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Health Care

The 35 industries in this sector, from largest to smallest by market value, and its 20 largest companies listed on the NYSE and Nasdaq.

Data as of October 2026

35 industries 1,033 companies value 9.3 tn revenue 4.3 tn
Industry n Value Revenue Margin Cash Group leader Concentration
Large-cap pharmaceuticals 9 3.1 tn 483 bn 17.8% 119 bn LLY 37.6% Open contest
Biotechnology 57 850 bn 137 bn 9.6% 32 bn AMGN 27.0% Evenly matched
European pharmaceuticals 5 806 bn 240 bn 14.7% 55 bn NVS 35.6% Open contest
Lab tools and consumables 37 688 bn 130 bn 11.6% 20 bn TMO 36.5% Open contest
Health insurance and services 17 656 bn 1.4 tn 1.6% 56 bn UNH 55.6% Comfortable leader
Medical devices 87 600 bn 185 bn 10.2% 26 bn ABT 30.0% Open contest
Specialty pharmaceuticals 77 245 bn 44 bn -7.5% 0.7 bn ONC 17.2% Evenly matched
Pharmaceutical distribution 7 242 bn 998 bn 0.9% 15 bn MCK 48.8% Comfortable leader
Clinical-stage pharmaceuticals 251 203 bn 1.5 bn -342.7% -19 bn RVMD 19.2% Evenly matched
Robotic surgery and advanced medtech 9 155 bn 12 bn 24.8% 3.0 bn ISRG 98.6% Clear leader
Hospitals 23 154 bn 158 bn 6.6% 11 bn HCA 64.2% Clear leader
Emerging biotech 5 140 bn 21 bn 19.2% 3.8 bn ARGX 36.5% Open contest
Molecular testing and advanced diagnostics 42 131 bn 14 bn -20.6% -1.1 bn NTRA 44.0% Comfortable leader
Vaccines and mRNA 14 126 bn 7.2 bn -76.2% -2.7 bn MRNA 71.9% Clear leader
Clinical-stage biotech 200 120 bn 0.8 bn -891.3% -15 bn SMMT 10.3% Evenly matched
Generics and biosimilars 10 93 bn 50 bn -7.6% 4.3 bn TEVA 51.7% Comfortable leader
Animal health 7 93 bn 22 bn 16.8% 4.0 bn IDXX 47.2% Comfortable leader
Contract research (CRO) 10 93 bn 36 bn 3.8% 4.3 bn IQV 47.3% Comfortable leader
Consumer health (OTC) 4 84 bn 31 bn 12.8% 5.2 bn HLN 54.0% Comfortable leader
Healthcare software 18 78 bn 9.7 bn 9.2% 2.8 bn VEEV 65.8% Clear leader
Rehabilitation and home care 15 69 bn 55 bn 4.1% 3.3 bn BTSG 17.5% Evenly matched
Genomics and sequencing 9 69 bn 7.9 bn 8.2% 1.1 bn ILMN 57.5% Comfortable leader
Structural heart 8 68 bn 9.1 bn 11.2% 1.5 bn EW 74.4% Clear leader
Ophthalmology 12 65 bn 25 bn 3.5% 2.5 bn ALC 49.3% Comfortable leader
Medical imaging and hospital equipment 16 64 bn 43 bn 6.3% 2.3 bn GEHC 49.1% Comfortable leader
Diagnostic labs 6 60 bn 30 bn 6.5% 2.7 bn DGX 43.6% Comfortable leader
Medical and dental supply distribution 3 56 bn 46 bn 2.7% 1.8 bn MDLN 83.2% Clear leader
Diabetes monitoring 9 50 bn 14 bn 6.7% 1.3 bn DXCM 64.7% Clear leader
Pharmaceutical royalties 5 44 bn 3.3 bn 36.8% 3.2 bn RPRX 78.9% Clear leader
Respiratory and sleep therapy 9 37 bn 7.1 bn 19.9% 1.6 bn RMD 93.0% Clear leader
Orthopedic implants 17 35 bn 17 bn -0.6% 2.3 bn ZBH 51.6% Comfortable leader
Dialysis 3 24 bn 36 bn 5.9% 4.8 bn FMS 50.5% Comfortable leader
Telehealth and digital health 12 18 bn 7.6 bn -8.6% 0.5 bn HNGE 47.6% Comfortable leader
Dental 4 16 bn 11 bn -0.4% 1.0 bn ALGN 66.2% Clear leader
Medical and recreational cannabis 16 5.5 bn 5.8 bn -7.7% 0.3 bn TRLV 36.3% Open contest

