ABT vs ALC vs STE Stock Comparison

Abbott Laboratories, Alcon and Steris Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ABT Abbott Laboratories
$103.69 +0.2% 1M -17.9% 1Y
Market cap
$182.26B
P/E
33.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$46.59B
Div. yield
0.02%
Medical Devices Healthcare
3 wins
ALC Alcon Inc
$70.18 +7.3% 1M -8.0% 1Y
Market cap
$34.53B
P/E
53.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.80B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
1 win
STE STERIS plc
$232.25 +10.6% 1M -4.0% 1Y
Market cap
$22.41B
P/E
27.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.04B
Div. yield
0.01%
Medical Devices Healthcare
8 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Steris leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Steris 8, Abbott Laboratories 3, Alcon 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionABTALCSTELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $182.26B $34.53B $22.41B ABT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.6x 53.7x 27.8x STE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.2x 21.8x 20.1x ABT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.1% +8.5% +8.4% ALC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.6% 6.0% 13.3% STE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.2% 3.6% 9.3% STE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x — 0.9x STE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.01% ABT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -17.9% -8.0% -4.0% STE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.9%/yr -3.0%/yr -0.3%/yr STE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.4% 28.6% 26.2% STE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 67/100 76/100 STE

Percentile Scorecard

ABTALCSTE

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

AxisABTALCSTE
Valuation 68 #74 of 228 78 #50 of 228 84 #38 of 228
Growth 27 #162 of 222 47 #118 of 222 72 #63 of 222
Profitability 85 #33 of 210 76 #52 of 210 89 #25 of 210
Financial Health 38 #151 of 241 60 #96 of 241 64 #88 of 241
Shareholder Returns 66 #48 of 138 76 #34 of 138 74 #37 of 138
Overall 57 67 76
  • ABT ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ALC ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • STE 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

PeriodABTALCSTESPY
1 month +0.2%+7.3%+10.6% -1.0%
3 months +0.6%+3.4%+8.5% +2.9%
6 months +13.8%-7.4%+4.7% +6.4%
Year to date -17.2%-11.0%-8.4% +11.4%
1 year -17.9%-8.0%-4.0% +13.1%
3 years +9.4%-4.0%+6.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year +3.0%-1.3%+2.3% +21.5%
5 years -18.2%-14.3%-1.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year -3.9%-3.0%-0.3% +10.9%
10 years +156.0%—+239.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +9.9%—+13.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureABTALCSTESPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.4%28.6%26.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.5%28.9%25.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.000.380.40 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.66-0.28-0.15 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.6%-38.4%-36.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.6%-19.5%-13.5% -2.5%
52-week high $130.59$87.18$268.65 $779.14
52-week low $82.56$62.02$199.40 $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.

MultipleABTALCSTE
P/E now vs peer median 33.3xmedian 30.7x 53.8xmedian 30.7x 28.2xmedian 30.7x
P/S now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 3.0x 3.2xmedian 3.0x 3.8xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.1xmedian 17.7x —median 17.7x 14.7xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.9xmedian 23.7x 19.7xmedian 23.7x 24.5xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 2.4x 1.6xmedian 2.4x 3.1xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 18.30median 0.96 2.57median 0.96 0.31median 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 monthsABTALCSTE
Revenue $46.59B $10.80B $6.04B
Gross profit $26.37B $6.17B $2.68B
Operating income $7.35B $948.00M $1.14B
Net income $5.43B $643.00M $808.10M
Free cash flow $7.82B $1.74B $925.60M
R&D $3.16B $1.43B $115.10M
EPS (diluted) $3.11 $1.30 $8.22
Cash & equivalents $5.10B $1.36B $482.30M
Total debt $32.61B $4.72B $1.89B
Shares (diluted) 1.74B 496.20M 97.90M
Enterprise value $152.69B $25.50B $20.75B

