What is Zacks Research’s Estimate for Novartis Q1 Earnings?

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) – Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for Novartis in a report released on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will earn $2.17 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.26. The consensus estimate for Novartis’ current full-year earnings is $8.45 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Novartis’ Q2 2026 earnings at $2.37 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.08 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.86 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.44 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $9.77 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $10.94 EPS.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The company had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. Novartis’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays raised shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 target price on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Cfra set a $126.00 price objective on Novartis and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.75.

Novartis Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $163.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Novartis has a 12-month low of $97.71 and a 12-month high of $167.86. The company has a market cap of $346.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.66.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 15.6% in the third quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 85,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,926,000 after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 132,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,924 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 13.2% in the second quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 49,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,975,000 after buying an additional 5,742 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.8% during the third quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 439,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,411,000 after purchasing an additional 23,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis by 27.7% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 64,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,305,000 after buying an additional 14,032 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $4.773 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 312.0%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.31%.

Key Headlines Impacting Novartis

Here are the key news stories impacting Novartis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Novartis reported positive topline Phase III results for oral remibrutinib in chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU), meeting primary endpoints across the most common CIndU types — a potential first targeted therapy for an underserved condition that could become a new product revenue stream. Novartis remibrutinib Phase III results
• Positive Sentiment: Novartis struck licensing/collaboration deals to expand its oral peptide/macrocyclic peptide programs — reports cite agreements worth up to ~$1.7–1.8 billion in milestones. These add to the company’s pipeline optionality in cardiovascular and orally delivered peptide therapeutics, supporting longer‑term growth potential. Unnatural Products licensing deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary and outlook pieces are circulating that reassess Novartis’ trajectory and valuation; these provide context but are not single‑handedly catalytic. Where is Novartis headed?
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks issued mixed model updates: they raised some later‑period estimates (e.g., Q4 2026/ Q4 2027 and FY2028 projections) reflecting longer‑term strength, signaling upside in later years if pipeline launches succeed. (No direct article link provided here.)
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks also trimmed near‑term forecasts — lowering FY2026 and FY2027 estimates and cutting Q1 and Q2 2026 EPS projections — a negative for short‑term sentiment as lower near‑term earnings expectations can weigh on the stock. (Updates originate from Zacks research notes issued Feb. 18.)

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.