Biggest CapEx Healthcare Stocks
Top healthcare companies ranked by capital expenditures, latest annual filings.
What Capital Expenditures Mean for Healthcare Companies
Capital expenditures in healthcare carry very different meanings across subindustries within the sector. Hospital systems spend heavily on buildings, imaging equipment, and electronic health record platforms. Device and instrument makers fund manufacturing capacity and regulatory validation. Drug developers, whose largest investment is research rather than physical plant, run comparatively modest capex programs because their core asset is intellectual property protected by patents, not the factories that manufacture the product.
Why It Matters Less in Healthcare
For providers and device makers, sustained capex funds capacity expansion and productivity improvements that translate into future revenue and margin. For drug developers, the more meaningful investment line is research and development, which is expensed immediately rather than capitalized. A capex ranking mixes these models and risks flattering capital-heavy providers while understating the innovation spend that actually drives value in the pharmaceutical and biotech side of the sector.
What to Read Alongside
Pair capex with Free Cash Flow to see what remains after reinvestment, Net Income for the profit the asset base produces, and R&D Spending for the innovation investment that capex often does not capture.
| # | Symbol | Company | Sector | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NVO | Novo Nordisk A/S | Healthcare | $9.45B | $177.74B |
| 2 | HCA | HCA Healthcare, Inc. | Healthcare | $4.94B | $103.40B |
| 3 | JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | Healthcare | $4.83B | $664.95B |
| 4 | SNY | Sanofi | Healthcare | $4.15B | $112.71B |
| 5 | MRK | Merck & Co., Inc. | Healthcare | $4.11B | $361.73B |
| 6 | UNH | UnitedHealth Group Incorporated | Healthcare | $3.62B | $353.17B |
| 7 | CVS | CVS Health Corporation | Healthcare | $2.83B | $107.28B |
| 8 | AZN | AstraZeneca PLC | Healthcare | $2.81B | $289.14B |
| 9 | PFE | Pfizer Inc. | Healthcare | $2.63B | $167.52B |
| 10 | ABT | Abbott Laboratories | Healthcare | $2.17B | $190.43B |
| 11 | MDT | Medtronic plc | Healthcare | $1.90B | $130.22B |
| 12 | AMGN | Amgen Inc. | Healthcare | $1.86B | $249.05B |
| 13 | GSK | GSK plc | Healthcare | $1.81B | $100.88B |
| 14 | NVS | Novartis AG | Healthcare | $1.55B | $307.00B |
| 15 | TMO | Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | Healthcare | $1.52B | $257.42B |
| 16 | BMY | Bristol-Myers Squibb Company | Healthcare | $1.31B | $127.02B |
| 17 | ABBV | AbbVie Inc. | Healthcare | $1.21B | $514.78B |
| 18 | DHR | Danaher Corporation | Healthcare | $1.16B | $161.89B |
| 19 | ELV | Elevance Health, Inc. | Healthcare | $1.12B | $91.96B |
| 20 | TAK | Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited | Healthcare | $1.11B | $67.16B |
| 21 | UHS | Universal Health Services, Inc. | Healthcare | $1.02B | $11.52B |
| 22 | THC | Tenet Healthcare Corporation | Healthcare | $1.01B | $22.55B |
| 23 | REGN | Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $898.40M | $93.55B |
| 24 | BSX | Boston Scientific Corporation | Healthcare | $876.00M | $61.96B |
| 25 | CNC | Centene Corporation | Healthcare | $767.00M | $34.51B |
| 26 | SYK | Stryker Corporation | Healthcare | $761.00M | $124.06B |
| 27 | BDX | Becton, Dickinson and Company | Healthcare | $760.00M | $57.71B |
| 28 | EHC | Encompass Health Corporation | Healthcare | $736.40M | $13.50B |
| 29 | COR | Cencora, Inc. | Healthcare | $667.98M | $63.65B |
| 30 | CAH | Cardinal Health, Inc. | Healthcare | $649.00M | $62.92B |
| 31 | ZTS | Zoetis Inc. | Healthcare | $621.00M | $32.81B |
| 32 | IQV | IQVIA Holdings Inc. | Healthcare | $603.00M | $44.80B |
| 33 | DVA | DaVita Inc. | Healthcare | $575.86M | $12.04B |
| 34 | ACHC | Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. | Healthcare | $571.81M | $3.44B |
| 35 | GILD | Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Healthcare | $563.00M | $207.00B |
| 36 | HUM | Humana Inc. | Healthcare | $546.00M | $52.08B |
