AstraZeneca vs GSK, side by side
Both are FTSE 100 pharmaceutical giants, but the last decade split them. AstraZeneca rebuilt itself around cancer medicines and rare diseases and became one of Europe's most valuable companies. GSK doubled down on vaccines and specialty medicines and tends to trade on a lower valuation with a higher dividend yield.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on quality and income, and weakest on momentum.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on quality and income, and weakest on growth.
The numbers, side by side
| Measure |  AstraZeneca |  GSK |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £126.32 | £19.32 |
| Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'. | £195.91B | £77.37B |
| P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 25.3 | 16.4 |
| Div yield: Dividend yield: the yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn just from dividends. | 1.9% | 3.5% |
| Revenue growth | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| 1Y: How much the share price has moved over the past year. | +14% | +38% |
More measures
| Forward P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 14.9 | 9.9 |
|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 17.0% | 14.5% |
| ROE | 22.0% | 33.4% |
| Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. | 0.23 | 0.30 |
The bolder figure is simply the larger of the two - higher is not automatically good (a higher P/E means more expectation in the price; a higher beta means bigger swings).
How they differ
AstraZeneca is roughly 3x the size of GSK by market value. On our factor screen AstraZeneca currently screens higher on growth, while GSK screens higher on momentum and value. AstraZeneca trades on the higher P/E (25.3 vs 16.4), so more expectation is already built into its price; and GSK currently yields more (3.5% vs 1.9%). Over the past year the share prices moved +14% (AstraZeneca) vs +38% (GSK).
Descriptive only - how the two compare on today's data, never a verdict on either.
AstraZeneca, in one line
AstraZeneca is a global pharmaceutical giant that discovers, develops, and sells life-saving medicines for cancer, heart disease, and respiratory conditions.
Read the full AstraZeneca explainer →GSK, in one line
GSK is a British pharmaceutical giant that researches, develops, and manufactures vaccines and medicines to treat infectious diseases, HIV, and cancer.
Read the full GSK explainer →What to weigh
If dividend income matters to you, the yields differ (1.9% AstraZeneca vs 3.5% GSK). These are facts to understand, not a verdict - read each full explainer before deciding anything.
Common questions
Why is AstraZeneca valued so much more richly?
Markets pay up for growth. AstraZeneca's cancer drug pipeline has delivered years of rising sales, and its valuation assumes more to come; GSK's revenue grows more slowly, so more of its return arrives as dividend income today.
What is 'pipeline risk' in pharma?
Tomorrow's profits depend on drugs that are still in trials today. A failed late-stage trial - or a rival's success - can move either share sharply, and patents on today's medicines eventually expire.