Home › Stock screens › Health Care stocks
Best Health Care stocks
Defensive demand with policy risk attached; the sector's returns are driven by drug pipelines and reimbursement rules, not by GDP.
The screen: 17 US exchange-listed companies in Health Care, 12 of which pay a dividend. Size mix: 4 mega-cap, 11 large-cap, 2 mid-cap.
What separates the winners from the losers here
- 17 names in our Health Care universe, 12 of which pay a dividend
- Sector weight you already hold through any S&P 500 fund — check before adding
- Which part of the economic cycle historically rewards this sector
The full list
| Ticker | Company | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| UNH | UnitedHealth | Insurance plus Optum's care-delivery and pharmacy services. |
| LLY | Eli Lilly | Incretin franchise driving obesity and diabetes growth. |
| JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | Pharma and medtech with a long dividend record. |
| ABBV | AbbVie | Immunology portfolio replacing Humira revenue. |
| MRK | Merck | Oncology concentration around a single blockbuster. |
| PFE | Pfizer | Post-pandemic pipeline rebuild with a high payout. |
| AMGN | Amgen | Biologics portfolio with an obesity pipeline option. |
| GILD | Gilead Sciences | HIV franchise funding oncology expansion. |
| VRTX | Vertex Pharmaceuticals | Cystic fibrosis monopoly extending into pain and kidney disease. |
| REGN | Regeneron | Antibody science with meaningful royalty economics. |
| MRNA | Moderna | mRNA platform seeking a second commercial franchise. |
| ISRG | Intuitive Surgical | Surgical robots with recurring instrument revenue. |
| TMO | Thermo Fisher | Lab instruments and reagents across the research economy. |
| ABT | Abbott | Diagnostics, devices and nutrition in one diversified base. |
| DXCM | Dexcom | Continuous glucose monitoring hardware and subscriptions. |
| CVS | CVS Health | Pharmacy retail vertically integrated with an insurer. |
| HCA | HCA Healthcare | Hospital operator with scale in high-growth US states. |
Where to buy them
To hold these as real shares you need a stockbroker rather than a CFD provider. If you only want exposure to the price movement, a share CFD does that with leverage — and without ownership.
Compare every broker for US stocks →
Frequently asked questions
How many Health Care stocks are in this list?
17, drawn from our US exchange-listed universe and spread across 1 sector. 12 of them pay a dividend.
Is this a list of Health Care stocks to buy?
No. It is a screen — a defined, reproducible filter over a stated universe. A screen tells you which companies share a characteristic; it says nothing about whether the price you would pay today is a sensible one. Nothing here is investment advice.
What is the main risk with Health Care stocks?
Sector concentration removes the diversification that made the index work. A single Health Care shock hits every holding in this list at the same time.
How do I actually buy these from outside the US?
You need a broker that accepts your country of residence and gives you access to US exchanges. To own the shares outright, that usually means an international stockbroker plus a W-8BEN form to claim your treaty rate on dividend withholding.
Screen definition reviewed August 2026. Universe: US exchange-listed securities tracked by InvestingTrading. This page is information, not investment advice.