ACU vs BDX vs TMO Stock Comparison

Acme United, Becton Dickinson and Thermo Fisher Scientific Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
5 wins
BDX Becton Dickinson & Co
$198.54 +12.3% 1M +11.1% 1Y
Market cap
$54.08B
P/E
58.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$23.25B
Div. yield
2.12%
Medical Supplies Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Acme United leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Acme United 5, Thermo Fisher Scientific 4, Becton Dickinson 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACUBDXTMOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $264.50M $54.08B $252.45B TMO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.8x 58.0x 35.8x ACU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.1x 15.3x 26.4x BDX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.0% +17.4% +8.3% BDX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.6% 4.0% 14.9% TMO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.3% 5.3% 8.0% TMO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.1x 3.2x 3.1x ACU
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.93% 2.12% 0.27% BDX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +81.5% +11.1% +20.3% ACU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.9%/yr -4.3%/yr +1.2%/yr ACU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.8% 31.9% 30.0% TMO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 67/100 59/100 ACU

Percentile Scorecard

ACUBDXTMO

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

AxisACUBDXTMO
Valuation 94 #14 of 227 89 #25 of 227 60 #91 of 227
Growth 58 #93 of 220 48 #115 of 220 39 #135 of 220
Profitability 81 #41 of 209 77 #49 of 209 83 #36 of 209
Financial Health 57 #104 of 240 26 #177 of 240 31 #166 of 240
Shareholder Returns 58 #58 of 138 95 #8 of 138 83 #25 of 138
Overall 70 67 59
  • ACU ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • BDX ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • TMO 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

PeriodACUBDXTMOSPY
1 month +8.5%+12.3%+4.2% -2.3%
3 months +19.8%+16.7%+18.9% -0.7%
6 months +68.9%+35.7%+47.6% +4.8%
Year to date +71.1%+2.3%+17.8% +10.3%
1 year +81.5%+11.1%+20.3% +10.3%
3 years +108.5%-23.3%+50.1% +73.0%
3 years, per year +27.8%-8.5%+14.5% +20.1%
5 years +83.6%-19.6%+6.3% +61.9%
5 years, per year +12.9%-4.3%+1.2% +10.1%
10 years +220.9%+19.0%+368.3% +258.6%
10 years, per year +12.4%+1.8%+16.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureACUBDXTMOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.8%31.9%30.0% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.5%33.3%28.6% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.230.320.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.650.350.68 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.6%-50.4%-41.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-5.5%-3.7% -3.5%
52-week high $68.99$210.02$709.29 $779.14
52-week low $35.50$140.71$438.34 $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.

MultipleACUBDXTMO
P/E now vs peer median 26.8xmedian 28.4x 58.0xmedian 28.4x 35.8xmedian 28.4x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 3.0x 2.3xmedian 3.0x 5.3xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.8xmedian 18.0x 14.1xmedian 18.0x 24.9xmedian 18.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.1xmedian 25.0x 16.9xmedian 25.0x 33.2xmedian 25.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 2.3x 2.2xmedian 2.3x 4.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.90median 0.93 -3.97median 0.93 4.73median 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 monthsACUBDXTMO
Revenue $211.60M $23.25B $47.35B
Gross profit $84.82M $10.91B $19.45B
Operating income $14.48M $2.48B $8.47B
Net income $9.82M $941.00M $7.09B
Free cash flow $15.48M $3.20B $7.60B
R&D – $1.37B $1.40B
EPS (diluted) $2.37 $3.42 $19.06
Cash & equivalents $5.04M $708.00M $5.46B
Total debt $32.33M $16.81B $41.37B
Shares (diluted) 4.14M 275.16M 371.00M
Enterprise value $246.52M $51.23B $229.09B

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
MetricACUBDXTMO
P/E 26.8x 58.0x 35.8x
P/FCF 17.1x 16.9x 33.2x
P/Operating cash flow 10.1x 13.7x 27.1x
P/S 1.2x 2.3x 5.3x
P/B 2.2x 2.2x 4.6x
P/Tangible book 3.0x 2.3x 6.9x
EV/EBITDA 11.8x 14.1x 24.9x
EV/EBIT 20.1x 28.3x 34.0x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 3.0x 6.1x
EV/FCF 18.8x 21.9x 37.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.2x 17.7x 30.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.90 -3.97 4.73

