NVSNovartis AG
Is the business good?
A genuinely good business: earnings fully cash-backed (1.2×) and margins widening.
Operating profit is fully backed by cash. Conversion is worsening vs a year ago.
Operating margin has widened over the past few years, the business is getting more profitable per dollar of sales.
Where this answer is blind. The F-score rewards improvement, so an already-elite company can score mid-pack.
How good a business is NVS?
Novartis AG earns 38% on the capital it employs against a 9.0% cost of capital, so the business is worth more the bigger it gets.
Return on invested capital · cost of capital 9.0% · 29 points above what the capital costs: growth creates value
- Operating margin
- 33%
Operating margin · Drug Manufacturers - General median 24% · 12 months to Q2 2025
- Cash conversion
- 1.21×
Cash conversion · 1.35× a year ago · operating cash flow covers the operating profit after tax
- Share count, year on year
- −6.4%
Share count, year on year · bought back, each share owns more of the company
| Year | Operating margin |
|---|---|
| FY2020 | 21% |
| FY2021 | 24% |
| FY2022 | 19% |
| FY2023 | 22% |
| FY2024 | 29% |
| FY2025 | 32% |
Details›
- Gross margin12 months to Q2 2025
- 79%
- Operating margin12 months to Q2 2025
- 33%
- Net margin12 months to Q2 2025
- 26%
- Free cash flow margin
- 32%
- R&D as % of revenue
- 19%
- Revenue, trailing twelve months
- $51.6B
- Free cash flow, trailing twelve months
- $16.4B
- Net income, trailing twelve months
- $13.6B
- Return on invested capitaloperating profit after tax ÷ debt + equity − cash
- 38%
Margins, capital and share counts from the statements as filed with the SEC; cash conversion is operating cash flow over operating profit after tax.
Drug Manufacturers, General
Ranks #2 of 7 by RyuScore