Novartis AG
CorpDigest
Novartis AG
Financial Performance
Last reviewed: June 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Revenue
$54.5B
Market Cap
$274.1B
Net Income
$14.0B
Employees
75,267
Free cash flow of $17.6 billion in FY2025 on $54.5 billion in net sales represents a free cash flow margin of approximately 32% — a number that reflects both the inherent economics of premium pharmaceutical manufacturing and the elimination of lower-margin generics revenue that had diluted the consolidated margin profile. Net income of $13.97 billion and operating income of $17.64 billion confirm that the Sandoz spin-off's financial impact has been exactly what Narasimhan projected. Revenue grew from $47.8 billion in FY2023 to $50.3 billion in FY2024 to $54.5 billion in FY2025, a trajectory that reflects the underlying growth rates of the key franchises: Entresto in heart failure, Cosentyx in immunology, Kisqali in breast cancer, and Pluvicto in prostate cancer. Each drug has a different patent timeline and pricing environment. The US accounts for approximately 45% of total global sales, where pricing power is highest but increasingly constrained by IRA negotiation authority. The $10.8 billion annual R&D expenditure — redirected from the Sandoz operation after the spin-off — finances a pipeline with over 20 programs in Phase III trials across oncology, immunology, cardiovascular, and neuroscience. The radioligand therapy infrastructure, which requires specialized manufacturing facilities and handling protocols for radioactive compounds, represents a capital investment that creates a genuine production barrier for competitors attempting to develop similar drugs. The market capitalization of $274.1 billion at fiscal year-end represents approximately 5x FY2025 net sales — a premium that reflects investor confidence in both the current commercial execution and the pipeline's depth. The MorphoSys acquisition in 2024, which added pelabresib, a potential treatment for myelofibrosis, extended the oncology pipeline in a direction where existing Novartis commercial infrastructure could support the launch without proportional incremental cost.
Revenue Trend Analysis
YoY Change
+8.3%
2-Year CAGR
+6.8%
Peak Year
2025
Trend
Consistent Growth
Novartis AG has reported revenue across 3 fiscal years, compounding at +6.8% annually over 2 years. The most recent year saw a 8.3% increase versus the prior year. Revenue peaked in 2025 at $54.5B. Out of 2 reported periods, 2 showed growth and 0 showed a decline.
| Fiscal Year | Revenue | Net Income | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $54.5B | $14.0B | +8.3% |
| FY2024 | $50.3B | — | +5.3% |
| FY2023 | $47.8B | — | — |
Source: SEC EDGAR filings, annual earnings releases, and verified financial disclosures.
Click any row to see year details.
Novartis's continuing-operations revenue (excluding the spun-off Alcon and Sandoz businesses) grew from approximately $41.6 billion in 2019 (pro-forma post-Alcon spin-off) to $50.3 billion in 2024 — roughly 4% annualized growth. Reported total revenue declined from $51.6 billion in 2022 to $45.4 billion in 2023 to $50.3 billion in 2024 as the Sandoz spin-off shifted out roughly $9 billion of generics revenue mid-2023. On a continuing-operations basis, growth has accelerated since 2022 driven by Cosentyx (mid-single-digit growth), Entresto (10%+ growth pre-IRA), Kesimpta (40%+ growth from a smaller base), Pluvicto (60%+ growth from launch), and Kisqali (40%+ growth). Operating margin on continuing operations rose from approximately 27% in 2019 to 34% in 2024, reflecting both the removal of lower-margin Sandoz and Alcon businesses and operating leverage on top growth medicines. Net income reached $11.9 billion in 2024 (with $14.6 billion reported including discontinued-operations impact in earlier years), and EPS was approximately $5.40 on roughly 2 billion shares outstanding. Free cash flow has been consistently above $13 billion annually, supporting substantial capital return and continued M&A capacity.