| 37 | ALC | Alcon Inc. | Healthcare | $543.00M | $36.23B |
| 38 | ISRG | Intuitive Surgical, Inc. | Healthcare | $539.80M | $159.96B |
| 39 | DGX | Quest Diagnostics Incorporated | Healthcare | $527.00M | $28.21B |
| 40 | UTHR | United Therapeutics Corporation | Healthcare | $520.50M | $23.94B |
| 41 | BAX | Baxter International Inc. | Healthcare | $513.00M | $13.34B |
| 42 | TEVA | Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited | Healthcare | $501.00M | $49.72B |
| 43 | GEHC | GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. | Healthcare | $482.00M | $37.25B |
| 44 | MDLN | Medline Inc. | Healthcare | $447.00M | $52.12B |
| 45 | VRTX | Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | Healthcare | $437.60M | $138.71B |
| 46 | MCK | McKesson Corporation | Healthcare | $436.00M | $122.48B |
| 47 | LH | Labcorp Holdings Inc. | Healthcare | $434.50M | $29.77B |
| 48 | SNN | Smith & Nephew plc | Healthcare | $433.00M | $13.04B |
| 49 | HLN | Haleon plc | Healthcare | $432.99M | $40.17B |
| 50 | A | Agilent Technologies, Inc. | Healthcare | $407.00M | $49.26B |
| 51 | BHC | Bausch Health Companies Inc. | Healthcare | $397.00M | $3.06B |
| 52 | AHCO | AdaptHealth Corp. | Healthcare | $382.39M | $1.00B |
| 53 | SOLV | Solventum Corporation | Healthcare | $379.00M | $15.38B |
| 54 | VTRS | Viatris Inc. | Healthcare | $378.80M | $22.87B |
| 55 | STE | STERIS plc | Healthcare | $369.00M | $24.60B |
| 56 | DXCM | DexCom, Inc. | Healthcare | $363.50M | $29.62B |
| 57 | COO | The Cooper Companies, Inc. | Healthcare | $362.40M | $11.86B |
| 58 | BLCO | Bausch + Lomb Corporation | Healthcare | $349.00M | $7.15B |
| 59 | PHG | Koninklijke Philips N.V. | Healthcare | $315.70M | $29.67B |
| 60 | GRFS | Grifols, S.A. | Healthcare | $311.00M | $5.74B |
| 61 | STVN | Stevanato Group S.p.A. | Healthcare | $309.54M | $3.71B |
| 62 | WST | West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. | Healthcare | $285.90M | $27.85B |
| 63 | ELAN | Elanco Animal Health Incorporated | Healthcare | $276.00M | $12.86B |
| 64 | ATR | AptarGroup, Inc. | Healthcare | $270.42M | $9.03B |
| 65 | EW | Edwards Lifesciences Corporation | Healthcare | $260.20M | $58.73B |
| 66 | RDY | Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited | Healthcare | $248.58M | $12.43B |
| 67 | HIMS | Hims & Hers Health, Inc. | Healthcare | $242.60M | $6.07B |
| 68 | ZBH | Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. | Healthcare | $224.50M | $19.98B |
| 69 | MMED | MiniMed Group, Inc. | Healthcare | $223.00M | $4.70B |
| 70 | CRL | Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. | Healthcare | $219.15M | $16.17B |
| 71 | BNTX | BioNTech SE | Healthcare | $205.50M | $21.70B |
| 72 | BKD | Brookdale Senior Living Inc. | Healthcare | $201.53M | $2.15B |
| 73 | QGEN | Qiagen N.V. | Healthcare | $201.05M | $10.39B |
| 74 | ENOV | Enovis Corporation | Healthcare | $197.38M | $1.57B |
| 75 | MRNA | Moderna, Inc. | Healthcare | $192.00M | $101.48B |
| 76 | PODD | Insulet Corporation | Healthcare | $191.60M | $10.16B |
| 77 | QDEL | QuidelOrtho Corporation | Healthcare | $188.20M | $734.15M |
| 78 | ONC | BeOne Medicines AG | Healthcare | $185.84M | $46.30B |
| 79 | ICLR | ICON Public Limited Company | Healthcare | $174.21M | $15.34B |
| 80 | GMED | Globus Medical, Inc. | Healthcare | $164.68M | $9.54B |
| 81 | OGN | Organon & Co. | Healthcare | $162.00M | $3.64B |
| 82 | BIO | Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. | Healthcare | $157.60M | $10.26B |
| 83 | RMD | ResMed Inc. | Healthcare | $156.28M | $33.10B |
| 84 | BIIB | Biogen Inc. | Healthcare | $153.80M | $36.71B |
| 85 | ILMN | Illumina, Inc. | Healthcare | $148.00M | $32.23B |
| 86 | HSIC | Henry Schein, Inc. | Healthcare | $139.00M | $9.51B |
| 87 | SHC | Sotera Health Company | Healthcare | $138.02M | $4.57B |
| 88 | XRAY | DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. | Healthcare | $131.00M | $1.89B |
| 89 | AVTR | Avantor, Inc. | Healthcare | $128.80M | $10.48B |
| 90 | IDXX | IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. | Healthcare | $124.68M | $53.26B |
