JNJ vs. WST: Johnson & Johnson vs. West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) both fall under the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group, but JNJ is classified in Pharmaceuticals while WST is classified in Life Sciences Tools & Services.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Both Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 20.02% and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 21.23% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 18.81% keeps the most of each sales dollar — above its industry’s net margin range — and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 16.20% also retains a top-quartile share.

Both Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 25.74% and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 25.37% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Both Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 6.05% and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 6.25% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 90.50% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 1.49% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for JNJ.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 2.82 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 1.02 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for JNJ.

Both Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 0.55 and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 0.11 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Both Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 1.94% and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 0.22% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

Both Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 80.12% and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 9.88% pay out more of their earnings than any of their industry peers — the thinnest cover in their groups, so dividend headroom deserves attention.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 41.92 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 44.87 sits in the richer quartile — WST needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

On P/S ratio, both Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 6.69 and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 8.20 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

Both Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 8.16 and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 9.40 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

Valuation Metrics