Health Care Stocks: What Drives Them, What To Check
Updated October 31, 2026. 60 stocks in the group.
On October 31, 2026, this site tracks 60 health care stocks with a combined market value of $6.95T, about 10.1% of the 503 stocks it covers. Their median P/E is 30.3 against 23.5 for all tracked stocks, and 37 stocks pay a dividend. The largest are LLY, JNJ, ABBV and MRK. This page shows what the data says about the group and what drives it; it does not say which stock to pick.
What is in the Health Care group?
60 stocks in 4 industries.
| Industry | Stocks | Combined market value | Median P/E | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pharmaceuticals | 7 | $2.73T | 40.7 | LLY |
| Health Care | 34 | $2.17T | 24.3 | UNH |
| Biotechnology | 8 | $1.34T | 29.5 | ABBV |
| Life Sciences Tools & Services | 11 | $708B | 41.7 | TMO |
The group follows this site's twelve-sector grouping, shown on the Sector Map. It covers pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, life-science tools, hospitals and managed care. The industry names are the narrow labels in the site's own company data. Market values and P/E come from the weekly screener data as of October 31, 2026.
How do health care stocks compare with the whole market?
Medians for the group against all tracked stocks.
| Measure | Health Care | All tracked stocks | The group is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median P/E | 30.3 | 23.5 | above |
| Median price to book | 4.85 | 4.33 | above |
| Median dividend yield (payers) | 1.16% | 1.91% | below |
| Median net margin | 9.6% | 13.1% | below |
| Median return on equity | 15.1% | 17.4% | below |
| Median debt to equity | 0.70 | 0.76 | below |
Medians ignore stocks with no figure, so a loss-maker has no P/E. On P/E the group sits 29% above the market median. A higher P/E means investors pay more per dollar of profit, often because they expect faster growth; it is not a score. See the P/E glossary entry.
Which health care stocks lead on size, price, yield and returns?
Four short lists from the same data.
| Stock | Market value |
|---|---|
| LLY Eli Lilly and Co | $1.34T |
| JNJ Johnson & Johnson | $665B |
| ABBV AbbVie Inc | $514B |
| MRK Merck & Co Inc | $372B |
| UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc | $366B |
| Stock | P/E |
|---|---|
| UHS Universal Health Services Inc | 7.1 |
| ZTS Zoetis Inc | 12.3 |
| CI Cigna Group | 12.4 |
| DVA DaVita Inc | 13.5 |
| BMY Bristol-Myers Squibb Co | 13.8 |
A low P/E can mean a bargain or a business in trouble, and a high yield can be a price that has fallen; check the cause before reading either as good news (why a low P/E can be an illusion). Return on equity is flattered by debt and buybacks.
How healthy are health care businesses on Piotroski's nine tests?
Nine yes/no tests on profit, debt and efficiency, run on each company's own 10-K.
| Band | Stocks | Share of the group |
|---|---|---|
| Strong (8 or 9) | 13 | 22% |
| Good (6 or 7) | 31 | 52% |
| Middling (4 or 5) | 15 | 25% |
| Weak (0 to 3) | 1 | 2% |
| Stock | F-Score |
|---|---|
| BMY Bristol-Myers Squibb Co | 9 of 9 |
| WST West Pharmaceutical Services Inc | 9 of 9 |
| TECH Bio-Techne Corp | 9 of 9 |
| STE STERIS plc | 9 of 9 |
| ABBV AbbVie Inc | 8 of 9 |
The median score is 6.5 for the group against 6.0 for all scored non-financial stocks. A score describes the last two annual reports, not the share price. Browse every score on the Piotroski F-Score Screener.
What drives health care stocks?
The forces behind the group's profits.
Pipelines and patents
A drug company's profit comes from drugs that are still protected. When a patent expires, generics can take most of the sales within a year or two, so investors read the late-stage pipeline against the products that are about to lose protection.
Regulators and prices
Approvals by the US Food and Drug Administration and drug pricing rules, including Medicare price negotiation, set what a drug can earn. A single decision can change a company's outlook.
