Novartis Proposes CHF 3.70 Dividend for 2025, Up 5.7%
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 1h ago
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Should l Buy NVS?
Source: seekingalpha
- Dividend Increase: Novartis' board proposes a dividend of CHF 3.70 per share for 2025, representing a 5.7% increase from CHF 3.50 in the previous year, indicating the company's ongoing commitment to stable cash flow and shareholder returns.
- Shareholder Voting: The dividend proposal will be voted on at the Annual General Meeting scheduled for March 6, 2026, reflecting the importance of corporate governance transparency and shareholder engagement in decision-making processes.
- Market Reaction: Despite the dividend increase, Novartis faces a rating downgrade, leading to cautious market expectations regarding future growth, which may impact investor confidence and stock performance.
- Outlook Challenges: Novartis anticipates a transition year in 2026, with a soft outlook for FY26, highlighting the challenges the company faces in strategic adjustments and market adaptation.
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Analyst Views on NVS
Wall Street analysts forecast NVS stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for NVS is 127.75 USD with a low forecast of 112.00 USD and a high forecast of 143.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
6 Analyst Rating
1 Buy
4 Hold
1 Sell
Hold
Current: 151.040
Low
112.00
Averages
127.75
High
143.00
Current: 151.040
Low
112.00
Averages
127.75
High
143.00
About NVS
Novartis AG is a Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company. The Company develops, manufactures, and markets branded and generic prescription drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), biosimilars and ophthalmic products. The Company uses science and digital technologies for treatments in the disease areas of immunology, dermatology, cancer, ophthalmology, neuroscience, respiratory, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism. The business activities of the Company are divided into two segments: Innovative Medicines, which includes innovative patent-protected prescription medicines for blood pressure, cancer and other ailments, and Sandoz, which includes generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- Earnings Announcement: Novartis is set to announce its Q4 earnings on February 4 before market open, with consensus EPS estimate at $2.00, reflecting a modest 1.0% year-over-year growth, indicating stable profitability.
- Revenue Expectations: The anticipated revenue for Q4 is $14.08 billion, representing a 7.1% year-over-year increase, suggesting a positive trend in sales growth that may reflect enhanced competitiveness of its products in the market.
- Historical Performance: Over the past two years, Novartis has beaten EPS estimates 63% of the time and revenue estimates 75% of the time, demonstrating a level of reliability in financial performance that fosters market confidence.
- Estimate Revisions: In the last three months, EPS estimates have seen 2 upward revisions with no downward adjustments, while revenue estimates experienced 3 upward and 3 downward revisions, indicating market divergence and uncertainty regarding Novartis's future performance.
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- Dividend Increase: Novartis' board proposes a dividend of CHF 3.70 per share for 2025, representing a 5.7% increase from CHF 3.50 in the previous year, indicating the company's ongoing commitment to stable cash flow and shareholder returns.
- Shareholder Voting: The dividend proposal will be voted on at the Annual General Meeting scheduled for March 6, 2026, reflecting the importance of corporate governance transparency and shareholder engagement in decision-making processes.
- Market Reaction: Despite the dividend increase, Novartis faces a rating downgrade, leading to cautious market expectations regarding future growth, which may impact investor confidence and stock performance.
- Outlook Challenges: Novartis anticipates a transition year in 2026, with a soft outlook for FY26, highlighting the challenges the company faces in strategic adjustments and market adaptation.
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- Profit Decline: Novartis reported a 15% drop in net income for Q4, totaling $2.40 billion, despite sales growth, indicating pressure on profitability amid market challenges.
- Earnings Per Share Drop: The earnings per share fell to $1.26, an 11% decrease year-over-year, reflecting challenges in cost management and competitive pressures in the pharmaceutical sector.
- Sales Growth Weakness: Net sales increased by 1% to $13.34 billion, but decreased by 1% at constant currency rates, primarily impacted by US generic erosion, highlighting vulnerabilities in revenue streams.
- Dividend Increase and Outlook: The company proposed a dividend of 3.70 Swiss francs per share, a 5.7% increase from last year, while projecting low single-digit growth in net sales and a decline in core operating income for fiscal 2026, indicating uncertainty in future performance.
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- Earnings Beat: Novartis reported a Q4 non-GAAP EPS of $2.03, beating expectations by $0.03, indicating stable profitability despite slight revenue declines.
- Revenue Growth Weakness: Q4 revenue reached $13.34 billion, up 1.4% year-over-year, but fell short of expectations by $740 million, primarily due to US generic erosion and revenue deduction adjustments, highlighting intensified market competition.
- Significant Cash Flow Decline: Free cash flow amounted to $1.7 billion, down 54% year-over-year, driven by lower net cash flows from operating activities, which may limit future investment capacity and shareholder returns.
- Cautious Future Outlook: Novartis anticipates low single-digit growth in net sales and a slight decline in core operating income for 2026, indicating the need for business resilience amid the challenges posed by the largest patent expiry in its history.
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- Significant Stock Drop: Novo Nordisk closed at $50.33 on Tuesday, down 14.59%, primarily due to management's forecast of declining sales and profits for 2026, prompting investors to reassess their expectations.
- Surge in Trading Volume: The company's trading volume reached 67.7 million shares, approximately 218% above its three-month average of 21.3 million shares, indicating heightened market interest in its future performance.
- Sales Forecast Downgrade: Management projects a 5% to 13% decline in sales for 2026, citing price cuts, patent expirations, and intensified competition in the U.S. obesity drug market, which pressures the company's market share.
- Strategic Adjustments: Novo Nordisk is implementing an expanded obesity treatment strategy and leadership changes in its U.S. operations while continuing to develop next-generation therapies like the Wegovy pill and CagriSema, aiming to stabilize growth and restore investor confidence.
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