ACU vs BAX vs MDLN Stock Comparison

Acme United, Baxter International and Medline Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (WST) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
ACU Acme United Corp
$68.99 +8.5% 1M +81.5% 1Y
Market cap
$264.50M
P/E
26.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$211.60M
Div. yield
0.93%
Medical Supplies Healthcare
10 wins
BAX Baxter International Inc
$24.22 +3.1% 1M +31.1% 1Y
Market cap
$12.53B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$11.61B
Div. yield
0.17%
Medical Supplies Healthcare
1 win
MDLN Medline Inc.
$33.63 -5.6% 1M
Market cap
$44.21B
P/E
34.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.57B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Acme United leads on 10 of the 12 questions below (Acme United 10, Medline 1, Baxter International 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACUBAXMDLNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $264.50M $12.53B $44.21B MDLN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.8x -17.3x 34.4x ACU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.1x 12.2x 23.4x BAX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.0% +5.3% — ACU
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.6% -6.2% 2.9% ACU
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.3% -1.4% 5.4% ACU
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.1x 9.0x 3.2x ACU
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.93% 0.17% — ACU
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +81.5% +31.1% — ACU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.9%/yr -21.3%/yr — ACU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.8% 42.5% 44.5% ACU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 44/100 67/100 ACU

Percentile Scorecard

ACUBAXMDLN

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

AxisACUBAXMDLN
Valuation 94 #14 of 227 88 #29 of 227 82 #42 of 227
Growth 58 #93 of 220 14 #189 of 220 –
Profitability 81 #41 of 209 65 #73 of 209 72 #59 of 209
Financial Health 57 #104 of 240 18 #198 of 240 41 #143 of 240
Shareholder Returns 58 #58 of 138 34 #91 of 138 72 #39 of 138
Overall 70 44 67
  • ACU ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • BAX ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • MDLN 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

PeriodACUBAXMDLNSPY
1 month +8.5%+3.1%-5.6% -2.3%
3 months +19.8%-13.8%-16.9% -0.7%
6 months +68.9%+45.7%-23.9% +4.8%
Year to date +71.1%+26.7%-19.9% +10.3%
1 year +81.5%+31.1%— +10.3%
3 years +108.5%-28.7%— +73.0%
3 years, per year +27.8%-10.7%— +20.1%
5 years +83.6%-69.7%— +61.9%
5 years, per year +12.9%-21.3%— +10.1%
10 years +220.9%-48.2%— +258.6%
10 years, per year +12.4%-6.4%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureACUBAXMDLNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.8%42.5%44.5% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.5%44.1%48.3% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.231.070.57 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.650.73— 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.6%-82.3%-36.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-14.6%-32.7% -3.5%
52-week high $68.99$28.35$49.99 $779.14
52-week low $35.50$15.80$31.64 $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.

MultipleACUBAXMDLN
P/E now vs peer median 26.8xmedian 28.4x -17.3xmedian 28.4x 34.4xmedian 28.4x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 3.0x 1.1xmedian 3.0x 1.5xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.8xmedian 18.0x 26.1xmedian 18.0x 17.5xmedian 18.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.1xmedian 25.0x 10.8xmedian 25.0x 27.8xmedian 25.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 2.3x 1.9xmedian 2.3x 2.3xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.90median 0.93 0.55median 0.93 —median 0.93

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 monthsACUBAXMDLN
Revenue $211.60M $11.61B $28.57B
Gross profit $84.82M $3.49B $7.79B
Operating income $14.48M -$221.00M $2.03B
Net income $9.82M -$723.00M $1.03B
Free cash flow $15.48M $1.16B $1.59B
R&D – $519.00M –
EPS (diluted) $2.37 $-1.39 $0.97
Cash & equivalents $5.04M $1.98B $2.33B
Total debt $32.33M $8.60B $12.58B
Shares (diluted) 4.14M 520.00M 861.00M
Enterprise value $246.52M $4.38B $44.67B

