Biogen vs Exelixis (BIIB vs EXEL)
Side by side from their SEC filings: revenue, margins, growth, returns and valuation, plus short interest, insider activity and institutional ownership.
Biogen is the larger company by revenue ($9.9B vs $2.3B) and market value ($31.9B vs $13.9B). Exelixis has grown revenue faster over the last 4 fiscal years (+61.7% cumulative vs -9.9%). Exelixis trades at the lower trailing P/E (17.8x vs 38.4x).
About Biogen
Biogen Inc. is a global biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and delivers therapies for serious and complex diseases. It markets treatments for multiple sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy, Friedreich's ataxia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and collaborates on therapies for Alzheimer's disease and other conditions. The company also develops biosimilars and engages in research collaborations and acquisitions to advance its pipeline in neurology, immunology, and rare diseases.
About Exelixis
Exelixis, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing oncology medicines. Its main products include cabozantinib-based therapies marketed as CABOMETYX and COMETRIQ, which are approved to treat various forms of cancer such as renal cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, thyroid cancer, and neuroendocrine tumors. The company serves patients and healthcare providers by advancing cancer treatment options through its internal research and strategic collaborations.
Head to head (BIIB FY2025 vs EXEL FY2025)
| Metric | BIIBFY2025 | EXELFY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $9.89B | $2.32B |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 2.2% | 7.0% |
| Gross margin | 75.7% | — |
| Operating margin | — | 37.6% |
| Net margin | 13.1% | 33.7% |
| Net income | $1.29B | $782.6M |
| Diluted EPS | $8.79 | $2.78 |
| FCF margin | 20.7% | 37.7% |
| ROE | 7.1% | 36.2% |
| Long-term debt / equity | 0.34× | — |
| Market cap | $31.92B | $13.90B |
| P/E | 38.4× | 17.8× |
Fundamentals are from each company’s SEC filings (BIIB FY2025, EXEL FY2025). ROE is net income over fiscal-year-end equity; long-term debt / equity counts non-current term debt only. P/E and market cap are derived from stored market prices, last retrieved on a rolling basis and typically within the past week.
Five-year trend (as reported)
| BIIB by fiscal year | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $10.98B | $10.17B | $9.84B | $9.68B | $9.89B |
| Net income | $1.56B | $3.05B | $1.16B | $1.63B | $1.29B |
| Operating margin | 25.9% | — | — | — | — |
| EXEL by fiscal year | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.43B | $1.61B | $1.83B | $2.17B | $2.32B |
| Net income | $231.1M | $182.3M | $207.8M | $521.3M | $782.6M |
| Operating margin | 20.0% | 12.5% | 9.3% | 27.9% | 37.6% |
Biogen and Exelixis use different fiscal calendars (BIIB's FY2025 ended 2025-12-31, EXEL's FY2025 ended 2026-01-02), so their fiscal years are shown separately rather than forced into one timeline.
Peer standing
Where each company ranks among the 71 biotech companies, on the same scale. Each figure is ranked only against peers that report it. Percentiles describe position in the distribution, not a rating.
| Metric | BIIB | EXEL |
|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 13.1%55th percentile of 32 | 33.7%90th percentile of 32 |
| FCF margin | 20.7%63rd percentile of 28 | 37.7%85th percentile of 28 |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +2.2%33rd percentile of 64 | +7.0%40th percentile of 64 |
| ROE | 7.1%77th percentile of 61 | 36.2%92nd percentile of 61 |
| P/E | 38.4×79th percentile of 20 | 17.8×47th percentile of 20 |
| Short interest (days to cover) | 6.13d41st percentile of 71 | 8.71d54th percentile of 71 |
Short interest
| FINRA settlement data | BIIB | EXEL |
|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 5.2M | 28.0M |
| Change vs prior settlement | -4.8% | -2.5% |
| Days to cover | 6.13 | 8.71 |
| As of settlement | 2026-08-14 | 2026-08-14 |
Source: FINRA Consolidated Short Interest. FINRA is the owner and source of the FINRA-supplied data; republishing or redistributing it is not permitted. Not presented as a percentage of float. No FINRA endorsement of this product is implied.
Insider activity (last 90 days)
| Form 4 activity (codes P/S) | BIIB | EXEL |
|---|---|---|
| Buys | 0 | 0 |
| Sells | 2 ($239,750) | 1 ($526,512) |
Non-derivative purchases (code P) and sales (code S) reported on SEC Form 4, which may be open-market or private (grants, exercises and tax withholding excluded). For context, about 15% of covered companies saw any reported insider purchase (code P) in a 90-day window.
Held by the same investors
6 tracked 13F managers hold both Biogen and Exelixis as of their latest quarterly filings: AQR Capital Management, Citadel Advisors, D. E. Shaw, Gotham Asset Management, Renaissance Technologies, Two Sigma Investments. See which superinvestors hold your own portfolio with the smart money checker.
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Data sourced from SEC EDGAR. Figures are as-reported and may be unaudited or restated; verify against the source filings before relying on them. Comparisons are descriptive (higher or lower on a reported figure), not a rating or a recommendation. Informational only. Not investment advice.