ABT vs BMY: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
ABT is the larger of the two ($182.70B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (17.29x forward earnings, beta 0.58). BMY is the smaller challenger ($122.05B), cheaper on forward earnings (9.04x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
ABT vs BMY: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | ABT | BMY | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $182.70B | $122.05B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 17.29 | 9.04 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 33.84 | 13.16 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.58 | 0.18 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 46% of range | 66% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 3.55 | 5.47 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: BMY is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how ABT and BMY affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ABT and BMY share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ABT and BMY exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Abbott Laboratories (ABT) do?
Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois, that discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products in more than 160 countries through four segments: Medical Devices, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Established Pharmaceutical Products. Medical Devices, the largest segment at roughly $21.4 billion in 2025 revenue, includes the FreeStyle Libre family of continuous glucose monitors, structural heart products (Navitor, TriClip), electrophysiology systems (AVEIR leadless pacemaker, Volt pulsed field ablation, TactiFlex Duo), vascular devices, and heart-failure technologies (CardioMEMS). Diagnostics contributed roughly $8.9 billion in 2025 before the Exact Sciences deal, Nutrition roughly $8.5 billion (anchored by Similac infant formula and Ensure adult nutrition), and Established Pharmaceuticals roughly $5.5 billion in branded generics sold primarily in emerging markets.
What does Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) do?
Bristol Myers Squibb is one of the largest global biopharmaceutical companies, developing and selling prescription medicines across oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular, and neuroscience. It makes money primarily by selling patented branded drugs, with a portfolio that has historically leaned on blockbuster franchises such as the blood thinner Eliquis (co-marketed with Pfizer), the cancer immunotherapy Opdivo, and the multiple myeloma drug Revlimid. The company is working through a major patent cliff as several legacy products lose exclusivity, and it is rebuilding growth through a newer portfolio that includes drugs like Reblozyl, Opdualag, Camzyos, Sotyktu, and the schizophrenia treatment Cobenfy (acquired through Karuna). Bristol Myers grows both organically through its research pipeline and through large acquisitions (Celgene, MyoKardia, Karuna, Mirati). It is headquartered in New York and operates worldwide.
ABT vs BMY: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- ABT drivers: FreeStyle Libre: A Platform, Not Just a Product; Cardiovascular and Electrophysiology Momentum.
- BMY drivers: New product portfolio ramp; Oncology and immunology depth.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The most acute near-term risk is infant formula litigation: juries have delivered verdicts including a $53 million compensatory award in late March 2026 and a separately upheld $495 million verdict, with hundreds of additional NEC-related cases pending, and a securities class action filed in 2026 adds a parallel legal exposure track targeting alleged investor misstatements. For BMY, the central risk is the patent cliff: Eliquis, Opdivo, and other large products face loss of exclusivity, and generic or biosimilar competition can erode revenue quickly.
ABT or BMY: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ABT if you believe its drivers more; BMY if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ABT and BMY guides.
ABT vs BMY: the full fundamentals
ABT. ABT's trailing GAAP P/E of about 34x is inflated by acquisition amortization and one-time costs from the Exact Sciences deal; on forward earnings the stock trades near 17x, well below its own 5-year and 10-year historical averages, after a roughly 16% decline in 2026. Revenue growth has remained positive, and the raised adjusted EPS guidance of $5.45-$5.60 implies a forward adjusted P/E of about 19x at the October 16 price of $104.44, below the average analyst target of about $121. Q3 2026 results are due October 21, with company guidance of $1.38-$1.46 adjusted EPS and consensus near $1.41 on about $13.0 billion of sales.
BMY. At about $60.80 on October 16, 2026, Bristol Myers trades near 9 times forward earnings, still low relative to large-cap pharma peers, which reflects market skepticism about replacing patent-cliff revenue even after a 40% one-year rally. The 4.2% dividend yield and strong cash flow are the bull-case anchors, while consensus for roughly flat 2027 EPS (about $6.62 versus $6.65 for 2026) captures the bear case. The 24 analysts in Yahoo's consensus carry a mean target near $66, and Q3 2026 results arrive on October 29.
Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): ABT shows revenue (ttm) ~$46.6 billion (Q2 2026 sales $12.59 billion, +13% reported, +4.8% comparable), revenue (fy 2025) ~$44.3 billion (+5.7% YoY), net income (ttm) ~$5.4 billion (GAAP EPS ~$3.10), net profit margin (ttm) ~11.7%; BMY shows revenue (ttm) ~$49.2 billion (Q2 2026 up ~5.7% YoY), q2 2026 adjusted eps $2.04 vs $1.60 consensus, operating margin ~34%, net income (ttm) ~$9.3 billion.
The bottom line: ABT vs BMY
ABT and BMY are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ABT and BMY exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how ABT or BMY fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Abbott Laboratories with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how ABT fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between ABT and BMY?
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Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois, that discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products in more than 160 countries through four segments: Medical Devices, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Established Pharmaceutical Products. Bristol Myers Squibb is one of the largest global biopharmaceutical companies, developing and selling prescription medicines across oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular, and neuroscience. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is ABT or BMY the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. ABT is the larger incumbent; BMY is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, ABT or BMY?
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On forward P/E (as of October 2026), ABT trades at 17.29x and BMY at 9.04x, so BMY is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both ABT and BMY?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of ABT vs BMY?
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ABT: The most acute near-term risk is infant formula litigation: juries have delivered verdicts including a $53 million compensatory award in late March 2026 and a separately upheld $495 million verdict, with hundreds of additional NEC-related cases pending, and a securities class action filed in 2026 adds a parallel legal exposure track targeting alleged investor misstatements. Abbott has started to narrow this exposure, reaching agreements in August 2026 to resolve a portion of the preterm-formula litigation and an agreement with the Department of Justice in September 2026 on claims tied to the 2022 recall, but the remaining liability is still open-ended. Integration of the approximately $21 billion Exact Sciences acquisition introduces execution risk, amortization and elevated SGA costs: GAAP EPS was only $0.53 in Q2 2026 against adjusted EPS of $1.31, and the trailing GAAP P/E is about 34x even though the forward multiple is about 17x. Organic growth also slowed to 4.8% in Q2 2026 on a comparable basis, below the full-year 6.5-7.5% guide. Foreign exchange swings move reported international revenue by several percentage points, and any meaningful dollar strengthening would pressure reported results disproportionately given Abbott's broad non-US exposure. Competitive disruption in continuous glucose monitoring from DexCom and emerging players, along with pricing pressure from government payers and the Inflation Reduction Act, represent structural long-term headwinds. BMY: The central risk is the patent cliff: Eliquis, Opdivo, and other large products face loss of exclusivity, and generic or biosimilar competition can erode revenue quickly. Revlimid has already declined under generic entry. The newer portfolio must scale fast enough to offset these losses, which is not guaranteed, and consensus already pencils in flat to lower revenue and EPS in 2027. Drug pricing pressure (including US Medicare negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act, which named Eliquis), clinical trial failures, regulatory setbacks, and integration risk from large acquisitions all weigh on the outlook; the split admilparant readout in October 2026, which also came with protocol changes and a patient death the company said was likely unrelated, is a reminder of how quickly pipeline news can move the stock. Debt of about $45 billion against about $11 billion of cash, and litigation exposure, add further uncertainty.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell ABT or BMY; figures are approximate and dated (as of October 2026). Verify current data before investing.