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
MetricACUBAXMDLN
P/E 26.8x -17.3x 34.4x
P/FCF 17.1x 10.8x 27.8x
P/Operating cash flow 10.1x 7.5x 22.0x
P/S 1.2x 1.1x 1.5x
P/B 2.2x 1.9x 2.3x
P/Tangible book 3.0x 4.9x 8.0x
EV/EBITDA 11.8x 26.1x 17.5x
EV/EBIT 20.1x -86.7x 26.7x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 1.6x 1.9x
EV/FCF 18.8x 16.5x 34.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.2x 11.5x 27.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.90 0.55 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACUBAXMDLN
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.0% 5.3% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.1% 0.7% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.0% -7.1% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.5% -7.7% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 3.3% -136.3% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 20.1% 4.2% –
Net income growth (1Y) -5.1% -112.0% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 36.0% -31.6% –
EPS growth (1Y) -5.9% -109.6% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 29.7% -31.5% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 43.2% 97.4% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.0% 0.6% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 26.7% 243.5% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.5% -5.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACUBAXMDLN
Gross margin 40.1% 30.1% 27.3%
EBITDA margin 11.7% 6.3% 10.8%
Operating margin 6.8% -1.9% 7.1%
Pretax margin 5.9% -1.6% 4.3%
Net margin 4.6% -6.2% 2.9%
FCF margin 7.3% 10.0% 5.6%
Operating cash flow margin 12.3% 14.3% 7.0%
Return on equity 8.2% -11.4% 5.4%
Return on assets 5.0% -3.7% 2.6%
Return on invested capital 7.3% -1.4% 5.4%
Return on capital employed 8.9% -1.4% 5.6%
Asset turnover 1.1x 0.6x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.7x -2.3x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.9% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACUBAXMDLN
Debt / assets 16.1% 44.3% 32.0%
Debt / equity 0.3x 1.3x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.1x 9.0x 3.2x
Debt / FCF 2.1x 7.4x 7.9x
Liabilities / assets 39.5% 66.5% 51.5%
Equity / assets 60.5% 33.5% 48.5%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 3.2x 1.8x 4.3x
Quick ratio 1.3x 1.0x 2.3x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.5x 1.0x
Altman Z-score 4.50 2.35 2.49

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACUBAXMDLN
Dividend yield 0.9% 0.2% –
Net buyback yield -0.2% -0.2% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 0.7% 0.0% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – -14.1% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 8.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – -75.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -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.

ConsensusACUBAXMDLN
Forward P/E 25.1xFY2026 12.2xFY2026 23.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.75FY2026 $1.98FY2026 $1.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.4%FY2026 -10.4%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +4.0% -3.5% +13.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $217.65MFY2026 $11.05BFY2026 $32.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.7%FY2026 -1.7%FY2026 +14.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% +11.7% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACUBAXMDLN
Held by institutions 73.5% 100.0% 57.1%
Institutions holding 84 692 409
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.3% +5.2% +17.9%
Institutions buying 47 359 322
Institutions selling 21 194 69
Buyers to sellers 2.24 1.85 4.67

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.

ACUBAXMDLN
ACU 1.00 0.17 0.25
BAX 0.17 1.00 0.31
MDLN 0.25 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACU, BAX and MDLN?

Medline (MDLN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Acme United (ACU) $264.50M, Baxter International (BAX) $12.53B, Medline (MDLN) $44.21B.

Which stock is cheaper, ACU, BAX and MDLN?

Acme United (ACU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Acme United (ACU) 26.8x, Baxter International (BAX) -17.3x, Medline (MDLN) 34.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Baxter International (BAX) is cheapest (Acme United (ACU) 25.1x, Baxter International (BAX) 12.2x, Medline (MDLN) 23.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Acme United (ACU) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Acme United (ACU) +9.0%, Baxter International (BAX) +5.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Acme United (ACU) has the highest net margin (Acme United (ACU) 4.6%, Baxter International (BAX) -6.2%, Medline (MDLN) 2.9%). On return on invested capital, Acme United (ACU) leads (Acme United (ACU) 7.3%, Baxter International (BAX) -1.4%, Medline (MDLN) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Acme United (ACU) returned the most: Acme United (ACU) +81.5%, Baxter International (BAX) +31.1%. Over five years, Acme United (ACU) compounded fastest (Acme United (ACU) +12.9%/yr, Baxter International (BAX) -21.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Acme United (ACU) has the highest dividend yield: Acme United (ACU) 0.93%, Baxter International (BAX) 0.17%. Medline (MDLN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Acme United (ACU) has been the steadiest (Acme United (ACU) 30.8%, Baxter International (BAX) 42.5%, Medline (MDLN) 44.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ACU, BAX and MDLN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Acme United (ACU) leads on 10. 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.