery potential — the two companies are at very different points in their earnings cycles.
JNJ holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. JNJ has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+55.02% vs +14.53%), though PFE has the better forward P/E setup (9.83x vs 21.78x for JNJ). JNJ leads on both revenue growth (6.60%) and operating margin (29.19%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +1.66% for JNJ and +0.55% for PFE.
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- prioritize long-term dividend income with 60+ years of consecutive increases
- want balanced healthcare exposure across pharma and medical devices
- prefer steady pipeline execution over binary pipeline bets
- are comfortable with modest growth in exchange for lower volatility
- seek a contrarian bet on post-COVID revenue recovery at a discounted valuation
- value deep pipeline optionality including the Seagen oncology platform
- are willing to accept near-term earnings pressure for potential medium-term upside
- want high dividend yield while the turnaround thesis plays out
| Metric | JNJ | PFE |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 49.9 | 39.3 |
| AI ranki | #553 | #1256 |
| Latest closei | $269.99 | $27.66 |
| 1M returni | -1.25% | -2.05% |
| 6M returni | +13.63% | +0.91% |
| 1Y returni | +55.02% | +14.53% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | JNJ | PFE |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $15.5K (+55.0%) started 2025-09-18 | $11.45K (+14.5%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $20.29K (+102.9%) started 2021-09-20 | $9.11K (-8.9%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $37.68K (+276.8%) started 2016-09-19 | $19.57K (+95.7%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | JNJ | PFE |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $645.95B | $162.16B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 31.06 | 37.43 |
| Forward P/Ei | 21.78 | 9.83 |
| Price/Salesi | 4.18 | 2.13 |
| EV/Revenuei | 6.88 | 3.36 |
| Analyst targeti | $272.50 | $28.61 |
| Target upsidei | +1.66% | +0.55% |
| Metric | JNJ | PFE |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 6.60% | 2.60% |
| Earnings growthi | -0.90% | -10.10% |
| EPS growthi | -0.90% | -10.10% |
| FCF margini | +17.24% | +19.60% |
| Operating margini | 29.19% | 27.88% |
| Profit margini | 21.48% | 6.80% |
| ROIC proxyi | 25.74% | 5.01% |
| Return on equityi | 25.74% | 5.01% |
| Dividend yieldi | 2.00% | 6.05% |
| Payout ratioi | 60.79% | 226.32% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.23 | 0.30 |
| Debt/equityi | 57.71 | 74.25 |
| Current ratioi | 1.09 | 1.27 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.72 | 0.85 |
Over the past year, JNJ and PFE have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.30), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | JNJ | PFE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +55.02% | +14.53% |
| CAGRi | +55.07% | +14.54% | |
| Volatilityi | 19.04% | 23.60% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 2.17 | 0.50 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 3.47 | 0.79 | |
| Max drawdowni | 10.96% | 17.09% | |
| Current drawdowni | 3.03% | 4.69% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 2.95% | 6.72% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 4.12% | 7.92% | |
| Max daily dropi | 3.66% | 3.43% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 6.22% | 9.46% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +82.43% | -25.10% |
| CAGRi | +12.79% | -5.62% | |
| Volatilityi | 17.60% | 25.40% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.52 | -0.28 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.76 | -0.41 | |
| Max drawdowni | 18.41% | 58.96% | |
| Current drawdowni | 3.03% | 46.42% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.01% | 38.14% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 8.57% | 41.46% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.59% | 6.72% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 9.18% | 11.19% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +189.90% | +25.36% |
| CAGRi | +11.23% | +2.29% | |
| Volatilityi | 18.84% | 24.08% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.42 | 0.03 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.60 | 0.04 | |
| Max drawdowni | 27.37% | 58.96% | |
| Current drawdowni | 3.03% | 46.42% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.40% | 23.44% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.97% | 30.34% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.04% | 7.73% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 13.25% | 15.34% |
| Category | JNJ | PFE |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Johnson & Johnson | Pfizer Inc. |
| Sector | Healthcare | Healthcare |
| Industry | Drug Manufacturers - General | Drug Manufacturers - General |
| Core business | Johnson & Johnson operates two segments: Innovative Medicine (branded pharmaceuticals including immunology, oncology, and neuroscience) and MedTech (surgical robotics, orthopedics, and cardiovascular devices). Following the Kenvue spin-off of its consumer health division, J&J is now a pure-play pharmaceutical and medical technology company. Revenue is broadly diversified across therapeutic areas and geographies. | Pfizer is a global biopharmaceutical company whose revenue base surged during COVID-19 due to its mRNA vaccine (Comirnaty) and antiviral (Paxlovid), then contracted sharply as pandemic demand normalized. The company is now executing a major post-COVID repositioning focused on oncology, rare diseases, and anti-infectives, accelerated by the $43B acquisition of Seagen. Legacy blockbusters including Eliquis and Vyndaqel anchor non-COVID revenue. |
| Investor focus | Investors track the Innovative Medicine segment's pipeline progression — particularly oncology and immunology launches replacing Stelara biosimilar erosion — alongside MedTech's surgical robotics ramp and dividend growth continuity. | Investors track the speed of non-COVID revenue recovery, Seagen oncology pipeline integration, the sustainability of the dividend given elevated debt, and whether newly launched products can offset the roughly $20B+ COVID revenue decline. |
- Dividend King with 60+ consecutive years of dividend increases
- Deep oncology and immunology pipeline with multiple Phase 3 assets
- MedTech segment provides differentiated exposure to surgical robotics and cardiovascular devices
- Seagen acquisition adds a leading oncology antibody-drug conjugate platform
- Eliquis (blood thinner) and Vyndaqel (cardiac) provide durable non-COVID revenue
- Deep manufacturing scale and global distribution infrastructure
- Stelara biosimilar competition eroding a key revenue pillar
- Ongoing talc litigation liability and settlement uncertainty
- MedTech integration complexity following multiple acquisitions
- Post-COVID revenue cliff creating multi-year earnings pressure
- Elevated debt load from Seagen acquisition constraining financial flexibility
- Multiple patent expirations creating a 'patent cliff' risk from 2025-2030
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