Utilization and medical costs
Managed-care companies and hospitals are paid per member or per procedure, so profit depends on how much care people use. A rise in medical costs against premiums, the medical cost ratio, is the figure to watch.
Research budgets and procedure volumes
Life-science tool makers sell to labs, whose spending follows funding. Device makers grow with the number of procedures performed.
What can go wrong with health care stocks?
The risks to read in the filings.
- Patent cliffs: a top product losing protection.
- Trial and approval failures: binary events for small pipelines.
- Policy: pricing and reimbursement changes.
- Litigation and recalls.
What to check: Check how much of revenue comes from products losing patent protection within five years, the medical cost ratio for insurers, cash flow against reported profit and debt after acquisitions.
Which tools and guides fit health care stocks?
Where to go next on this site.
Which health care stocks does this site track?
Every stock in the group, by industry, each linked to its own page.
Pharmaceuticals (7)
| Stock | Market value | P/E | Dividend yield | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LLY Eli Lilly and Co | $1.34T | 50.2 | 0.43% | 92.6% |
| JNJ Johnson & Johnson | $665B | 41.3 | 1.90% | 25.7% |
| MRK Merck & Co Inc | $372B | 117.2 | 2.23% | 6.6% |
| PFE Pfizer Inc | $173B | 40.0 | 5.65% | 4.9% |
| BMY Bristol-Myers Squibb Co | $128B | 13.8 | 5.92% | 46.8% |
| ZTS Zoetis Inc | $32.2B | 12.3 | 2.76% | 69.3% |
| VTRS Viatris Inc | $21.8B | n/a | 2.55% | -2.8% |
Health Care (34)
| Stock | Market value | P/E | Dividend yield | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc | $366B | 23.0 | 2.23% | 16.1% |
| ABT Abbott Laboratories | $184B | 39.1 | 2.32% | 10.5% |
| ISRG Intuitive Surgical Inc | $156B | 52.6 | none | 17.0% |
| MDT Medtronic PLC | $125B | 23.8 | 2.93% | 10.6% |
| MCK McKesson Corp | $117B | 25.5 | 0.34% | 39.4% |
| CVS CVS Health Corp | $117B | 23.8 | 2.93% | 6.4% |
| SYK Stryker Corp | $113B | 30.3 | 1.16% | 16.4% |
| HCA HCA Healthcare Inc | $104B | 15.2 | 0.66% | 695.7% |
| ELV Elevance Health Inc | $91.8B | 17.9 | 1.63% | 11.6% |
| CI Cigna Group | $79.7B | 12.4 | 2.04% | 15.2% |
| COR Cencora Inc | $63.0B | 24.0 | 0.74% | 106.4% |
| BSX Boston Scientific Corp | $61.9B | 16.8 | none | 14.9% |
| CAH Cardinal Health Inc | $58.7B | 34.2 | 0.84% | 37.2% |
| BDX Becton Dickinson and Co | $54.1B | 57.4 | 2.17% | 3.8% |
| EW Edwards Lifesciences Corp | $53.9B | 53.7 | none | 9.7% |
| VEEV Veeva Systems Inc | $51.3B | 50.6 | none | 14.0% |
| HUM Humana Inc | $49.5B | 38.7 | 0.87% | 6.9% |
| IDXX IDEXX Laboratories Inc | $44.4B | 38.9 | none | 72.0% |
| GEHC GE Healthcare Technologies Inc | $34.6B | 17.4 | 0.18% | 18.9% |
| CNC Centene Corp | $33.1B | n/a | none | -24.0% |
| RMD Resmed Inc | $32.8B | 21.5 | 1.07% | 23.9% |
| DXCM Dexcom Inc | $30.2B | 30.2 | none | 36.2% |
| LH Labcorp Holdings Inc | $29.3B | 29.2 | 0.82% | 11.6% |
| DGX Quest Diagnostics Inc | $27.7B | 24.5 | 1.33% | 15.2% |
| ZBH Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc | $18.0B | 22.3 | 1.05% | 6.3% |
| BAX Baxter International Inc | $11.9B | n/a | 1.55% | -16.6% |
| DVA DaVita Inc | $11.5B | 13.5 | none | 181.2% |
| COO Cooper Companies Inc | $11.4B | 20.0 | none | 6.9% |
| ALGN Align Technology Inc | $10.6B | 25.6 | none | 10.1% |
| PODD Insulet Corp | $10.6B | 28.2 | none | 17.4% |
| UHS Universal Health Services Inc | $10.4B | 7.1 | 0.47% | 19.6% |
| HSIC Henry Schein Inc | $9.5B | 23.5 | none | 12.4% |
