ACU vs STVN vs MDLN Stock Comparison

Acme United, Stevanato Group S.p.A and Medline Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ACU Acme United Corp
$66.87 +5.1% 1M +73.3% 1Y
Market cap
$256.37M
P/E
24.8x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
0.96%
Medical Supplies Healthcare
6 wins
STVN Stevanato Group S.p.A.
$19.46 -9.3% 1M -24.5% 1Y
Market cap
$5.89B
P/E
33.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.43B
Div. yield
0.26%
Medical Supplies Healthcare
3 wins
MDLN Medline Inc.
$32.37 -7.7% 1M
Market cap
$42.56B
P/E
33.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.57B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Acme United leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Acme United 6, Stevanato Group S.p.A 3, Medline 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACUSTVNMDLNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $256.37M $5.89B $42.56B MDLN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.8x 33.8x 33.1x ACU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.3x 29.5x 22.5x MDLN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +14.8% — –
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 11.0% 2.9% STVN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 7.2% 5.4% STVN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.2x 3.2x STVN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.96% 0.26% — ACU
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +73.3% -24.5% — ACU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.6%/yr -5.4%/yr — ACU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.7% 45.6% 44.5% ACU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 67/100 68/100 ACU

Percentile Scorecard

ACUSTVNMDLN

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

AxisACUSTVNMDLN
Valuation 88 #28 of 227 83 #40 of 227 85 #35 of 227
Growth – 57 #95 of 219 –
Profitability – 82 #37 of 205 74 #55 of 205
Financial Health 60 #96 of 237 73 #66 of 237 42 #137 of 237
Shareholder Returns 65 #48 of 135 41 #80 of 135 71 #40 of 135
Overall 71 67 68
  • ACU ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • STVN 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

PeriodACUSTVNMDLNSPY
1 month +5.1%-9.3%-7.7% +0.9%
3 months +12.2%-4.5%-19.3% +5.9%
6 months +62.7%+19.7%-25.4% +8.5%
Year to date +65.9%-3.3%-22.9% +13.3%
1 year +73.3%-24.5%— +12.4%
3 years +120.0%-32.2%— +88.1%
3 years, per year +30.1%-12.2%— +23.5%
5 years +80.7%-24.2%— +68.2%
5 years, per year +12.6%-5.4%— +11.0%
10 years +216.9%—— +263.4%
10 years, per year +12.2%—— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureACUSTVNMDLNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.7%45.6%44.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.2%44.7%48.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.241.120.61 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.39-0.54— 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -43.5%-62.2%-36.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-24.6%-35.2% -0.9%
52-week high $66.87$25.80$49.99 $779.14
52-week low $35.50$13.43$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.

MultipleACUSTVNMDLN
P/E now vs peer median 24.8xmedian 28.8x 33.8xmedian 28.8x 33.1xmedian 28.8x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 3.0x 4.1xmedian 3.0x 1.5xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.4x 18.2xmedian 17.4x 17.0xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.8xmedian 25.7x 9.9xmedian 25.7x 26.7xmedian 25.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.4x 3.3xmedian 2.4x 2.2xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.03 -126.16median 1.03 —median 1.03

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 monthsACUSTVNMDLN
Revenue – $1.43B $28.57B
Gross profit – $416.82M $7.79B
Operating income – $233.97M $2.03B
Net income – $157.06M $1.03B
Free cash flow – $592.88M $1.59B
R&D – $29.75M –
EPS (diluted) – $0.58 $0.97
Cash & equivalents $7.94M $89.82M $2.33B
Total debt – $2.11B $12.58B
Shares (diluted) 4.14M 272.96M 861.00M
Enterprise value $256.37M $5.34B $43.01B