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
MetricABTALCSTE
P/E 33.3x 53.8x 28.2x
P/FCF 22.9x 19.7x 24.5x
P/Operating cash flow 18.1x 14.8x 17.6x
P/S 3.9x 3.2x 3.8x
P/B 3.5x 1.6x 3.1x
P/Tangible book 5.2x 2.6x 4.0x
EV/EBITDA 19.1x – 14.7x
EV/EBIT 28.1x 38.8x 21.1x
EV/Revenue 4.4x 3.4x 4.0x
EV/FCF 26.4x 21.2x 26.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.8x 15.9x 18.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 18.30 2.57 0.31

Growth

14 metrics
MetricABTALCSTE
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.1% 8.5% 8.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 5.9% 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.2% 11.7% 9.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 7.3% 9.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -2.2% -34.3% 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 7.5% 11.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -61.2% -40.1% 24.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 21.1% 89.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -61.0% -40.7% 25.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 21.0% 89.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.6% 10.3% 1.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.9% 25.9% 16.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 15.5% 7.5% 1.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 48.0% 23.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricABTALCSTE
Gross margin 56.6% 57.2% 44.4%
EBITDA margin 23.2% – 27.0%
Operating margin 15.8% 8.8% 18.9%
Pretax margin 16.1% 6.9% 18.0%
Net margin 11.6% 6.0% 13.3%
FCF margin 16.8% 16.1% 15.3%
Operating cash flow margin 21.3% 21.4% 21.3%
Return on equity 10.4% 2.9% 11.2%
Return on assets 4.9% 2.1% 7.5%
Return on invested capital 6.2% 3.6% 9.3%
Return on capital employed 8.0% 3.4% 12.1%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.3x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 3.6x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 1.6% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricABTALCSTE
Debt / assets 29.9% 15.2% 17.6%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.2x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x – 0.9x
Debt / FCF 4.2x 2.7x 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 52.6% 30.6% 32.7%
Equity / assets 47.4% 69.4% 67.3%
Interest coverage 9.6x 9.2x 18.8x
Current ratio 1.4x 2.1x 1.9x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.3x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.7x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.23 – 5.32

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricABTALCSTE
Dividend yield 2.4% 0.4% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 0.9% 2.7% 1.5%
Shareholder yield 3.3% 3.1% 2.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 78.5% – 30.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) 54.5% – 26.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) 7.2% – 9.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 7.5% – 9.7%

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.

ConsensusABTALCSTE
Forward P/E 18.2xFY2026 21.8xFY2026 20.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.69FY2026 $3.22FY2026 $11.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 +7.7%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.8% +15.5% +13.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.32BFY2026 $10.51BFY2026 $6.62BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +20.3%FY2026 +4.4%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.0% +8.0% -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersABTALCSTE
Held by institutions 79.2% 48.8% 97.1%
Institutions holding 2,977 629 829
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% +5.3% +1.1%
Institutions buying 1,258 225 405
Institutions selling 1,376 274 300
Buyers to sellers 0.91 0.82 1.35

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.

ABTALCSTE
ABT 1.00 0.43 0.46
ALC 0.43 1.00 0.54
STE 0.46 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ABT, ALC and STE?

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $182.26B, Alcon (ALC) $34.53B, Steris (STE) $22.41B.

Which stock is cheaper, ABT, ALC and STE?

Steris (STE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 33.6x, Alcon (ALC) 53.7x, Steris (STE) 27.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is cheapest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 18.2x, Alcon (ALC) 21.8x, Steris (STE) 20.1x). 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%, Steris (STE) +8.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Steris (STE) has the highest net margin (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 11.6%, Alcon (ALC) 6.0%, Steris (STE) 13.3%). On return on invested capital, Steris (STE) leads (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 6.2%, Alcon (ALC) 3.6%, Steris (STE) 9.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Steris (STE) returned the most: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -17.9%, Alcon (ALC) -8.0%, Steris (STE) -4.0%. Over five years, Steris (STE) compounded fastest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -3.9%/yr, Alcon (ALC) -3.0%/yr, Steris (STE) -0.3%/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%, Steris (STE) 0.01%. Alcon (ALC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Steris (STE) has been the steadiest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 27.4%, Alcon (ALC) 28.6%, Steris (STE) 26.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Steris (STE) 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.