Top Healthcare Stocks by Free Cash Flow
Top healthcare companies ranked by free cash flow, latest annual filings.
What Free Cash Flow Means for Healthcare Companies
Free cash flow in healthcare tends to be lumpier than in most sectors because the business model swings between long pre-approval cash burns and multi-year harvesting periods once a drug or device reaches market. Large pharma and device makers with broad portfolios can produce steady cash across cycles, while single-asset biotechs often report negative free cash flow for extended periods as trials, regulatory work, and launch spending precede any revenue at all.
Why It Matters in Healthcare
For established healthcare firms, consistent free cash flow tends to signal durable payer relationships and diversified pipelines, and it is what funds research spending, acquisitions, and shareholder returns. In biotech, free cash flow is often a poor snapshot of value because cash burn is expected until approval; runway and trial timelines matter more than current cash generation. Patent cliffs and pricing pressure can also flip steady cash generators into declining ones over a few years.
What to Read Alongside
Pair free cash flow with Net Income to check accounting quality, Share Buybacks to see capital return behavior, and Revenue for how sales are converting into cash across the portfolio.
| # | Symbol | Company | Sector | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | Healthcare | $19.70B | $657.68B |
| 2 | ABBV | AbbVie Inc. | Healthcare | $17.82B | $521.11B |
| 3 | NVS | Novartis AG | Healthcare | $17.60B | $303.67B |
| 4 | UNH | UnitedHealth Group Incorporated | Healthcare | $16.07B | $365.29B |
| 5 | BMY | Bristol-Myers Squibb Company | Healthcare | $12.85B | $127.71B |
| 6 | MRK | Merck & Co., Inc. | Healthcare | $12.36B | $368.89B |
| 7 | AZN | AstraZeneca PLC | Healthcare | $11.77B | $289.48B |
| 8 | GILD | Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Healthcare | $9.46B | $211.70B |
| 9 | NVO | Novo Nordisk A/S | Healthcare | $9.26B | $176.43B |
| 10 | PFE | Pfizer Inc. | Healthcare | $9.07B | $173.95B |
| 11 | GSK | GSK plc | Healthcare | $8.60B | $99.19B |
| 12 | AMGN | Amgen Inc. | Healthcare | $8.10B | $251.94B |
| 13 | CVS | CVS Health Corporation | Healthcare | $7.81B | $115.43B |
| 14 | HCA | HCA Healthcare, Inc. | Healthcare | $7.69B | $98.85B |
| 15 | ABT | Abbott Laboratories | Healthcare | $7.39B | $183.77B |
| 16 | TMO | Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | Healthcare | $6.29B | $257.71B |
| 17 | MCK | McKesson Corporation | Healthcare | $5.72B | $115.96B |
| 18 | TAK | Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited | Healthcare | $5.71B | $66.81B |
| 19 | MDT | Medtronic plc | Healthcare | $5.43B | $123.49B |
| 20 | DHR | Danaher Corporation | Healthcare | $5.26B | $163.25B |
| 21 | CAH | Cardinal Health, Inc. | Healthcare | $4.53B | $58.00B |
| 22 | CNC | Centene Corporation | Healthcare | $4.32B | $33.89B |
| 23 | SYK | Stryker Corporation | Healthcare | $4.28B | $111.95B |
| 24 | REGN | Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $4.08B | $95.99B |
| 25 | BSX | Boston Scientific Corporation | Healthcare | $3.66B | $60.84B |
| 26 | COR | Cencora, Inc. | Healthcare | $3.21B | $63.13B |
| 27 | VRTX | Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | Healthcare | $3.19B | $141.65B |
| 28 | ELV | Elevance Health, Inc. | Healthcare | $3.17B | $91.10B |
| 29 | HLN | Haleon plc | Healthcare | $3.11B | $38.08B |
| 30 | BDX | Becton, Dickinson and Company | Healthcare | $2.67B | $53.90B |
| 31 | THC | Tenet Healthcare Corporation | Healthcare | $2.53B | $21.75B |
| 32 | ISRG | Intuitive Surgical, Inc. | Healthcare | $2.49B | $152.62B |
| 33 | ZTS | Zoetis Inc. | Healthcare | $2.28B | $32.94B |
| 34 | IQV | IQVIA Holdings Inc. | Healthcare | $2.05B | $44.06B |
| 35 | BIIB | Biogen Inc. | Healthcare | $2.05B | $37.49B |
| 36 | VTRS | Viatris Inc. | Healthcare | $1.94B | $21.86B |
| 37 | ALC | Alcon Inc. | Healthcare | $1.73B | $34.54B |
| 38 | RMD | ResMed Inc. | Healthcare | $1.65B | $32.34B |
| 39 | GEHC | GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. | Healthcare | $1.50B | $34.62B |
| 40 | ZBH | Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. | Healthcare | $1.47B | $18.03B |
| 41 | DGX | Quest Diagnostics Incorporated | Healthcare | $1.36B | $27.79B |
| 42 | EW | Edwards Lifesciences Corporation | Healthcare | $1.33B | $53.03B |
| 43 | DVA | DaVita Inc. | Healthcare | $1.31B | $11.79B |
| 44 | JAZZ | Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc | Healthcare | $1.30B | $14.02B |
| 45 | MDLN | Medline Inc. | Healthcare | $1.30B | $42.23B |
| 46 | LH | Labcorp Holdings Inc. | Healthcare | $1.21B | $29.34B |
| 47 | A | Agilent Technologies, Inc. | Healthcare | $1.15B | $49.30B |
| 48 | GMAB | Genmab A/S | Healthcare | $1.15B | $35.09B |
| 49 | TEVA | Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited | Healthcare | $1.15B | $49.09B |
| 50 | DXCM | DexCom, Inc. | Healthcare | $1.08B | $30.69B |
| 51 | OSCR | Oscar Health, Inc. | Healthcare | $1.06B | $9.37B |