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
MetricACUSTVNMDLN
P/E 24.8x 33.8x 33.1x
P/FCF 15.8x 9.9x 26.7x
P/Operating cash flow – 20.3x 21.2x
P/S 1.2x 4.1x 1.5x
P/B 2.1x 3.3x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 2.8x 3.4x 7.7x
EV/EBITDA – 18.2x 17.0x
EV/EBIT – 26.9x 25.8x
EV/Revenue – 4.4x 1.8x
EV/FCF – 10.6x 33.0x
EV/Operating cash flow – 21.7x 26.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – -126.16 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACUSTVNMDLN
Revenue growth (1Y) – 14.8% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 9.8% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 19.4% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 6.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 17.2% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 4.5% –
Net income growth (1Y) – 7.5% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 0.8% –
EPS growth (1Y) – 6.7% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) – -0.3% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 30.4% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 32.9% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 17.2% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 8.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACUSTVNMDLN
Gross margin – 29.2% 27.3%
EBITDA margin – 24.1% 10.8%
Operating margin – 16.4% 7.1%
Pretax margin – 15.7% 4.3%
Net margin – 11.0% 2.9%
FCF margin – 41.5% 5.6%
Operating cash flow margin – 20.3% 7.0%
Return on equity – 8.9% 5.4%
Return on assets – 5.3% 2.6%
Return on invested capital – 7.2% 5.4%
Return on capital employed – – 5.6%
Asset turnover – 0.5x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.8x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACUSTVNMDLN
Debt / assets – 17.0% 32.0%
Debt / equity – 0.3x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.2x 3.2x
Debt / FCF – 0.9x 7.9x
Liabilities / assets 39.9% 40.8% 51.5%
Equity / assets 60.1% 59.2% 48.5%
Interest coverage – 14.9x –
Current ratio 3.9x – 4.3x
Quick ratio – – 2.3x
Cash ratio – – 1.0x
Altman Z-score – – 2.44

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACUSTVNMDLN
Dividend yield 1.0% 0.3% –
Net buyback yield – – 0.0%
Shareholder yield 1.0% 0.3% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusACUSTVNMDLN
Forward P/E 24.3xFY2026 29.5xFY2026 22.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.75FY2026 $0.66FY2026 $1.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.4%FY2026 +4.8%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +4.0% +15.2% +13.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $217.65MFY2026 $1.46BFY2026 $32.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.7%FY2026 +5.1%FY2026 +14.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% +10.0% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACUSTVNMDLN
Held by institutions 73.5% 16.4% 85.5%
Institutions holding 84 126 407
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.3% +0.4% +17.9%
Institutions buying 47 61 322
Institutions selling 21 52 68
Buyers to sellers 2.24 1.17 4.74

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.

ACUSTVNMDLN
ACU 1.00 0.20 0.25
STVN 0.20 1.00 -0.01
MDLN 0.25 -0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACU, STVN and MDLN?

Medline (MDLN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Acme United (ACU) $256.37M, Stevanato Group S.p.A (STVN) $5.89B, Medline (MDLN) $42.56B.

Which stock is cheaper, ACU, STVN and MDLN?

Acme United (ACU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Acme United (ACU) 24.8x, Stevanato Group S.p.A (STVN) 33.8x, Medline (MDLN) 33.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Medline (MDLN) is cheapest (Acme United (ACU) 24.3x, Stevanato Group S.p.A (STVN) 29.5x, Medline (MDLN) 22.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is more profitable?

Stevanato Group S.p.A (STVN) has the highest net margin (Stevanato Group S.p.A (STVN) 11.0%, Medline (MDLN) 2.9%). On return on invested capital, Stevanato Group S.p.A (STVN) leads (Stevanato Group S.p.A (STVN) 7.2%, Medline (MDLN) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Acme United (ACU) returned the most: Acme United (ACU) +73.3%, Stevanato Group S.p.A (STVN) -24.5%. Over five years, Acme United (ACU) compounded fastest (Acme United (ACU) +12.6%/yr, Stevanato Group S.p.A (STVN) -5.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Acme United (ACU) has the highest dividend yield: Acme United (ACU) 0.96%, Stevanato Group S.p.A (STVN) 0.26%. 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) 30.7%, Stevanato Group S.p.A (STVN) 45.6%, Medline (MDLN) 44.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ACU, STVN 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 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.