ABT vs BSX vs STE Stock Comparison

Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific and Steris Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
2 wins
BSX Boston Scientific Corp
$45.67 +2.3% 1M -55.4% 1Y
Market cap
$67.04B
P/E
18.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$21.00B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
6 wins
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
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Boston Scientific leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Boston Scientific 6, Steris 4, Abbott Laboratories 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionABTBSXSTELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $182.26B $67.04B $22.41B ABT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.6x 18.2x 27.8x BSX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.2x 14.5x 20.1x BSX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.1% +13.5% +8.4% BSX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.6% 17.5% 13.3% BSX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.2% 10.5% 9.3% BSX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 2.2x 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% -55.4% -4.0% STE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.9%/yr +0.4%/yr -0.3%/yr BSX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.4% 39.9% 26.2% STE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 69/100 76/100 STE

Percentile Scorecard

ABTBSXSTE

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

AxisABTBSXSTE
Valuation 68 #74 of 228 89 #27 of 228 84 #38 of 228
Growth 27 #162 of 222 86 #33 of 222 72 #63 of 222
Profitability 85 #33 of 210 92 #18 of 210 89 #25 of 210
Financial Health 38 #151 of 241 42 #140 of 241 64 #88 of 241
Shareholder Returns 66 #48 of 138 39 #84 of 138 74 #37 of 138
Overall 57 69 76
  • ABT ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • BSX 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

PeriodABTBSXSTESPY
1 month +0.2%+2.3%+10.6% -1.0%
3 months +0.6%+3.2%+8.5% +2.9%
6 months +13.8%-26.4%+4.7% +6.4%
Year to date -17.2%-52.1%-8.4% +11.4%
1 year -17.9%-55.4%-4.0% +13.1%
3 years +9.4%-10.4%+6.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year +3.0%-3.6%+2.3% +21.5%
5 years -18.2%+1.9%-1.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year -3.9%+0.4%-0.3% +10.9%
10 years +156.0%+100.1%+239.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +9.9%+7.2%+13.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureABTBSXSTESPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.4%39.9%26.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.5%47.1%25.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.000.150.40 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.66-1.39-0.15 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.6%-61.6%-36.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.6%-56.5%-13.5% -2.5%
52-week high $130.59$104.98$268.65 $779.14
52-week low $82.56$41.57$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.

MultipleABTBSXSTE
P/E now vs peer median 33.3xmedian 30.7x 18.3xmedian 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 14.1xmedian 17.7x 14.7xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.9xmedian 23.7x 18.3xmedian 23.7x 24.5xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 2.4x 2.6xmedian 2.4x 3.1xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 18.30median 0.96 0.30median 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 monthsABTBSXSTE
Revenue $46.59B $21.00B $6.04B
Gross profit $26.37B $14.68B $2.68B
Operating income $7.35B $4.15B $1.14B
Net income $5.43B $3.67B $808.10M
Free cash flow $7.82B $3.63B $925.60M
R&D $3.16B $2.15B $115.10M
EPS (diluted) $3.11 $2.49 $8.22
Cash & equivalents $5.10B $539.00M $482.30M
Total debt $32.61B $12.62B $1.89B
Shares (diluted) 1.74B 1.47B 97.90M
Enterprise value $152.69B $61.81B $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
MetricABTBSXSTE
P/E 33.3x 18.3x 28.2x
P/FCF 22.9x 18.3x 24.5x
P/Operating cash flow 18.1x 14.6x 17.6x
P/S 3.9x 3.2x 3.8x
P/B 3.5x 2.6x 3.1x
P/Tangible book 5.2x 3.6x 4.0x
EV/EBITDA 19.1x 14.1x 14.7x
EV/EBIT 28.1x 18.9x 21.1x
EV/Revenue 4.4x 3.7x 4.0x
EV/FCF 26.4x 21.6x 26.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.8x 17.3x 18.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 18.30 0.30 0.31