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACUBDXTMO
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.0% 17.4% 8.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.1% 6.9% 2.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.0% 23.7% 7.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 8.5% 4.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 3.3% 13.0% 12.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 20.1% 3.3% 7.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -5.1% -40.6% 7.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 36.0% -17.3% 6.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -5.9% -38.0% 9.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 29.7% -14.6% 7.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 43.2% 43.5% 21.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.0% 14.5% 4.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 26.7% 54.2% 24.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.5% 22.5% 5.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACUBDXTMO
Gross margin 40.1% 46.9% 41.1%
EBITDA margin 11.7% 21.4% 24.4%
Operating margin 6.8% 10.7% 17.9%
Pretax margin 5.9% 8.4% 16.7%
Net margin 4.6% 4.0% 14.9%
FCF margin 7.3% 13.8% 16.0%
Operating cash flow margin 12.3% 17.0% 19.7%
Return on equity 8.2% 3.9% 13.2%
Return on assets 5.0% 1.9% 6.2%
Return on invested capital 7.3% 5.3% 8.0%
Return on capital employed 8.9% 6.0% 8.5%
Asset turnover 1.1x 0.5x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.7x 4.2x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 1.2% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACUBDXTMO
Debt / assets 16.1% 33.1% 36.2%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.7x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.1x 3.2x 3.1x
Debt / FCF 2.1x 5.2x 5.4x
Liabilities / assets 39.5% 51.9% 52.1%
Equity / assets 60.5% 48.1% 47.9%
Interest coverage – 4.2x 5.5x
Current ratio 3.2x 0.9x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.3x 0.3x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 4.50 2.31 4.11

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACUBDXTMO
Dividend yield 0.9% 2.1% 0.3%
Net buyback yield -0.2% 4.6% 1.6%
Shareholder yield 0.7% 6.7% 1.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 9.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 8.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 8.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 10.1%

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.

ConsensusACUBDXTMO
Forward P/E 25.1xFY2026 15.3xFY2026 26.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.75FY2026 $12.99FY2026 $25.91FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.4%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026 +13.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +4.0% -2.9% +2.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $217.65MFY2026 $18.11BFY2026 $50.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.7%FY2026 -17.1%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% +11.6% -2.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACUBDXTMO
Held by institutions 73.5% 96.1% 90.2%
Institutions holding 84 1,444 2,625
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.3% +0.6% +0.8%
Institutions buying 47 688 1,144
Institutions selling 21 545 1,145
Buyers to sellers 2.24 1.26 1.00

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.

ACUBDXTMO
ACU 1.00 0.20 0.32
BDX 0.20 1.00 0.32
TMO 0.32 0.32 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACU, BDX and TMO?

Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Acme United (ACU) $264.50M, Becton Dickinson (BDX) $54.08B, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) $252.45B.

Which stock is cheaper, ACU, BDX and TMO?

Acme United (ACU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Acme United (ACU) 26.8x, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 58.0x, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 35.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Becton Dickinson (BDX) is cheapest (Acme United (ACU) 25.1x, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 15.3x, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 26.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Becton Dickinson (BDX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Acme United (ACU) +9.0%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) +17.4%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) +8.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) has the highest net margin (Acme United (ACU) 4.6%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 4.0%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 14.9%). On return on invested capital, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) leads (Acme United (ACU) 7.3%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 5.3%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 8.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Acme United (ACU) returned the most: Acme United (ACU) +81.5%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) +11.1%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) +20.3%. Over five years, Acme United (ACU) compounded fastest (Acme United (ACU) +12.9%/yr, Becton Dickinson (BDX) -4.3%/yr, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) +1.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Becton Dickinson (BDX) has the highest dividend yield: Acme United (ACU) 0.93%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 2.12%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 0.27%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) has been the steadiest (Acme United (ACU) 30.8%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 31.9%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 30.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ACU, BDX and TMO?

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 5. 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.