A vs CTKB vs ILMN Stock Comparison

Agilent Technologies, Cytek Biosciences and Illumina Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
A Agilent Technologies, Inc.
$177.48 +2.7% 1M +21.1% 1Y
Market cap
$51.52B
P/E
35.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.37B
Div. yield
0.01%
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
7 wins
ILMN Illumina, Inc.
$279.47 +3.5% 1M +178.5% 1Y
Market cap
$43.87B
P/E
53.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.49B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Agilent Technologies leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Agilent Technologies 7, Illumina 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACTKBILMNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $51.52B $791.00M $43.87B A
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 35.8x -9.8x 53.2x A
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.1x — 56.0x A
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.6% +5.4% +4.9% A
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.5% -39.0% 18.4% A
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.1% — 15.1% ILMN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.1x — 0.7x ILMN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +21.1% +44.1% +178.5% ILMN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.6%/yr -23.4%/yr -7.0%/yr A
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.4% 55.8% 50.4% A
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 41/100 66/100 ILMN

Percentile Scorecard

ACTKBILMN

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisACTKBILMN
Valuation 58 #97 of 227 54 #104 of 227 51 #111 of 227
Growth 38 #137 of 219 3 #212 of 219 45 #120 of 219
Profitability 91 #20 of 206 45 #114 of 206 97 #8 of 206
Financial Health 55 #107 of 238 53 #112 of 238 51 #117 of 238
Shareholder Returns 71 #40 of 134 47 #71 of 134 84 #23 of 134
Overall 62 41 66
  • A ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • CTKB ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ILMN ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodACTKBILMNSPY
1 month +2.7%+5.8%+3.5% -0.2%
3 months +26.3%+34.1%+44.8% +3.9%
6 months +54.5%+30.9%+120.2% +8.2%
Year to date +30.4%+18.4%+113.1% +12.9%
1 year +21.1%+44.1%+178.5% +12.3%
3 years +72.7%+38.1%+163.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +20.0%+11.4%+38.1% +23.3%
5 years +13.9%-73.7%-30.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year +2.6%-23.4%-7.0% +10.9%
10 years +309.1%—+106.3% +261.1%
10 years, per year +15.1%—+7.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureACTKBILMNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.4%55.8%50.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.5%55.0%39.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.880.870.82 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.650.793.54 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.6%-90.3%-82.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.1%-1.8%-4.8% -1.2%
52-week high $177.72$6.09$293.69 $779.14
52-week low $110.24$3.36$95.03 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleACTKBILMN
P/E now vs peer median 34.8xmedian 29.6x -9.6xmedian 29.6x 51.2xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 6.8xmedian 2.9x 3.8xmedian 2.9x 9.4xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 27.3xmedian 17.4x -19.0xmedian 17.4x 37.3xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 39.5xmedian 22.3x -64.3xmedian 22.3x 45.3xmedian 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median 6.8xmedian 2.3x 2.4xmedian 2.3x 14.9xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 3.54median 1.04 0.07median 1.04 1.70median 1.04