| SOLV Solventum Corp | n/a | n/a | none | n/a |
| STE STERIS plc | n/a | n/a | none | n/a |
Biotechnology (8)
| Stock | Market value | P/E | Dividend yield | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABBV AbbVie Inc | $514B | 81.4 | 2.33% | 95.6% |
| AMGN Amgen Inc | $249B | 28.5 | 2.09% | 89.3% |
| GILD Gilead Sciences, Inc | $212B | n/a | 2.86% | -16.3% |
| VRTX Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc | $135B | 30.6 | none | 23.3% |
| MRNA Moderna Inc | $87.8B | n/a | none | -39.2% |
| REGN Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc | $84.3B | 19.5 | 0.45% | 13.8% |
| BIIB Biogen Inc | $37.5B | 44.9 | none | 4.5% |
| INCY Incyte Corp | $24.5B | 15.2 | none | 29.6% |
Life Sciences Tools & Services (11)
| Stock | Market value | P/E | Dividend yield | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TMO Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc | $257B | 36.4 | 0.26% | 13.3% |
| DHR Danaher Corp | $163B | 37.7 | 0.62% | 8.2% |
| A Agilent Technologies Inc | $50.2B | 34.8 | 0.57% | 20.5% |
| WAT Waters Corp | $46.3B | 278.6 | none | 1.9% |
| IQV IQVIA Holdings Inc | $43.7B | 31.3 | none | 21.8% |
| ILMN Illumina Inc | $37.7B | 45.7 | none | 31.1% |
| MTD Mettler-toledo International Inc | $33.7B | 37.2 | none | 1816.3% |
| WST West Pharmaceutical Services Inc | $30.1B | 53.4 | 0.21% | 18.5% |
| RVTY Revvity Inc | $17.5B | 73.7 | 0.18% | 3.3% |
| CRL Charles River Laboratories International Inc | $17.0B | n/a | none | -7.7% |
| TECH Bio-Techne Corp | $11.4B | 62.8 | 0.44% | 8.9% |
Frequently asked questions: health care stocks
How many health care stocks does this site track?
60 health care stocks as of October 31, 2026, in 4 industries, with a combined market value of $6.95T. The largest are LLY, JNJ and ABBV.
What is the median P/E of health care stocks?
30.3, against 23.5 for all 503 tracked stocks (medians, loss-makers excluded). The median dividend yield among payers is 1.16% against 1.91%.
Which health care stocks pay the highest dividends?
BMY at 5.92%, PFE at 5.65% and CVS at 2.93%. A high yield can come from a fallen share price, so check coverage on the Sustainable Dividend Screener.
How do you analyze health care stocks?
Check how much of revenue comes from products losing patent protection within five years, the medical cost ratio for insurers, cash flow against reported profit and debt after acquisitions. Then compare a company with the group medians on this page rather than with the whole market.
Does this page say which health care stock to buy?
No. It shows what the data says about the group and how to read it. Every figure is as of October 31, 2026 and describes the past. Read the Editorial Standards for how this site handles data.
Where does this data come from?
- Prices, P/E, yield and margins: the site's weekly screener data (market data from Finnhub and Twelve Data); medians skip stocks with no figure.
- Financial statements and scores: each company's own 10-K filings on SEC EDGAR.
- Grouping: the site's twelve-sector grouping (Sector Map); the narrow industry labels come from its company data.
- Method and limits: every figure is shown as published, with its date, and refreshed weekly (data as of October 31, 2026). There is no composite score, and nothing here predicts where a rate goes next. Read the Editorial Standards for how this site handles data.
Educational content only, not investment, currency-trading or tax advice. Exchange rates and interest rates move for reasons no single table captures.