ILMN vs. NVS: Illumina vs. Novartis Stock Comparison

Company Profile

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

Illumina (ILMN) trades as ordinary local shares, while Novartis (NVS) 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 Novartis (NVS) is defensive at 0.41 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 Illumina (ILMN) at 32.39% and Novartis (NVS) at 24.33% 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 Novartis (NVS) at 17.49% also retains a top-quartile share.

Both Illumina (ILMN) at 20.02% and Novartis (NVS) at 34.27% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Novartis (NVS) at 9.57% 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: Novartis (NVS) reports EPS growth of 21.81%, 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 Novartis (NVS) at 0.88 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for NVS.

Both Illumina (ILMN) at 0.74 and Novartis (NVS) at 1.29 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 Novartis (NVS) reports a yield of 2.88%, 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 Novartis (NVS) reports a payout of 90.46%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Both Illumina (ILMN) at 36.68 and Novartis (NVS) at 31.02 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

On P/S ratio, both Illumina (ILMN) at 7.10 and Novartis (NVS) at 5.35 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

Both Illumina (ILMN) at 10.30 and Novartis (NVS) at 8.25 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

Valuation Metrics