| 52 | IDXX | IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. | Healthcare | $1.06B | $43.42B |
| 53 | UTHR | United Therapeutics Corporation | Healthcare | $1.04B | $25.68B |
| 54 | BHC | Bausch Health Companies Inc. | Healthcare | $1.00B | $3.07B |
| 55 | STE | STERIS plc | Healthcare | $972.40M | $22.14B |
| 56 | ONC | BeOne Medicines AG | Healthcare | $941.74M | $41.89B |
| 57 | ILMN | Illumina, Inc. | Healthcare | $931.00M | $35.63B |
| 58 | EXEL | Exelixis, Inc. | Healthcare | $875.84M | $16.93B |
| 59 | ICLR | ICON Public Limited Company | Healthcare | $861.99M | $15.83B |
| 60 | UHS | Universal Health Services, Inc. | Healthcare | $849.25M | $10.38B |
| 61 | MTD | Mettler-Toledo International Inc. | Healthcare | $848.65M | $33.56B |
| 62 | NBIX | Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | Healthcare | $748.70M | $14.85B |
| 63 | BMRN | BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. | Healthcare | $724.96M | $11.33B |
| 64 | PTCT | PTC Therapeutics, Inc. | Healthcare | $702.34M | $5.01B |
| 65 | GRFS | Grifols, S.A. | Healthcare | $693.13M | $5.51B |
| 66 | MEDP | Medpace Holdings, Inc. | Healthcare | $681.87M | $18.24B |
| 67 | ARGX | argenx SE | Healthcare | $679.03M | $56.15B |
| 68 | HALO | Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. | Healthcare | $644.59M | $14.86B |
| 69 | GMED | Globus Medical, Inc. | Healthcare | $588.77M | $10.48B |
| 70 | HSIC | Henry Schein, Inc. | Healthcare | $573.00M | $9.46B |
| 71 | WAT | Waters Corporation | Healthcare | $539.81M | $45.46B |
| 72 | OGN | Organon & Co. | Healthcare | $538.00M | $3.63B |
| 73 | CRL | Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. | Healthcare | $518.49M | $17.16B |
| 74 | RVTY | Revvity, Inc. | Healthcare | $509.41M | $17.52B |
| 75 | AVTR | Avantor, Inc. | Healthcare | $495.00M | $10.88B |
| 76 | ALGN | Align Technology, Inc. | Healthcare | $490.78M | $10.65B |
| 77 | ALKS | Alkermes plc | Healthcare | $480.33M | $7.61B |
| 78 | WST | West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. | Healthcare | $468.90M | $28.74B |
| 79 | ALNY | Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $465.38M | $22.10B |
| 80 | HQY | HealthEquity, Inc. | Healthcare | $455.13M | $8.48B |
| 81 | QGEN | Qiagen N.V. | Healthcare | $453.28M | $10.37B |
| 82 | EHC | Encompass Health Corporation | Healthcare | $439.20M | $13.36B |
| 83 | COO | The Cooper Companies, Inc. | Healthcare | $433.70M | $11.32B |
| 84 | BTSG | BrightSpring Health Services, Inc. | Healthcare | $394.69M | $13.31B |
| 85 | PODD | Insulet Corporation | Healthcare | $377.70M | $10.38B |
| 86 | HUM | Humana Inc. | Healthcare | $375.00M | $49.77B |
| 87 | BIO | Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. | Healthcare | $374.60M | $9.95B |
| 88 | RDY | Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited | Healthcare | $358.00M | $11.80B |
| 89 | LNTH | Lantheus Holdings, Inc. | Healthcare | $354.05M | $6.56B |
| 90 | HRMY | Harmony Biosciences Holdings, Inc. | Healthcare | $347.89M | $2.26B |
| 91 | BCRX | BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Healthcare | $344.90M | $2.16B |
| 92 | BAX | Baxter International Inc. | Healthcare | $332.00M | $11.90B |
| 93 | BNTX | BioNTech SE | Healthcare | $329.66M | $22.15B |
| 94 | COLL | Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | Healthcare | $327.58M | $774.82M |
| 95 | DOCS | Doximity, Inc. | Healthcare | $326.46M | $5.84B |
| 96 | CHE | Chemed Corporation | Healthcare | $325.48M | $6.93B |
| 97 | ATR | AptarGroup, Inc. | Healthcare | $299.58M | $8.70B |
| 98 | TDOC | Teladoc Health, Inc. | Healthcare | $285.46M | $1.55B |
| 99 | ELAN | Elanco Animal Health Incorporated | Healthcare | $284.00M | $11.52B |
| 100 | WAY | Waystar Holding Corp. | Healthcare | $283.19M | $5.37B |
No companies match this search.
How this ranking is built
Companies are ranked by free cash flow 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 free cash flow often lumpy across healthcare companies?
Drug and device development requires years of research, trials, and regulatory work before any revenue arrives, and those costs flow through cash well before sales. Once a product is approved, cash conversion can accelerate dramatically as manufacturing scales and marketing spend levels off. Patent expirations, generic entry, and payer pricing resets then produce declines that are hard to offset in a single period. The result is that free cash flow for a given firm often looks quite different across a five to ten year window.
Why do biotechs often have negative free cash flow?
Clinical-stage biotechs typically spend heavily on trials, manufacturing preparation, and regulatory submissions for years before generating any product revenue. Cash is raised through equity issuance, partnerships, or debt to fund that runway. Negative free cash flow in this context is expected rather than a warning sign by itself, and investors typically focus on cash balance versus projected burn, trial milestones, and the scientific case for the lead asset rather than on free cash flow as a profitability measure.