The 20 largest companies in the sector

Rank Ticker Company Industry Value Revenue Margin FCF
1 LLY Eli Lilly
United States · score 6.5
Large-cap pharmaceuticals 1.2 tn 80 bn 33.5% 28 bn
2 JNJ Johnson & Johnson
United States · score 6.3
Large-cap pharmaceuticals 612 bn 98 bn 21.5% 22 bn
3 ABBV AbbVie
United States · score 5.4
Large-cap pharmaceuticals 500 bn 64 bn 9.8% 18 bn
4 UNH UnitedHealth Group
United States · score 6.6
Health insurance and services 365 bn 450 bn 3.1% 24 bn
5 MRK Merck & Co.
United States · score 5.9
Large-cap pharmaceuticals 354 bn 67 bn 4.8% 16 bn
6 NVS Novartis
Switzerland · score 7.2
European pharmaceuticals 287 bn 55 bn 23.3% 17 bn
7 AZN AstraZeneca
United Kingdom · score 6.5
European pharmaceuticals 254 bn 61 bn 17.0% 11 bn
8 TMO Thermo Fisher Scientific
United States · score 5.2
Lab tools and consumables 251 bn 46 bn 15.0% 7.3 bn
9 AMGN Amgen
United States · score 6.5
Biotechnology 230 bn 38 bn 23.0% 10 bn
10 GILD Gilead Sciences
United States · score 4.7
Biotechnology 190 bn 30 bn -10.6% 13 bn
11 ABT Abbott Laboratories
United States · score 6.4
Medical devices 180 bn 47 bn 11.6% 7.8 bn
12 NVO Novo Nordisk
Denmark · score 7.4
Large-cap pharmaceuticals 172 bn 46 bn 33.1% 8.8 bn
13 PFE Pfizer
United States · score 5.5
Large-cap pharmaceuticals 168 bn 64 bn 6.8% 11 bn
14 DHR Danaher
United States · score 5.5
Lab tools and consumables 158 bn 25 bn 15.9% 5.5 bn
15 ISRG Intuitive Surgical
United States · score 6.1
Robotic surgery and advanced medtech 153 bn 11 bn 28.4% 3.2 bn
16 VRTX Vertex Pharmaceuticals
United States · score 6.0
Biotechnology 127 bn 13 bn 35.0% 3.8 bn
17 BMY Bristol-Myers Squibb
United States · score 7.6
Large-cap pharmaceuticals 120 bn 49 bn 18.9% 11 bn
18 MDT Medtronic
Ireland/United States · score 6.5
Medical devices 119 bn 38 bn 13.9% 6.1 bn
19 MCK McKesson
United States · score 5.1
Pharmaceutical distribution 118 bn 411 bn 1.1% 6.4 bn
20 SYK Stryker
United States · score 6.3
Medical devices 114 bn 26 bn 14.4% 4.7 bn

Other sectors

What this is. A catalogue, not a guide. Every industry with stocks listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ, the companies contending for its leadership, what each one does according to its own annual report, and the balance sheet it filed with the SEC.

The score runs from 0 to 10 and compares each company with every other one in the almanac on cash generation, profitability, debt, dividends and consistency over the last five years. The higher it is, the better the company fares in that comparison. Curious how much each part weighs? Ask at the bottom of the page.

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