Amgen vs. Bristol Myers Squibb: Which Healthcare Stock Is a Better Buy in 2026?

Choosing between Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) requires balancing growth potential against value-oriented income. Both companies provide essential medicines, but their current financial paths differ significantly for investors in 2026.

Amgen focuses on biologics and complex medicines for serious illnesses, while Bristol Myers Squibb emphasizes oncology and hematology treatments. They are being compared because both companies represent established players in the pharmaceutical landscape, each offering a different mix of growth and stability for investors seeking exposure to large-cap healthcare.

The case for Amgen

Operating as a large biotech vs pharma player, Amgen discovers and develops innovative medicines across oncology and rare diseases. The company sells its products primarily through three major distributors, McKesson Corp. (NYSE:MCK), Cencora (NYSE:COR), and Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH). Customer concentration adds a layer of risk, as these wholesalers account for the majority of revenue.

In FY 2025, revenue reached close to $36.8 billion, representing growth of roughly 10% compared to the previous year. This trend was supported by a strong portfolio of medicines in the inflammation and general medicine segments. Net income for the period was about $7.7 billion, resulting in a net margin, which is the percentage of revenue remaining as profit, of approximately 21%.

As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio is about 6.3x, calculated as total debt divided by shareholders' equity. Its current ratio, a measure of the ability to pay short-term debts with current assets, is roughly 1.1x. Free cash flow for the year reached nearly $8.1 billion, representing cash remaining after operating costs and capital expenditures.

The case for Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb operates as a global biopharmaceutical company focusing on therapeutic areas such as oncology, hematology, and neuroscience. The company sells its products globally to a diverse group of wholesalers, specialty pharmacies, and government agencies. Key products like Eliquis and Opdivo remain central to its revenue base, often managed through alliance arrangements for co-development to share discovery costs.

For FY 2025, revenue was roughly $48.2 billion, which was nearly flat compared to the prior year. Net income for the fiscal period was about $7.1 billion. The net margin for the year was approximately 14.6%, reflecting the high costs associated with research and drug development. This performance highlights the company's efforts to balance declining revenue from older drugs with the addition of newer clinical assets.

According to its December 2025 balance sheet, the company has a debt-to-equity ratio of approximately 2.6x. Its current ratio is roughly 1.3x, suggesting the company maintains a sufficient cushion to meet its immediate financial obligations. Free cash flow for FY 2025 reached about $12.8 billion, providing capital for dividends or potential acquisitions. This strong cash generation remains a cornerstone of the company's financial strategy.

Risk profile comparison

Amgen faces significant pressure from government and commercial payers regarding drug pricing and reimbursement. The company is also involved in ongoing tax disputes with the IRS regarding profit allocation and faces supply chain risks from manufacturing concentration in California and Puerto Rico. Competition from biosimilars following patent expirations also poses a threat of rapid revenue erosion.

Bristol Myers Squibb is highly dependent on products facing generic competition, particularly Eliquis. Pricing constraints imposed by government mandates like the Inflation Reduction Act also affect its ability to set prices for key assets. Finally, the company faces intellectual property disputes with competitors such as Cytokinetics (NASDAQ:CYTK) and must navigate complex global supply chain disruptions.

Valuation comparison

Bristol Myers Squibb looks like the more affordable option for value seekers, trading at a significantly lower multiple than Amgen based on sales and future earnings estimates. The Forward P/E ratio compares a stock price to future earnings estimates, while the P/S ratio measures the price against sales over the past twelve months.

Valuation metrics include those sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from those of other data providers.

Which stock would I buy in 2026?

Bristol Myers Squibb has made positive strides, with its newer growth brands gaining traction and some interesting candidates in the pipeline. The stock is cheap, and that seems to be for good reason. Investors have already priced in much of the upcoming difficulty, which softens the downside but does not make it an obvious buy right now. Bristol Myers Squibb's recovery timeline is hard to predict.

Revenue for the current fiscal year should edge up 3% to $49.9 billion, with a much healthier rise in net income of more than 40% to $11.2 billion.

Bristol Myers has attractively low forward price-to-earnings and price-to-sales ratios, but, of course, that reflects some continued rough sailing ahead.

Amgen, meanwhile, certainly isn't a fast grower either. Given its scale, it should be able to achieve a roughly 3% revenue increase in 2026, to around $37.8 billion. But size forgives a lot in pharmaceuticals. For one, its billions in net income could enable Amgen to pursue future growth by acquiring other drugmakers. The business also has six drug franchises that generate $1 billion-plus in annual revenue. There is real value there.

Given these are slow growers, but should be relatively stable as they work through near-term headwinds, investors would be wise to note the dividend yields. Amgen has a forward dividend yield today of 2.35% while Bristol Myers Squibb's is 4.1%. Long-term investors should go with Bristol Myers.

Brendan Coffey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Cytokinetics. The Motley Fool recommends McKesson. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.