A vs QGEN vs ILMN Stock Comparison

Agilent Technologies, Qiagen and Illumina Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
A Agilent Technologies, Inc.
$173.05 +4.7% 1M +17.4% 1Y
Market cap
$49.59B
P/E
34.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.37B
Div. yield
0.01%
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
5 wins
QGEN Qiagen N.V.
$50.38 +15.3% 1M -3.0% 1Y
Market cap
$10.94B
P/E
26.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.10B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
3 wins
ILMN Illumina, Inc.
$269.42 +5.5% 1M +169.5% 1Y
Market cap
$40.91B
P/E
49.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.49B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Agilent Technologies leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Agilent Technologies 5, Qiagen 3, Illumina 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAQGENILMNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $49.59B $10.94B $40.91B A
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.4x 26.7x 49.6x QGEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.5x 21.4x 53.9x QGEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.6% +3.0% +4.9% A
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.5% 19.5% 18.4% A
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.1% 7.9% 15.1% ILMN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.1x 1.3x 0.7x ILMN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +17.4% -3.0% +169.5% ILMN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.8%/yr -3.5%/yr -7.5%/yr A
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.3% 35.8% 50.3% A
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 71/100 65/100 QGEN

Percentile Scorecard

AQGENILMN

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

AxisAQGENILMN
Valuation 57 #98 of 228 76 #56 of 228 52 #111 of 228
Growth 36 #143 of 222 29 #158 of 222 43 #126 of 222
Profitability 91 #20 of 210 93 #16 of 210 97 #7 of 210
Financial Health 55 #108 of 241 63 #90 of 241 51 #118 of 241
Shareholder Returns 69 #43 of 138 93 #10 of 138 84 #23 of 138
Overall 62 71 65
  • A ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • QGEN ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ILMN ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAQGENILMNSPY
1 month +4.7%+15.3%+5.5% -1.0%
3 months +24.9%+21.7%+38.8% +2.9%
6 months +49.8%+31.2%+110.7% +6.4%
Year to date +27.2%+6.4%+105.4% +11.4%
1 year +17.4%-3.0%+169.5% +13.1%
3 years +63.8%+20.7%+138.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year +17.9%+6.5%+33.6% +21.5%
5 years +9.5%-16.4%-32.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +1.8%-3.5%-7.5% +10.9%
10 years +279.7%+68.5%+95.3% +255.2%
10 years, per year +14.3%+5.4%+6.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAQGENILMNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.3%35.8%50.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.5%30.5%39.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.860.450.80 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.54-0.083.37 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.6%-48.2%-82.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.6%-9.5%-8.3% -2.5%
52-week high $177.72$55.66$293.69 $779.14
52-week low $110.24$32.63$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.

MultipleAQGENILMN
P/E now vs peer median 33.9xmedian 30.7x 26.7xmedian 30.7x 49.3xmedian 30.7x
P/S now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 3.0x 5.2xmedian 3.0x 9.1xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 26.7xmedian 17.7x 18.1xmedian 17.7x 36.0xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 38.5xmedian 23.7x 11.0xmedian 23.7x 43.7xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 2.4x 3.3xmedian 2.4x 14.3xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 3.45median 0.96 3.62median 0.96 1.64median 0.96

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 monthsAQGENILMN
Revenue $7.37B $2.10B $4.49B
Gross profit $3.97B $1.31B $2.98B
Operating income $1.64B $445.43M $882.00M
Net income $1.44B $409.32M $825.00M
Free cash flow $1.27B $991.33M $931.00M
R&D $485.00M $194.67M $960.00M
EPS (diluted) $5.09 $1.87 $5.39
Cash & equivalents $1.76B $768.50M $1.04B
Total debt $3.95B $6.86B $6.97B
Shares (diluted) 283.00M 218.88M 153.00M
Enterprise value $42.48B $6.71B $35.68B

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
MetricAQGENILMN
P/E 33.9x 26.7x 49.3x
P/FCF 38.5x 11.0x 43.7x
P/Operating cash flow 30.3x 16.7x 37.2x
P/S 6.6x 5.2x 9.1x
P/B 6.6x 3.3x 14.3x
P/Tangible book 7.6x 3.6x 16.8x
EV/EBITDA 26.7x 18.1x 36.0x
EV/EBIT 31.1x 26.4x 47.1x
EV/Revenue 6.9x 5.6x 9.2x
EV/FCF 40.2x 11.9x 44.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 31.7x 18.0x 37.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.45 3.62 1.64