| 91 | WAT | Waters Corporation | Healthcare | $112.75M | $44.96B |
| 92 | MTD | Mettler-Toledo International Inc. | Healthcare | $107.12M | $34.51B |
| 93 | NTRA | Natera, Inc. | Healthcare | $106.19M | $44.78B |
| 94 | BMRN | BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. | Healthcare | $103.04M | $10.85B |
| 95 | ALGN | Align Technology, Inc. | Healthcare | $102.44M | $11.70B |
| 96 | SRPT | Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. | Healthcare | $101.97M | $1.88B |
| 97 | MOH | Molina Healthcare, Inc. | Healthcare | $101.00M | $10.87B |
| 98 | BTSG | BrightSpring Health Services, Inc. | Healthcare | $95.48M | $13.36B |
| 99 | TFX | Teleflex Incorporated | Healthcare | $95.24M | $6.39B |
| 100 | PRGO | Perrigo Company plc | Healthcare | $93.40M | $2.20B |
No companies match this search.
How this ranking is built
Companies are ranked by capital expenditures as reported in their most recent annual filing with the SEC. Figures shown are in US dollars (or percent, as noted), rounded to two decimals.
- Source: annual 10-K / 20-F filings from companies trading on US exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX).
- Fiscal year: whichever annual period the company has most recently filed. Fiscal years don't always align with the calendar year, so the "as of FY" stamp above reflects the most common year across the table.
- Filtered out: warrants, preferred shares, and duplicate listings that share a parent company's financials.
- Size floor: A company qualifies at $500 million in market cap or above. Below that, one mis-stated figure outranks the companies the list is about.
- Currency check: A company whose annual revenue runs above 15 times its market cap is left out, because at that gap the two figures are not in the same currency.
- Currency check: A company whose balance sheet runs above 150 times its market cap is left out for the same reason.
- Market cap: stated at each company's latest close, which is newer than the annual figure ranked here.
- Update cadence: refreshed as companies file new annual reports (typically within 60–90 days of fiscal year end).
Not financial advice. This is a research tool, not a recommendation.
Frequently asked questions
Why is capex a poor measure of investment intensity in drug development?
A pharmaceutical or biotech firm's largest and most strategic investment is research and development, which under current accounting is expensed through the income statement rather than capitalized as an asset. Capex captures only physical infrastructure such as laboratories, manufacturing facilities, and administrative property, which are often modest relative to research budgets. For these firms, R&D spending is a better proxy for investment intensity than capex, and reading the two together gives a more complete view of how much the business is reinvesting.
How does hospital capex differ from device maker capex?
Hospital systems spend on large fixed assets with long useful lives such as buildings, surgical suites, diagnostic imaging equipment, and electronic health record systems. Device makers fund manufacturing capacity, regulatory validation infrastructure, and sometimes vertical integration into component production. Hospital capex tends to correlate with patient volume growth and competitive positioning within service areas. Device maker capex correlates more with product launch cycles and the scaling of successful platforms. Both produce depreciation that pressures future margins, but the strategic drivers are different.
Can heavy capex in healthcare signal a competitive advantage?
It often can. Providers that fund leading imaging, surgical robotics, or proprietary clinical IT can attract patients and physicians, strengthening local market position. Device makers that build scale manufacturing ahead of product launches can serve large customers and protect pricing. That said, capex also consumes cash that might otherwise fund dividends, buybacks, or acquisitions, and healthcare has examples of heavy investment that never earned adequate returns. The quality of the spend matters more than the absolute amount.