Healthcare & Big Pharma Sector

Best Healthcare & Big Pharma Stocks in 2026

The Healthcare & Big Pharma category comprises global pharmaceutical leaders, medical device manufacturers and diagnostics firms that play a key role in supporting health systems worldwide. These companies benefit from strong pricing power (patented treatments), robust R&D pipelines and rising demand driven by aging populations, chronic diseases as well as expanding access to care. However, the industry is currently facing a major patent cliff, with many top-selling drugs losing exclusivity by 2035, opening the door to competition from generics and biosimilars. This increases the pressure to innovate and diversify through new drug development, M&A acquisitions, partnerships and next-generation therapies.

Top picks11
Total market cap$3.47T
Avg YTD-1.8%
Avg 3-Year+20.3%
Avg net margin19.5%

Sector Highlights

Top picks by key criteria across the sector

Sector Performance

Compare returns and net margin across our picks — toggle between periods

MerckMerck
+34.9%
J&JJ&J
+20.1%
NovartisNovartis
+10.0%
LillyLilly
+8.5%
RocheRoche
-1.0%
MedtronicMedtronic
-3.2%
AstraZenecaAstraZeneca
-11.2%
SanofiSanofi
-14.5%
AbbottAbbott
-18.1%
Novo NordiskNovo Nordisk
-22.3%
IDEXXIDEXX
-23.1%

Our Top 11 Healthcare & Big Pharma Picks

Sorted by market cap — our best-in-class selection for long-term investors

Fundamental Analysis Comparison

Side-by-side view of all 5 proprietary section scores — hover a cell to see the exact score

CompanyProf.Liq.Lev.CFVal.
Lilly

Lilly

LLY

E
A
W
G
A
J&J

J&J

JNJ

E
A
G
E
A
Merck

Merck

MRK

A
A
A
G
P
Roche

Roche

ROG.SW

E
A
G
E
G
Novartis

Novartis

NOVN.SW

E
W
A
G
G
AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca

AZN

G
W
G
E
G
Abbott

Abbott

ABT

A
G
G
E
A
Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk

NOVO-B.CO

E
W
G
G
E
Medtronic

Medtronic

MDT

G
G
G
E
G
Sanofi

Sanofi

SAN.PA

A
W
E
G
G
IDEXX

IDEXX

IDXX

E
A
G
G
A
Excellent(4.2–5.0)
Good(3.4–4.2)
Average(2.6–3.4)
Weak(1.8–2.6)
Poor(1.0–1.8)
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