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Compare Stocks › ABBV vs CVS

AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) vs CVS Health Corporation (CVS): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

As of 2026-11-01, ABBV is overvalued at $295, with a DCF intrinsic value of $172 and a margin of safety of -71%. CVS is overvalued at $90, with an intrinsic value of $5 and a margin of safety of -1592%. Of the two, ABBV has the wider margin of safety.

ABBV
AbbVie Inc.
$294.89
VS
CVS
CVS Health Corporation
$90.25

Rewards

ABBV
  • ★AbbVie Inc. has maintained ROIC above 10% for 4 consecutive years, suggesting solid business economics.
  • ★Gross margin of 73.7% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
  • ★AbbVie Inc. scores 82/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with reinvestment efficiency as the strongest competitive dimension.
CVS
  • ★Management has timed buybacks well — 2 out of 3 years showed value-accretive repurchases.
  • ★PEG ratio of 0.21 suggests the stock is undervalued relative to its growth rate — paying less than 1x for each unit of earnings growth.

Risks

ABBV
  • ⚠Buybacks have been poorly timed — 3 out of 4 years involved repurchases at relatively expensive valuations.
  • ⚠Insiders have sold $8.2M worth of stock in the past 3 months — significant insider liquidation.
  • ⚠Free cash flow has declined at a 9.8% CAGR over the past 4 years — a concerning trend.
CVS
  • ⚠Gross margin of 13.6% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠FCF yield of 7.0% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.
  • ⚠Free cash flow has declined at a 16.6% CAGR over the past 4 years — a concerning trend.

Key Valuation Metrics

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ABBV
CVS
Valuation
N/A
Free Cash Flow
$8.08B
N/A
FCF Yield
7.00%
50.67
Trailing P/E
23.75
18.24
Forward P/E
10.57
Quality & Moat
29.08%
ROIC
8.06%
N/A
ROE
6.21%
73.72%
Gross Margin
13.65%
0.60
PEG Ratio
0.21
Balance Sheet Safety
N/A
Net Debt / Equity
0.78
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
2.03
Net Debt / EBITDA
3.74
2.35%
Dividend Yield
2.95%
ABBV: 3Ties: 1CVS: 4
ABBVCVS

Historical Fundamentals

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ABBV

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

CVS

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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ABBV
N/A
Net losses over 3 years — test not applicable
Company had negative cumulative retained earnings
Σ Retained
$-19.85B
Δ Market Cap
+$118.02B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
CVS
$-4.20
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$4.82B
Δ Market Cap
$-20.28B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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ABBV
71.5% Overvalued
Price is 71.5% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $294.89
Fair Value: $172.00
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
CVS
1592.5% Overvalued
Price is 1592.5% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $90.25
Fair Value: $5.33
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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ABBV

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

CVS

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $90?

+20.3%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +9.0%

The market implies +20.3% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +9.0%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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ABBV
82/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat with strength across all dimensions. Reinvestment Efficiency is the standout factor.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
CVS
49/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with revenue predictability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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ABBV
-2.86
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
CVS
-2.54
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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ABBV
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 77.4%Retail & Other 22.5%
No. of Institutional Holders5,303
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
CVS
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 91.0%Retail & Other 8.9%
No. of Institutional Holders2,630
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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ABBV
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
CVS
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
SANSONE GUY P
Director
$100,009
@ $63.70 · 2025-06-05
MAHONEY MICHAEL F
Director
$2.00M
@ $66.70 · 2025-02-18
NELSON STEVEN H
Officer
$1,289
@ $53.71 · 2025-01-23
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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ABBV
1
Sells (3M)
4
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $18.92M
DONOGHOE NICHOLAS
Officer
$8.18M
@ $250.00 · 2026-08-14
PURDUE DAVID RYAN
Officer
$1.22M
@ $233.56 · 2026-03-04
SIATIS PERRY C.
General Counsel
$4.38M
@ $234.39 · 2026-03-02
SIATIS PERRY C.
General Counsel
$5.15M
@ $230.00 · 2026-02-25
SALEKI-GERHARDT AZITA
Chief Operating Officer
$8.41M
@ $198.42 · 2025-08-12
DONOGHOE NICHOLAS
Officer
$2.64M
@ $198.51 · 2025-08-05
STEWART JEFFREY RYAN
Officer
$12.36M
@ $210.08 · 2025-03-31
REENTS SCOTT T.
Chief Financial Officer
$3.75M
@ $212.34 · 2025-03-14
GONZALEZ RICHARD A
Director
$20.26M
@ $205.45 · 2025-03-03
RICHMOND TIMOTHY J
Officer
$4.47M
@ $210.45 · 2025-03-03
SIATIS PERRY C.
General Counsel
$5.82M
@ $208.69 · 2025-03-03
RICHMOND TIMOTHY J
Officer
$6.07M
@ $202.90 · 2025-02-26
BUCKBEE KEVIN K
Officer
$3.85M
@ $203.41 · 2025-02-26
SIATIS PERRY C.
General Counsel
$1.14M
@ $197.90 · 2025-02-20
BUCKBEE KEVIN K
Officer
$310,032
@ $172.24 · 2024-12-16
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
CVS
0
Sells (3M)
1
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $6.23M
MANDADI TILAK
Officer
$6.23M
@ $89.58 · 2026-05-08
CLARK JAMES DAVID
Officer
$498,488
@ $66.35 · 2025-03-05
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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ABBV
FearGreed
😏Greed(72/100)

"Market is optimistic — be cautious and ensure you have a margin of safety"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
CVS
FearGreed
😐Neutral(54/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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ABBV
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Greed (72)
CVS
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (54)
View ABBV Full AnalysisView CVS Full Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions: ABBV vs CVS

Is AbbVie Inc. or CVS Health Corporation more undervalued in 2026?▼

Based on our discounted cash flow model, ABBV trades at a -71.5% margin of safety (intrinsic value $172 vs. price $295), compared to CVS's -1592.5% margin of safety (intrinsic $5 vs. $90).

Which stock has a wider economic moat, AbbVie Inc. or CVS Health Corporation?▼

ABBV scores 82/100 (Wide moat), while CVS scores 49/100 (Narrow moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.

Is CVS Health Corporation in financial distress?▼

CVS's Altman Z-Score of 2.3 places it in the Grey zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. ABBV scores 2.4 (Grey zone). The Altman Z-Score is a five-factor model that predicts insolvency within two years; scores below 1.81 indicate significant distress.

Which stock has higher return on invested capital, AbbVie Inc. or CVS Health Corporation?▼

ABBV earns 29.1% ROIC versus CVS's 8.1%. A higher ROIC means the company generates more profit per dollar of capital employed, a hallmark of durable competitive advantage in Buffett-style analysis.

Which dividend is safer, AbbVie Inc.'s or CVS Health Corporation's?▼

CVS's dividend earns a safety score of 45/100 (Borderline), compared to ABBV's 39/100 (Unsafe). CVS has raised its dividend for 0 consecutive years.

ABBV vs CVS: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026? | SafetyMargin.io