GSK vs. ILMN: GSK vs. Illumina Stock Comparison

Company Profile

GSK (GSK) and Illumina (ILMN) both fall under the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group, but GSK is classified in Pharmaceuticals while ILMN is classified in Life Sciences Tools & Services.

Illumina (ILMN) trades as ordinary local shares, while GSK (GSK) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Illumina (ILMN) has an aggressive beta of 1.46, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while GSK (GSK) is defensive at 0.31 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Both GSK (GSK) at 28.27% and Illumina (ILMN) at 32.39% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

Illumina (ILMN) at 19.72% keeps the most of each sales dollar — above its industry’s net margin range — and GSK (GSK) at 12.97% also retains a top-quartile share.

Both GSK (GSK) at 32.14% and Illumina (ILMN) at 20.02% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

GSK (GSK) at 4.11% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Illumina (ILMN) at -0.66% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Only one side can be read here: GSK (GSK) reports EPS growth of 123.15%, ranked against its industry; Illumina (ILMN) has no EPS growth figure this period.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Illumina (ILMN) at 2.63 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while GSK (GSK) at 0.86 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for GSK.

Both GSK (GSK) at 1.30 and Illumina (ILMN) at 0.74 lean more heavily on debt funding than most peers, landing in the higher-leverage quartile of their industries.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Illumina (ILMN) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile GSK (GSK) reports a yield of 1.57%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Illumina (ILMN) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile GSK (GSK) reports a payout of 63.33%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Both GSK (GSK) at 17.54 and Illumina (ILMN) at 36.68 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

GSK (GSK) at 3.01 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Illumina (ILMN) at 7.10 prices around its industry’s middle — GSK costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

GSK (GSK) at 4.02 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Illumina (ILMN) at 10.30 carries an above-peer premium to book — ILMN is pricier on assets.

Valuation Metrics