EW
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
EW has the edge over NVO overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
NVO
Novo Nordisk A/S
NVO offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
EW Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
EW's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
NVO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
NVO's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable.
EW PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 28x | $48.93 | -54% |
| Forward | 33x | $106 | — |
| Fair | 39x | $69.87 | -34% |
| Expensive | 57x | $102 | -3.9% |
| Current | 60x | $106 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
EW's PE is in its expensive range at 60x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 33x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
NVO PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 10x | $40.65 | — |
| Cheap | 14x | $53.56 | +32% |
| Fair | 27x | $103 | +154% |
| Expensive | 39x | $152 | +273% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NVO has the edge over EW in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
EW Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
EW has the edge over NVO on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and profitability expectations.
NVO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect NVO's revenue to grow, but its profitability to weaken. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
EW Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.25 | +84% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.77 | -24% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.74 | -75% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.88 | -73% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.83 | -74% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.32 | -67% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.95 | +186% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.00 | +202% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.97 | +203% |
EW's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.77 over the past year, against $7.00 in early 2025.
NVO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $3.89 | +4.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.07 | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.42 | +1.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.47 | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.71 | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.49 | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.36 | +21% |
| Q3 2024 | $3.15 | +27% |
NVO has the edge over EW on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
EW Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.7B | +10% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.7B | +14% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.6B | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.6B | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.6B | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.5B | +11% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.4B | -12% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | -9.7% |
EW's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $1.7B last quarter, up 10% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 17% | -2.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 29% | +2.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 29% | +1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.6% | -13 points |
| Q3 2025 | 20% | -6.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 27% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 28% | +3.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 23% | -3.5 points |
EW's operating margin was 17% last quarter, down 2.3 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
NVO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $11.7B | +2.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $14.4B | +24% |
| Q4 2025 | $11.8B | -7.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.1B | +5.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $11.4B | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.6B | +19% |
| Q4 2024 | $12.7B | +30% |
| Q3 2024 | $10.6B | +21% |
NVO has the edge over EW on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 34% | -9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 62% | +12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 40% | -2.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | -16 points |
| Q2 2025 | 44% | +5.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 50% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 43% | +2.2 points |
| Q3 2024 | 47% | +1.6 points |
NVO has the edge over EW on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
EW Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $506.7M | -1.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $585M | +143% |
| Q1 2026 | -$21.1M | -109% |
| Q4 2025 | $353.5M | +$530.8M |
| Q3 2025 | $516.2M | +72% |
| Q2 2025 | $240.9M | -16% |
| Q1 2025 | $224.4M | +$343.2M |
| Q4 2024 | -$177.3M | -467% |
EW generated $1.4B in free cash flow over the past year, up 77% from the year before.
NVO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $6.3B | +73% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.8B | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | -$5.4B | -$4.7B |
| Q3 2025 | $4.6B | -2.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.6B | -34% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +89% |
| Q4 2024 | -$632.6M | +$390.5M |
| Q3 2024 | $4.7B | +3.3% |
NVO has the edge over EW on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
EW Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | -1.4% | -8.1M shares |
| 3 years | -5.2% | -31.9M shares |
| 5 years | -8.6% | -54.1M shares |
| Available history | -9.3% | -59M shares |
EW has the edge over NVO on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $138.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $153.3M |
| Q1 2026 | $421.8M |
| Q4 2025 | $40.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $588.7M |
| Q2 2025 | $5.5M |
| Q1 2025 | $258.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $100.1M |
EW spent $755M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 21% from the year before.
NVO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -12.9M shares |
| 1 year | -0.2% | -11M shares |
| 3 years | -1.5% | -66.8M shares |
| 5 years | -3.8% | -177M shares |
| Available history | -6.5% | -311M shares |
NVO has 4.4B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $520M |
| Q1 2026 | $356.7M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $206.3M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.1B |
| Q3 2024 | $357.4M |
NVO spent $877M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 48% from the year before.
EW Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
EW has the edge over NVO on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
NVO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | -0.0x | Very low |
NVO's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
EW Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 71.7 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 87.7 | Overbought |
EW's weekly RSI is 72 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 88 (overbought).
NVO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 27.0 | Neutral |
NVO's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 27 (neutral).
EW PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | EW | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 60x | 26x | 131% above |
| PE % | 84 | 29 | 55 pts above |
EW is trading at 60x earnings, a 131% premium to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
NVO PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | NVO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 10x | 26x | 60% below |
| PE % | 6 | 29 | 23 pts below |
NVO has the edge over EW on valuation relative to its sector.
EW Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $91.5 | 16% above |
| 20 week MA | $89.9 | 18% above |
| 50 week MA | $85.9 | 23% above |
| 100 week MA | $80.9 | 31% above |
| 200 week MA | $80.0 | 32% above |
EW has the edge over NVO on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
NVO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $39.2 | 3.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $43.9 | 7.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $45.3 | 10% below |
| 100 week MA | $56.3 | 28% below |
| 200 week MA | $80.7 | 50% below |
NVO has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-week average, but 50% below its 200-week average.
EW Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $78.2 | $88.6 | +13% |
| 2021 | $88.6 | $128.6 | +45% |
| 2022 | $128.6 | $74.2 | -42% |
| 2023 | $74.2 | $76.3 | +2.8% |
| 2024 | $76.3 | $75.7 | -0.8% |
| 2025 | $75.7 | $86.9 | +15% |
| 2026 YTD | $86.9 | $105.8 | +22% |
EW has the edge over NVO on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
NVO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $29.1 | $34.7 | +19% |
| 2021 | $34.7 | $54.2 | +56% |
| 2022 | $54.2 | $67.0 | +24% |
| 2023 | $67.0 | $103.5 | +54% |
| 2024 | $103.5 | $87.4 | -16% |
| 2025 | $87.4 | $52.4 | -40% |
| 2026 YTD | $52.4 | $40.7 | -22% |
NVO has finished higher in four of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's down 22% so far in 2026.