ABT vs. CVS: Abbott Laboratories vs. CVS Health Stock Comparison

August 16, 2026

How do Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS) both fall under the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group, but ABT is classified in Health Care Equipment & Supplies while CVS is classified in Health Care Providers & Services.

Company profile comparison for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS)
Profile Item	ABT	CVS
Name	Abbott Laboratories	CVS Health Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Health Care Equipment & Services	Health Care Equipment & Services
GICS Industry	Health Care Equipment & Supplies	Health Care Providers & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Equipment	Health Care Services
Market Capitalization	192.51 billion USD	124.26 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	March 17, 1980	February 21, 1973
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ABT

CVS

GSPC

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	ABT	CVS
Total Return (1Y)	-11.96%	50.22%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	3.73%	13.59%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-0.07%	6.33%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ABT

CVS

GSPC

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	ABT	CVS
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	26.47%	30.97%
Beta (5Y)	0.60	0.58
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-39.64%	-56.79%
Avg. Volume (3M)	12.06M	8.19M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ABT and CVS are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	ABT	CVS
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.60	1.49
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.85	2.08

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 10.58% and CVS Health (CVS) at 6.21% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

10.58%

Max: 47.06%
Q3: 14.60%
ABT: 10.58%
Median: 4.59%
Q1: -14.37%
Min: -56.60%

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

6.21%

Max: 47.06%
Q3: 14.60%
CVS: 6.21%
Median: 4.59%
Q1: -14.37%
Min: -56.60%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 11.65% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of CVS Health (CVS) at 1.19%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

11.65%

Max: 28.45%
ABT: 11.65%
Q3: 9.22%
Median: 1.85%
Q1: -7.13%
Min: -30.69%

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.19%

Max: 28.45%
Q3: 9.22%
Median: 1.85%
CVS: 1.19%
Q1: -7.13%
Min: -30.69%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 14.71% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of CVS Health (CVS) at 3.86%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

14.71%

Max: 38.55%
ABT: 14.71%
Q3: 14.43%
Median: 7.25%
Q1: -2.09%
Min: -24.66%

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.86%

Max: 38.55%
Q3: 14.43%
Median: 7.25%
CVS: 3.86%
Q1: -2.09%
Min: -24.66%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	ABT	CVS
ROE (TTM)	10.58%	6.21%
ROA (TTM)	5.33%	2.97%
Net Margin (TTM)	11.65%	1.19%
Operating Margin (TTM)	14.71%	3.86%
Gross Margin (TTM)	56.85%	13.65%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 5.67% and CVS Health (CVS) at 7.85% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at -51.31% and CVS Health (CVS) at -62.02% post bottom-quartile EPS growth versus peers, pointing to weaker earnings momentum than typical rivals.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	ABT	CVS
Revenue Growth (YoY)	5.67%	7.85%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	0.51%	7.63%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-51.31%	-62.02%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-1.65%	-24.73%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 1.38 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while CVS Health (CVS) at 0.87 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for CVS.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.38

Max: 8.18
Q3: 4.20
Median: 1.99
ABT: 1.38
Q1: 1.34
Min: 0.15

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.87

Max: 8.18
Q3: 4.20
Median: 1.99
Q1: 1.34
CVS: 0.87
Min: 0.15

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 0.63 and CVS Health (CVS) at 0.96 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.63

Max: 2.02
Q3: 1.01
ABT: 0.63
Median: 0.63
Q1: 0.15
Min: 0.00

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.96

Max: 2.02
Q3: 1.01
CVS: 0.96
Median: 0.63
Q1: 0.15
Min: 0.00

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	ABT	CVS
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.38	0.87
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.63	0.96
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.32	3.74

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 2.23% and CVS Health (CVS) at 2.80% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.23%

ABT: 2.23%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.80%

CVS: 2.80%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 78.96% and CVS Health (CVS) at 70.18% pay out more of their earnings than any of their industry peers — the thinnest cover in their groups, so dividend headroom deserves attention.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

78.96%

ABT: 78.96%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

70.18%

CVS: 70.18%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	ABT	CVS
Dividend Yield (TTM)	2.23%	2.80%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	78.96%	70.18%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 36.00 and CVS Health (CVS) at 25.64 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

36.00

Max: 76.75
Q3: 44.61
ABT: 36.00
Median: 28.57
Q1: 20.73
Min: 1.62

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.64

Max: 76.75
Q3: 44.61
Median: 28.57
CVS: 25.64
Q1: 20.73
Min: 1.62

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

CVS Health (CVS) at 0.30 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 4.16 prices around its industry’s middle — CVS costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

4.16

Max: 9.63
Q3: 4.61
ABT: 4.16
Median: 2.28
Q1: 1.15
Min: 0.04

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.30

Max: 9.63
Q3: 4.61
Median: 2.28
Q1: 1.15
CVS: 0.30
Min: 0.04

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

CVS Health (CVS) at 1.56 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile against book while Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 3.77 is valued near its industry’s middle — CVS is cheaper on assets, though weigh it against ROE and asset quality.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.77

Max: 12.92
Q3: 6.30
ABT: 3.77
Median: 3.18
Q1: 1.75
Min: -2.19

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.56

Max: 12.92
Q3: 6.30
Median: 3.18
Q1: 1.75
CVS: 1.56
Min: -2.19

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	ABT	CVS
P/E Ratio (TTM)	36.00	25.64
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.16	0.30
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.77	1.56
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.74%	6.50%