In the spirit of World Cup competition, we're holding our own tournament in search of the Better Stock Today. We're pitting 32 companies against each other and you, the reader, will determine the winner.

Johnson & Johnson takes on DistributionNow for this first round-robin match up in our search for the better stock today.

Healthcare Analyst David Williamson believes the number one reason Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 0.67%) should win this match is its diversification. The health care conglomerate has one of the strongest pharmaceutical divsions in the industry, regularly posting double digit growth and debuting exciting drugs like Imbruvica. J&J's medical device unit is still benefiting from the massive $21 billion Synthes acquisition and its consumer unit has a strong exposure to fast growing emerging markets. Add in a stable dividend and investors have a solid defensive stock with nice pharma upside.

Joel South, energy analyst at The Motley Fool, thinks newly minted DistributionNow (DNOW 0.75%) is worthy of your vote as this energy equipment supplier looks to consolidate the fragmented energy supply chain segment by purchasing bolt-on acquisitions and leveraging its presence in 20 countries to be the one stop shopping for energy producers and service providers in the world's oil fields.  With 19% market share, no debt and proven leadership, DistributionNow has the tools to disrupt the status quo and reward shareholders along the way.

Vote here to determine the winner of this match and sound off in the comments. Check back to Fool.com to see who advances in the tournament.