Sifting through countless of stocks in the Pharmaceuticals industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Bristol-Myers Squibb Company or Novo Nordisk A/S because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Novo Nordisk A/S compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Novo Nordisk A/S

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. The company offers products for oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular, and neuroscience indications. Its products include Opdivo for anti-cancer indications; Opdivo Qvantig, a subcutaneous PD-1 inhibitor for solid tumors; Orencia for active rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis; Yervoy for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma; Reblozyl to treat anemia; Breyanzi for the treatment of relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma; Opdualag to treat unresectable or metastatic melanoma; and Camzyos for the treatment of symptomatic obstructive HCM. The company also offers Zeposia to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis; Abecma for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; Sotyktu to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis; Krazati for the treatment of KRASG12C-mutated locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); and Cobenfy to treat schizophrenia. In addition, it offers Eliquis for the reduction of risk of stroke/systemic embolism and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Revlimid, an oral immunomodulatory drug for multiple myeloma; Pomalyst/Imnovid for multiple myeloma; Sprycel for Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia; and Abraxane to treat breast cancer. Further, the company provides Augtyro for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive NSCLC, as well as NSCLC and pancreatic cancer. It sells its products to wholesalers, distributors, specialty pharmacies, retailers, hospitals, clinics, and government agencies. The company has a strategic collaboration with Arcus Biosciences, Inc. to develop a treatment regimen that delivers tumor control in kidney cancer. The company was formerly known as Bristol-Myers Company. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products. It operates through two segments, Obesity and Diabetes Care, and Rare Disease. The Obesity and Diabetes care segment provides products for diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular, and other emerging therapy areas. The Rare Disease segment offers products in the areas of rare blood disorders, rare endocrine disorders, and hormone replacement therapy. The company also provides NovoPen 6 and NovoPen Echo Plus, smart insulin pens; Dose Check, an insulin dose guidance application; growth hormone pens and injection needles; and Wegovy pill an oral glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist therapy for weight management. It operates in Europe, Canada, the United States, Japan, Korea, Oceania, Southeast Asia, Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. Novo Nordisk A/S was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Bagsvaerd, Denmark.

Latest Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Novo Nordisk A/S Stock News

As of September 10, 2026, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company had a $130.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Pharmaceuticals median of $626.3 million. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 34.98% in the past year.

Currently, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s price-earnings ratio is 14.0. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $49.2 billion with a 18.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 5.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.949 per share for the current fiscal year. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company currently has a 4.0% dividend yield.

Currently, Novo Nordisk A/S’s price-earnings ratio is 11.0. Novo Nordisk A/S’s trailing 12-month revenue is $50.3 billion with a 35.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -0.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.582 per share for the current fiscal year. Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a 2.6% dividend yield.

How We Compare Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Novo Nordisk A/S’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Novo Nordisk A/S Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company	BMY	C
Novo Nordisk A/S	NVO	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company has a Growth Score of 43, which is Average. Novo Nordisk A/S has a Growth Score of 89, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Novo Nordisk A/S

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Novo Nordisk A/S has a more attractive growth grade than Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Novo Nordisk A/S could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Novo Nordisk A/S’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company	BMY	A
Novo Nordisk A/S	NVO	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company has a Quality Score of 96, which is Very Strong. Novo Nordisk A/S has a Quality Score of 90, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Novo Nordisk A/S have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Novo Nordisk A/S’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company	BMY	B
Novo Nordisk A/S	NVO	C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 68, which is Positive. Novo Nordisk A/S has a Earnings Estimate Score of 55, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Novo Nordisk A/S. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Novo Nordisk A/S Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Growth and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Novo Nordisk A/S pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company or Novo Nordisk A/S Stock?

Overall, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company stock has a Growth Score of 43, Estimate Revisions Score of 68 and Quality Score of 96.

Novo Nordisk A/S stock has a Growth Score of 89, Estimate Revisions Score of 55 and Quality Score of 90.

Comparing Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Novo Nordisk A/S’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.