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsACTKBILMN
Revenue $7.37B $206.71M $4.49B
Gross profit $3.97B $110.03M $2.98B
Operating income $1.64B -$44.65M $882.00M
Net income $1.44B -$80.58M $825.00M
Free cash flow $1.27B -$12.08M $931.00M
R&D $485.00M $37.26M $960.00M
EPS (diluted) $5.09 $-0.62 $5.39
Cash & equivalents $1.76B $73.85M $1.04B
Total debt $3.95B – $1.99B
Shares (diluted) 283.00M 129.46M 153.00M
Enterprise value $44.41B $467.28M $38.64B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricACTKBILMN
P/E 34.8x -9.6x 51.2x
P/FCF 39.5x -64.3x 45.3x
P/Operating cash flow 31.1x -128.7x 38.5x
P/S 6.8x 3.8x 9.4x
P/B 6.8x 2.4x 14.9x
P/Tangible book 7.8x 2.5x 17.4x
EV/EBITDA 27.3x -19.0x 37.3x
EV/EBIT 31.9x -15.8x 48.8x
EV/Revenue 7.1x 3.4x 9.6x
EV/FCF 41.2x -58.2x 46.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.5x -116.5x 39.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.54 0.07 1.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACTKBILMN
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.6% 5.4% 4.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 5.6% -1.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.2% 3.1% 4.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.7% 1.4% 2.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.5% -66.2% -31.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.1% -31.0% 28.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 18.0% -1,159% -34.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.3% -139.7% 30.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 18.9% -1,134% -32.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.8% -141.6% 30.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.6% -139.7% -5.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.9% -66.7% 38.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 16.5% -211.1% -9.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.7% -3.9% 105.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACTKBILMN
Gross margin 53.8% 53.2% 66.4%
EBITDA margin 25.9% -17.9% 25.7%
Operating margin 22.2% -21.6% 19.6%
Pretax margin 22.5% -19.7% 22.6%
Net margin 19.5% -39.0% 18.4%
FCF margin 17.2% -5.8% 20.7%
Operating cash flow margin 21.8% -2.9% 24.4%
Return on equity 19.9% -24.8% 29.9%
Return on assets 10.7% -18.0% 12.5%
Return on invested capital 13.1% – 15.1%
Return on capital employed 14.6% -12.3% 17.5%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 0.1x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.8% 10.3% 5.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACTKBILMN
Debt / assets 28.3% – 29.9%
Debt / equity 0.5x – 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.1x – 0.7x
Debt / FCF 3.1x – 2.1x
Liabilities / assets 47.3% 28.0% 57.3%
Equity / assets 52.7% 72.0% 42.7%
Interest coverage 15.5x -143.1x 8.9x
Current ratio 2.1x 4.5x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.4x 1.5x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.9x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 5.86 4.24 7.97

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACTKBILMN
Dividend yield 0.6% – –
Net buyback yield 0.6% -0.2% 1.2%
Shareholder yield 1.2% -0.2% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 19.9% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 22.6% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.1% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 3.1% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusACTKBILMN
Forward P/E 27.1xFY2026 – 56.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.54FY2026 $-0.32FY2026 $4.99FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.0%FY2026 – +3.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +0.3% – +25.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.87BFY2026 $197.36MFY2026 $4.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.3%FY2026 -2.1%FY2026 +4.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -5.6% +9.9% +12.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACTKBILMN
Held by institutions 92.6% 62.8% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,123 156 933
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.2% -4.1% +0.0%
Institutions buying 600 75 463
Institutions selling 350 64 330
Buyers to sellers 1.71 1.17 1.40

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ACTKBILMN
A 1.00 0.45 0.48
CTKB 0.45 1.00 0.33
ILMN 0.48 0.33 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, A, CTKB and ILMN?

Agilent Technologies (A) is the largest by market capitalisation: Agilent Technologies (A) $51.52B, Cytek Biosciences (CTKB) $791.00M, Illumina (ILMN) $43.87B.

Which stock is cheaper, A, CTKB and ILMN?

Agilent Technologies (A) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Agilent Technologies (A) 35.8x, Cytek Biosciences (CTKB) -9.8x, Illumina (ILMN) 53.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Agilent Technologies (A) is cheapest (Agilent Technologies (A) 27.1x, Illumina (ILMN) 56.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Agilent Technologies (A) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Agilent Technologies (A) +8.6%, Cytek Biosciences (CTKB) +5.4%, Illumina (ILMN) +4.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Agilent Technologies (A) has the highest net margin (Agilent Technologies (A) 19.5%, Cytek Biosciences (CTKB) -39.0%, Illumina (ILMN) 18.4%). On return on invested capital, Illumina (ILMN) leads (Agilent Technologies (A) 13.1%, Illumina (ILMN) 15.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Illumina (ILMN) returned the most: Agilent Technologies (A) +21.1%, Cytek Biosciences (CTKB) +44.1%, Illumina (ILMN) +178.5%. Over five years, Agilent Technologies (A) compounded fastest (Agilent Technologies (A) +2.6%/yr, Cytek Biosciences (CTKB) -23.4%/yr, Illumina (ILMN) -7.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Agilent Technologies (A) 0.01%, Cytek Biosciences (CTKB) 0.00%, Illumina (ILMN) 0.00%. Cytek Biosciences (CTKB) and Illumina (ILMN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Agilent Technologies (A) has been the steadiest (Agilent Technologies (A) 32.4%, Cytek Biosciences (CTKB) 55.8%, Illumina (ILMN) 50.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, A, CTKB and ILMN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Agilent Technologies (A) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.