ABT vs STE vs ISRG Stock Comparison

Abbott Laboratories, Steris and Intuitive Surgical Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ABT Abbott Laboratories
$103.13 +1.8% 1M -18.9% 1Y
Market cap
$178.92B
P/E
38.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$48.23B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
2 wins
STE STERIS plc
$228.50 +9.4% 1M -5.2% 1Y
Market cap
$22.28B
P/E
27.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.04B
Div. yield
0.01%
Medical Devices Healthcare
3 wins
ISRG Intuitive Surgical Inc
$445.88 +10.0% 1M -19.1% 1Y
Market cap
$155.83B
P/E
52.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.58B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Intuitive Surgical leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Intuitive Surgical 4, Steris 3, Abbott Laboratories 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionABTSTEISRGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $178.92B $22.28B $155.83B ABT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 38.1x 27.7x 52.7x STE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.1x 19.8x 38.9x ABT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.0% +8.4% +20.5% ISRG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 13.3% 25.5% ISRG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 9.3% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.9x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -18.9% -5.2% -19.1% STE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.2%/yr -0.4%/yr +4.6%/yr ISRG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.4% 26.2% 34.6% STE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 75/100 80/100 ISRG

Percentile Scorecard

ABTSTEISRG

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

AxisABTSTEISRG
Valuation 74 #60 of 227 83 #39 of 227 54 #106 of 227
Growth 17 #181 of 219 72 #63 of 219 80 #45 of 219
Profitability – 87 #28 of 206 98 #6 of 206
Financial Health – 62 #91 of 238 78 #53 of 238
Shareholder Returns 90 #15 of 134 73 #37 of 134 92 #12 of 134
Overall 60 75 80
  • ABT ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • STE ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ISRG 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

PeriodABTSTEISRGSPY
1 month +1.8%+9.4%+10.0% -0.2%
3 months -3.9%-0.8%+23.2% +3.9%
6 months +9.9%+4.0%-4.4% +8.2%
Year to date -17.7%-9.9%-21.3% +12.9%
1 year -18.9%-5.2%-19.1% +12.3%
3 years +11.1%+9.1%+72.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +3.6%+3.0%+19.9% +23.3%
5 years -19.2%-1.9%+25.4% +67.9%
5 years, per year -4.2%-0.4%+4.6% +10.9%
10 years +156.0%+241.5%+505.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year +9.9%+13.1%+19.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureABTSTEISRGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.4%26.2%34.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.5%25.6%37.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.010.400.89 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.69-0.20-0.55 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.6%-36.5%-49.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.0%-14.9%-24.8% -1.2%
52-week high $130.59$268.65$592.85 $779.14
52-week low $82.56$199.40$332.02 $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.

MultipleABTSTEISRG
P/E now vs peer median 38.2xmedian 29.6x 27.7xmedian 29.6x 52.6xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 2.9x 3.7xmedian 2.9x 13.3xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.4x 14.5xmedian 17.4x 36.8xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.3xmedian 22.3x 24.1xmedian 22.3x 43.0xmedian 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median —median 2.3x 3.1xmedian 2.3x 9.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -12.85median 1.04 0.31median 1.04 2.05median 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 monthsABTSTEISRG
Revenue $48.23B $6.04B $11.58B
Gross profit – $2.68B $7.78B
Operating income $6.65B $1.14B $3.28B
Net income – $808.10M $2.97B
Free cash flow – $925.60M $3.60B
R&D $3.31B $115.10M $1.49B
EPS (diluted) $2.70 $8.22 $8.41
Cash & equivalents – $482.30M $2.98B
Total debt – $1.89B –
Shares (diluted) 1.74B 97.90M 351.60M
Enterprise value $178.92B $20.61B $136.12B

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
MetricABTSTEISRG
P/E 38.2x 27.7x 52.6x
P/FCF 22.3x 24.1x 43.0x
P/Operating cash flow – 17.3x 37.8x
P/S 3.7x 3.7x 13.3x
P/B – 3.1x 9.6x
P/Tangible book – 3.9x 10.4x
EV/EBITDA – 14.5x 36.8x
EV/EBIT – 20.8x 45.8x
EV/Revenue 3.7x 3.9x 13.0x
EV/FCF – 25.6x 41.8x
EV/Operating cash flow – 18.4x 36.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -12.85 0.31 2.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricABTSTEISRG
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.0% 8.4% 20.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.5% 9.0% 19.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 9.1% 21.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 9.6% 19.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -13.8% 23.1% 16.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.5% 11.2% 24.8%
Net income growth (1Y) – 24.6% 7.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 89.1% 24.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -66.2% 25.7% 10.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -3.0% 89.8% 25.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 1.9% 38.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 16.9% 26.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 1.8% 58.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 23.3% 42.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricABTSTEISRG
Gross margin – 44.4% 67.2%
EBITDA margin – 27.0% 35.3%
Operating margin – 18.9% 28.4%
Pretax margin – 18.0% 31.3%
Net margin – 13.3% 25.5%
FCF margin – 15.3% 31.1%
Operating cash flow margin – 21.3% 35.3%
Return on equity – 11.2% 17.3%
Return on assets – 7.5% 14.8%
Return on invested capital – 9.3% –
Return on capital employed – 12.1% 18.7%
Asset turnover – 0.6x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.6x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.0% 7.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricABTSTEISRG
Debt / assets – 17.6% –
Debt / equity – 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.9x –
Debt / FCF – 2.0x –
Liabilities / assets – 32.7% 16.7%
Equity / assets – 67.3% 83.3%
Interest coverage – 18.8x –
Current ratio – 1.9x 3.3x
Quick ratio – 1.2x 2.3x
Cash ratio – 0.4x 1.6x
Altman Z-score – 5.26 30.55

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricABTSTEISRG
Dividend yield 2.4% 1.1% –
Net buyback yield – 1.5% 2.8%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 2.7% 2.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 30.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 26.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 9.9% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 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.

ConsensusABTSTEISRG
Forward P/E 18.1xFY2026 19.8xFY2026 38.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.69FY2026 $11.56FY2026 $11.47FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026 +28.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% +13.2% +4.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.00BFY2026 $6.62BFY2026 $11.60BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.5%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.2% -0.3% +11.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersABTSTEISRG
Held by institutions 79.2% 97.1% 86.2%
Institutions holding 2,979 829 2,235
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% +1.1% +4.6%
Institutions buying 1,259 405 1,070
Institutions selling 1,377 300 877
Buyers to sellers 0.91 1.35 1.22

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.

ABTSTEISRG
ABT 1.00 0.45 0.32
STE 0.45 1.00 0.46
ISRG 0.32 0.46 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ABT, STE and ISRG?

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $178.92B, Steris (STE) $22.28B, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) $155.83B.

Which stock is cheaper, ABT, STE and ISRG?

Steris (STE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 38.1x, Steris (STE) 27.7x, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 52.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is cheapest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 18.1x, Steris (STE) 19.8x, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 38.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) +10.0%, Steris (STE) +8.4%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +20.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) has the highest net margin (Steris (STE) 13.3%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 25.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Steris (STE) returned the most: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -18.9%, Steris (STE) -5.2%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) -19.1%. Over five years, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) compounded fastest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -4.2%/yr, Steris (STE) -0.4%/yr, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +4.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 0.00%, Steris (STE) 0.01%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 0.00%. Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Steris (STE) has been the steadiest (Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 27.4%, Steris (STE) 26.2%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 34.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) leads on 4. 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.