Novartis invested approximately $9.4 billion in research and development in 2024, representing roughly 18.7% of sales — among the highest R&D intensities in large-cap pharma. By comparison, AbbVie spent roughly $7.5 billion (~13% of sales), Roche $14 billion (~22%), Pfizer $11 billion (~18%), Bristol-Myers Squibb $11 billion (~24%), Merck $17 billion (~26%), Eli Lilly $10.5 billion (~24%), and Johnson & Johnson Pharma roughly $13 billion (~14% of total J&J pharma + medtech R&D). Novartis's R&D is allocated across the five therapeutic areas with the largest concentrations in oncology and cardiovascular/renal/metabolic. The R&D budget supports a pipeline of roughly 150 drug development programs (including indication expansions for marketed drugs), with major Phase III programs in 2024-2025 including Pelacarsen (cardiovascular Lp(a)), Atrasentan (IgA nephropathy and other kidney diseases), and multiple Kisqali, Kesimpta, and Pluvicto label expansions. R&D productivity is measured by the number of new molecular entities (NMEs) launched and by lifetime peak sales per dollar of R&D spend. Novartis's R&D leadership under Vas Narasimhan has emphasized therapeutic-area focus, data-and-digital transformation, and external partnerships including in-licensing and acquisitions to supplement internal discovery.
Novartis has returned substantial capital to shareholders through a combination of growing annual dividends and large share-repurchase programs. Dividends grew continuously from CHF 1.00 per share in 2003 to CHF 3.20 per share in 2024, representing total annual dividend payments of approximately $6.5 billion. The company has paid uninterrupted growing dividends since the 1996 merger. Share repurchases have been managed through periodic multi-year programs: the most recent $15 billion repurchase program was announced in July 2023 and was substantially executed through 2024-2025. Cumulative buyback spending across 2014-2024 exceeded $30 billion. Share count has been reduced from approximately 2.35 billion in 2014 to roughly 2.0 billion by 2024 — a 15% reduction. The capital-return policy is supplemented by selective M&A: the largest recent deals were The Medicines Company ($9.7 billion 2020 for Leqvio), AveXis ($8.7 billion 2018 for Zolgensma), Chinook Therapeutics ($3.5 billion 2023), and MorphoSys ($2.9 billion 2024 for pelabresib and tulmimetostat). The Sandoz spin-off in 2023 returned capital indirectly by distributing Sandoz shares to existing Novartis holders, who received approximately $10 billion of value at the separation. Balance-sheet leverage remains modest with net debt typically below 1.5x EBITDA.
Novartis's market capitalization reached approximately $230-250 billion across 2024-2025 at share prices in the $105-125 range on the SIX Swiss Exchange and NYSE (NVS ADR), reflecting roughly 20x forward earnings and a dividend yield near 3.5%. Among large-cap pharma, Novartis ranked roughly fifth by market cap: Eli Lilly led at over $700 billion through the GLP-1 boom of 2023-2024 before retracing to roughly $600 billion; Novo Nordisk reached approximately $550-570 billion at peak; Johnson & Johnson and Roche traded near $400 billion; AbbVie and Pfizer near $300 billion; Merck near $250-280 billion. Novartis's valuation multiple has been compressed relative to growth peers like Lilly because of perceived patent-cliff exposure (Entresto IRA negotiation, Cosentyx late-2020s patent expiry) and lower top-line growth. The 2023 Sandoz spin-off removed a structural drag and the focused innovative-medicines portfolio post-spin produced a re-rating, with the share price doubling from 2020 lows near $75 to $125-plus by mid-2025. Analyst views are split between investors who see the pipeline (Pluvicto, Leqvio, Iptacopan, Pelacarsen) as bridging the patent cliff with growth and those who see the post-2026 transition period as a multi-year revenue plateau. The valuation reflects this debate.
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CorpDigest. "Novartis AG Revenue & Financials." CorpDigest, https://corpdigest.com/company/novartis/financials.<div style="font-family:system-ui,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5;border:1px solid #e2e8f0;border-radius:8px;padding:12px 16px;max-width:520px"><strong>Novartis AG reported $55B in revenue (FY2025).</strong><br>Source: <a href="https://corpdigest.com/company/novartis/financials" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CorpDigest — Novartis AG financials</a></div>