ABT vs ALC vs BAX Stock Comparison

Abbott Laboratories, Alcon and Baxter International Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ABT Abbott Laboratories
$109.41 +12.2% 1M -11.7% 1Y
Market cap
$201.46B
P/E
37.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$46.59B
Div. yield
0.02%
Medical Devices Healthcare
8 wins
ALC Alcon Inc
$72.37 +13.5% 1M -2.0% 1Y
Market cap
$38.12B
P/E
59.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.80B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
2 wins
BAX Baxter International Inc
$25.49 +8.5% 1M +40.0% 1Y
Market cap
$13.67B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$11.61B
Div. yield
0.01%
Medical Supplies Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Abbott Laboratories leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Abbott Laboratories 8, Baxter International 2, Alcon 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionABTALCBAXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $201.46B $38.12B $13.67B ABT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 37.1x 59.3x -18.9x ABT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.2x 22.5x 12.9x BAX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.1% +8.5% +5.3% ALC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.6% 6.0% -6.2% ABT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.2% 3.6% -1.4% ABT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x — 9.0x ABT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.01% ABT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -11.7% -2.0% +40.0% BAX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.3%/yr -3.4%/yr -20.1%/yr ABT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.8% 28.8% 42.7% ABT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 68/100 43/100 ALC

Percentile Scorecard

ABTALCBAX

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

AxisABTALCBAX
Valuation 66 #78 of 229 77 #53 of 229 86 #34 of 229
Growth 29 #157 of 221 48 #115 of 221 14 #191 of 221
Profitability 85 #33 of 209 76 #51 of 209 65 #73 of 209
Financial Health 36 #153 of 240 62 #93 of 240 18 #197 of 240
Shareholder Returns 66 #51 of 147 77 #34 of 147 34 #97 of 147
Overall 56 68 43
  • ABT ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ALC ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • BAX 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

PeriodABTALCBAXSPY
1 month +12.2%+13.5%+8.5% -2.0%
3 months +3.7%+1.9%-10.1% -2.2%
6 months +25.5%-2.8%+52.2% +4.2%
Year to date -12.7%-8.2%+33.4% +10.6%
1 year -11.7%-2.0%+40.0% +10.4%
3 years +14.2%-2.6%-24.9% +73.6%
3 years, per year +4.5%-0.9%-9.1% +20.2%
5 years -15.2%-15.7%-67.4% +61.6%
5 years, per year -3.3%-3.4%-20.1% +10.1%
10 years +185.1%—-45.6% +261.3%
10 years, per year +11.0%—-5.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureABTALCBAXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.8%28.8%42.7% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.5%29.0%44.1% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.040.361.08 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.42-0.070.94 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.6%-38.4%-82.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.2%-17.0%-10.1% -3.2%
52-week high $130.59$87.18$28.35 $779.14
52-week low $82.56$62.02$15.80 $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.

MultipleABTALCBAX
P/E now vs peer median 35.1xmedian 28.1x 55.5xmedian 28.1x -18.2xmedian 28.1x
P/S now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 2.9x 3.3xmedian 2.9x 1.1xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 20.0xmedian 18.0x —median 18.0x 27.0xmedian 18.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.2xmedian 24.8x 20.3xmedian 24.8x 11.4xmedian 24.8x
P/B now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 2.3x 1.6xmedian 2.3x 2.0xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 19.31median 0.95 2.65median 0.95 0.58median 0.95

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 monthsABTALCBAX
Revenue $46.59B $10.80B $11.61B
Gross profit $26.37B $6.17B $3.49B
Operating income $7.35B $948.00M -$221.00M
Net income $5.43B $643.00M -$723.00M
Free cash flow $7.82B $1.74B $1.16B
R&D $3.16B $1.43B $519.00M
EPS (diluted) $3.11 $1.30 $-1.39
Cash & equivalents $5.10B $1.36B $1.98B
Total debt $32.61B $4.72B $8.60B
Shares (diluted) 1.74B 496.20M 520.00M
Enterprise value $171.89B $29.08B $5.55B

