Hormel Foods Corp vs Novartis AG — how do they compare? Hormel Foods Corp trades at $24.29 (market cap $13.37B), while Novartis AG trades at $152.61 (market cap $295.37B). The key difference: Novartis AG is far larger — about 22.1× Hormel Foods Corp's market cap, and Hormel Foods Corp pays the higher dividend (4.81%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| HRL | NVS | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $13.37B | $295.37B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Health |
52-Week High | $29.25 | $168.62 |
52-Week Low | $19.74 | $119.31 |
Enterprise Value | $15.37B | $336.69B |
Dividend Yield | 4.81% | 3.07% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Hormel Foods (HRL) trades at $24.23, down 1.92% over 24 hours, amid a bearish technical signal. The stock shows consistent earnings beats with Q1 2026 EPS of $0.40 surpassing the $0.3544 estimate. Revenue for 2025 was $12.11B, though net income margin compressed to 3.82%. Recent corporate developments include the appointment of John Ghingo as CEO and the sale of its CERATTI business in Brazil.
HRL presents a mixed outlook with a defensive profile as a consumer staple, supported by a 4.6% dividend yield. However, margin pressures and a bearish technical trend pose near-term risks. The consensus price target of $26.33 implies modest upside, but investor sentiment remains cautious given high hold ratings.
Novartis AG (NVS) trades at $152.54, down 2.71% on the day, with a neutral technical signal. The company reported strong Q2 2026 earnings, beating EPS estimates of $2.17 with $2.41 actual, driven by oncology drug performance. Revenue for 2025 was $56.67 billion with a net income margin of 22.5%. Analyst consensus is mixed with 24% buy, 68% hold, and 8% sell ratings among 25 analysts.
The outlook is cautiously optimistic, supported by a robust drug pipeline and recent earnings strength, but risks include generic competition pressure on key drugs like Entresto and rising debt levels. The stock presents a stable investment opportunity with solid profitability, though growth may be tempered by industry headwinds.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Hormel Foods is a protein-focused branded food company. Its brands include its namesake Hormel, Spam, Jennie-O, Dinty Moore, Applegate, Wholly Guacamole, and Skippy. The vast majority of the company's revenue is U.S.-based: 64% U.S. retail, 28% U.S. food service, and 8% international. By product type, in fiscal 2021, 23% of revenue was shelf-stable foods, 18% was poultry (branded and commodity), 55% was other perishable food, and 3% was other, primarily nutritional products. The company holds the number-one market position in shelf-stable meat, shelf-stable ready meals, pepperoni, natural/organic deli meat, and guacamole and the number-two position in turkey, bacon, chilled ready meals, and peanut butter.
Read more on HRL →Novartis develops and manufactures healthcare products through two segments: Innovative Medicines and Sandoz. It generates the vast majority of its revenue from Innovative Medicines segment consisting global business franchises in oncology, ophthalmology, neuroscience, immunology, respiratory, cardio-metabolic, and established medicines. The company sells its products globally, with the United States representing close to one third of total revenue.
Read more on NVS →