Growth

14 metrics
MetricABTBSXSTE
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.1% 13.5% 8.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 16.1% 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.2% 16.3% 9.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 16.4% 9.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -2.2% 31.9% 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 31.5% 11.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -61.2% 46.9% 24.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 59.0% 89.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -61.0% 48.6% 25.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 61.5% 89.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.6% 5.7% 1.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.9% 28.7% 16.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 15.5% 4.0% 1.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 33.9% 23.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricABTBSXSTE
Gross margin 56.6% 69.9% 44.4%
EBITDA margin 23.2% 26.5% 27.0%
Operating margin 15.8% 19.8% 18.9%
Pretax margin 16.1% 18.4% 18.0%
Net margin 11.6% 17.5% 13.3%
FCF margin 16.8% 17.3% 15.3%
Operating cash flow margin 21.3% 21.6% 21.3%
Return on equity 10.4% 14.3% 11.2%
Return on assets 4.9% 8.2% 7.5%
Return on invested capital 6.2% 10.5% 9.3%
Return on capital employed 8.0% 10.8% 12.1%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 1.2x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 1.5% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricABTBSXSTE
Debt / assets 29.9% 27.9% 17.6%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.5x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 2.2x 0.9x
Debt / FCF 4.2x 3.5x 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 52.6% 44.3% 32.7%
Equity / assets 47.4% 55.7% 67.3%
Interest coverage 9.6x 11.4x 18.8x
Current ratio 1.4x 1.2x 1.9x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.6x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.1x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.23 3.03 5.32

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricABTBSXSTE
Dividend yield 2.4% – 1.1%
Net buyback yield 0.9% -0.3% 1.5%
Shareholder yield 3.3% -0.3% 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.

ConsensusABTBSXSTE
Forward P/E 18.2xFY2026 14.5xFY2026 20.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.69FY2026 $3.14FY2026 $11.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.8% +14.6% +13.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.32BFY2026 $20.70BFY2026 $6.62BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +20.3%FY2026 +3.1%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.0% +1.5% -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersABTBSXSTE
Held by institutions 79.2% 90.5% 97.1%
Institutions holding 2,977 1,481 829
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% -0.7% +1.1%
Institutions buying 1,258 738 405
Institutions selling 1,376 610 300
Buyers to sellers 0.91 1.21 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.

ABTBSXSTE
ABT 1.00 0.37 0.46
BSX 0.37 1.00 0.29
STE 0.46 0.29 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ABT, BSX and STE?

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $182.26B, Boston Scientific (BSX) $67.04B, Steris (STE) $22.41B.

Which stock is cheaper, ABT, BSX and STE?

Boston Scientific (BSX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 33.6x, Boston Scientific (BSX) 18.2x, Steris (STE) 27.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Boston Scientific (BSX) is cheapest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 18.2x, Boston Scientific (BSX) 14.5x, 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?

Boston Scientific (BSX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) +8.1%, Boston Scientific (BSX) +13.5%, Steris (STE) +8.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Boston Scientific (BSX) has the highest net margin (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 11.6%, Boston Scientific (BSX) 17.5%, Steris (STE) 13.3%). On return on invested capital, Boston Scientific (BSX) leads (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 6.2%, Boston Scientific (BSX) 10.5%, Steris (STE) 9.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Steris (STE) returned the most: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -17.9%, Boston Scientific (BSX) -55.4%, Steris (STE) -4.0%. Over five years, Boston Scientific (BSX) compounded fastest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -3.9%/yr, Boston Scientific (BSX) +0.4%/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%, Boston Scientific (BSX) 0.00%, Steris (STE) 0.01%. Boston Scientific (BSX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Steris (STE) has been the steadiest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 27.4%, Boston Scientific (BSX) 39.9%, Steris (STE) 26.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ABT, BSX 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, Boston Scientific (BSX) leads on 6. 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.