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAQGENILMN
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.6% 3.0% 4.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 2.0% -1.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.2% 1.7% 4.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.7% 1.3% 2.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.5% -4.9% -31.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 3.3% 28.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 18.0% 143.9% -34.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 6.7% 30.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 18.9% 12.5% -32.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.8% 7.4% 30.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.6% -3.0% -5.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.9% 8.0% 38.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 16.5% 2.3% -9.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.7% 10.5% 105.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAQGENILMN
Gross margin 53.8% 62.2% 66.4%
EBITDA margin 25.9% 31.0% 25.7%
Operating margin 22.2% 21.2% 19.6%
Pretax margin 22.5% 22.0% 22.6%
Net margin 19.5% 19.5% 18.4%
FCF margin 17.2% 47.2% 20.7%
Operating cash flow margin 21.8% 31.2% 24.4%
Return on equity 19.9% 12.2% 29.9%
Return on assets 10.7% 7.0% 12.5%
Return on invested capital 13.1% 7.9% 15.1%
Return on capital employed 14.6% 8.5% 17.5%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.6x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.8% 2.1% 5.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAQGENILMN
Debt / assets 28.3% 27.9% 29.9%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.5x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.1x 1.3x 0.7x
Debt / FCF 3.1x 1.7x 2.1x
Liabilities / assets 47.3% 43.0% 57.3%
Equity / assets 52.7% 57.0% 42.7%
Interest coverage 15.5x 11.3x 8.9x
Current ratio 2.1x 2.8x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.4x 2.0x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.8x 1.4x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 5.75 4.08 7.73

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAQGENILMN
Dividend yield 0.6% 5.2% –
Net buyback yield 0.6% 0.6% 1.2%
Shareholder yield 1.2% 5.8% 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.

ConsensusAQGENILMN
Forward P/E 26.5xFY2026 21.4xFY2026 53.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.54FY2026 $2.35FY2026 $5.00FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.0%FY2026 -1.3%FY2026 +3.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +0.6% +17.9% +25.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.87BFY2026 $2.25BFY2026 $4.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.3%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026 +4.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -5.6% -2.8% +12.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAQGENILMN
Held by institutions 92.6% 67.3% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,122 337 933
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.2% +16.5% +0.0%
Institutions buying 599 215 463
Institutions selling 350 86 330
Buyers to sellers 1.71 2.50 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.

AQGENILMN
A 1.00 0.38 0.48
QGEN 0.38 1.00 0.39
ILMN 0.48 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, A, QGEN and ILMN?

Agilent Technologies (A) is the largest by market capitalisation: Agilent Technologies (A) $49.59B, Qiagen (QGEN) $10.94B, Illumina (ILMN) $40.91B.

Which stock is cheaper, A, QGEN and ILMN?

Qiagen (QGEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Agilent Technologies (A) 34.4x, Qiagen (QGEN) 26.7x, Illumina (ILMN) 49.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Qiagen (QGEN) is cheapest (Agilent Technologies (A) 26.5x, Qiagen (QGEN) 21.4x, Illumina (ILMN) 53.9x). 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%, Qiagen (QGEN) +3.0%, Illumina (ILMN) +4.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Agilent Technologies (A) has the highest net margin (Agilent Technologies (A) 19.5%, Qiagen (QGEN) 19.5%, Illumina (ILMN) 18.4%). On return on invested capital, Illumina (ILMN) leads (Agilent Technologies (A) 13.1%, Qiagen (QGEN) 7.9%, Illumina (ILMN) 15.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Illumina (ILMN) returned the most: Agilent Technologies (A) +17.4%, Qiagen (QGEN) -3.0%, Illumina (ILMN) +169.5%. Over five years, Agilent Technologies (A) compounded fastest (Agilent Technologies (A) +1.8%/yr, Qiagen (QGEN) -3.5%/yr, Illumina (ILMN) -7.5%/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%, Qiagen (QGEN) 0.00%, Illumina (ILMN) 0.00%. Qiagen (QGEN) 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) 32.3%, Qiagen (QGEN) 35.8%, Illumina (ILMN) 50.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, A, QGEN 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 5. 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.