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
MetricABTALCBAX
P/E 35.1x 55.5x -18.2x
P/FCF 24.2x 20.3x 11.4x
P/Operating cash flow 19.1x 15.3x 7.9x
P/S 4.1x 3.3x 1.1x
P/B 3.7x 1.6x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 5.5x 2.6x 5.1x
EV/EBITDA 20.0x – 27.0x
EV/EBIT 29.4x 39.9x -89.6x
EV/Revenue 4.6x 3.5x 1.7x
EV/FCF 27.6x 21.8x 17.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.8x 16.4x 11.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 19.31 2.65 0.58

Growth

14 metrics
MetricABTALCBAX
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.1% 8.5% 5.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 5.9% 0.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.2% 11.7% -7.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 7.3% -7.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -2.2% -34.3% -136.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 7.5% 4.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -61.2% -40.1% -112.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 21.1% -31.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -61.0% -40.7% -109.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 21.0% -31.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.6% 10.3% 97.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.9% 25.9% 0.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 15.5% 7.5% 243.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 48.0% -5.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricABTALCBAX
Gross margin 56.6% 57.2% 30.1%
EBITDA margin 23.2% – 6.3%
Operating margin 15.8% 8.8% -1.9%
Pretax margin 16.1% 6.9% -1.6%
Net margin 11.6% 6.0% -6.2%
FCF margin 16.8% 16.1% 10.0%
Operating cash flow margin 21.3% 21.4% 14.3%
Return on equity 10.4% 2.9% -11.4%
Return on assets 4.9% 2.1% -3.7%
Return on invested capital 6.2% 3.6% -1.4%
Return on capital employed 8.0% 3.4% -1.4%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.3x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 3.6x -2.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 1.6% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricABTALCBAX
Debt / assets 29.9% 15.2% 44.3%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.2x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x – 9.0x
Debt / FCF 4.2x 2.7x 7.4x
Liabilities / assets 52.6% 30.6% 66.5%
Equity / assets 47.4% 69.4% 33.5%
Interest coverage 9.6x 9.2x –
Current ratio 1.4x 2.1x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.3x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.7x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 3.34 – 2.38

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricABTALCBAX
Dividend yield 2.3% 0.4% 0.2%
Net buyback yield 0.9% 2.6% -0.2%
Shareholder yield 3.2% 3.0% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 78.5% – -14.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 54.5% – 8.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) 7.2% – -75.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 7.5% – -44.1%

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.

ConsensusABTALCBAX
Forward P/E 19.2xFY2026 22.5xFY2026 12.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.69FY2026 $3.22FY2026 $1.98FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 +7.7%FY2026 -10.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% +15.5% -3.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.00BFY2026 $10.50BFY2026 $11.05BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.5%FY2026 +4.3%FY2026 -1.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.2% +8.1% +11.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersABTALCBAX
Held by institutions 79.2% 48.8% 100.0%
Institutions holding 2,983 631 692
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% +5.3% +5.2%
Institutions buying 1,261 227 359
Institutions selling 1,379 274 194
Buyers to sellers 0.91 0.83 1.85

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.

ABTALCBAX
ABT 1.00 0.44 0.33
ALC 0.44 1.00 0.40
BAX 0.33 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ABT, ALC and BAX?

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $201.46B, Alcon (ALC) $38.12B, Baxter International (BAX) $13.67B.

Which stock is cheaper, ABT, ALC and BAX?

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 37.1x, Alcon (ALC) 59.3x, Baxter International (BAX) -18.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Baxter International (BAX) is cheapest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 19.2x, Alcon (ALC) 22.5x, Baxter International (BAX) 12.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Alcon (ALC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) +8.1%, Alcon (ALC) +8.5%, Baxter International (BAX) +5.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) has the highest net margin (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 11.6%, Alcon (ALC) 6.0%, Baxter International (BAX) -6.2%). On return on invested capital, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) leads (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 6.2%, Alcon (ALC) 3.6%, Baxter International (BAX) -1.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Baxter International (BAX) returned the most: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -11.7%, Alcon (ALC) -2.0%, Baxter International (BAX) +40.0%. Over five years, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) compounded fastest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -3.3%/yr, Alcon (ALC) -3.4%/yr, Baxter International (BAX) -20.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) has the highest dividend yield: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 0.02%, Alcon (ALC) 0.00%, Baxter International (BAX) 0.01%. Alcon (ALC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) has been the steadiest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 27.8%, Alcon (ALC) 28.8%, Baxter International (BAX) 42.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ABT, ALC and BAX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) leads on 8. 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.