ALC vs MDT vs STE Stock Comparison

Alcon, Medtronic and Steris Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ALC Alcon Inc
$70.18 +7.3% 1M -8.0% 1Y
Market cap
$34.53B
P/E
53.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.80B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
MDT Medtronic plc
$95.41 +6.8% 1M +1.3% 1Y
Market cap
$121.22B
P/E
23.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$37.54B
Div. yield
0.03%
Medical Devices Healthcare
8 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

Medtronic leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Medtronic 8, Steris 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALCMDTSTELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $34.53B $121.22B $22.41B MDT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 53.7x 23.2x 27.8x MDT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.8x 17.1x 20.1x MDT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +9.8% +8.4% MDT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.0% 13.9% 13.3% MDT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% 6.9% 9.3% STE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.0x 0.9x STE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.01% MDT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.0% +1.3% -4.0% MDT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.0%/yr -5.0%/yr -0.3%/yr STE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.6% 24.7% 26.2% MDT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 66/100 76/100 STE

Percentile Scorecard

ALCMDTSTE

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

AxisALCMDTSTE
Valuation 78 #50 of 228 85 #36 of 228 84 #38 of 228
Growth 47 #118 of 222 50 #111 of 222 72 #63 of 222
Profitability 76 #52 of 210 88 #26 of 210 89 #25 of 210
Financial Health 60 #96 of 241 50 #122 of 241 64 #88 of 241
Shareholder Returns 76 #34 of 138 56 #62 of 138 74 #37 of 138
Overall 67 66 76
  • ALC ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • MDT 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

PeriodALCMDTSTESPY
1 month +7.3%+6.8%+10.6% -1.0%
3 months +3.4%+14.7%+8.5% +2.9%
6 months -7.4%+14.5%+4.7% +6.4%
Year to date -11.0%-0.7%-8.4% +11.4%
1 year -8.0%+1.3%-4.0% +13.1%
3 years -4.0%+32.6%+6.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year -1.3%+9.9%+2.3% +21.5%
5 years -14.3%-22.5%-1.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year -3.0%-5.0%-0.3% +10.9%
10 years —+13.7%+239.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year —+1.3%+13.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureALCMDTSTESPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.6%24.7%26.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 28.9%22.0%25.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.380.110.40 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.280.05-0.15 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.4%-44.0%-36.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.5%-9.4%-13.5% -2.5%
52-week high $87.18$105.35$268.65 $779.14
52-week low $62.02$73.75$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.

MultipleALCMDTSTE
P/E now vs peer median 53.8xmedian 30.7x 23.3xmedian 30.7x 28.2xmedian 30.7x
P/S now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 3.0x 3.3xmedian 3.0x 3.8xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.7x 14.5xmedian 17.7x 14.7xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.7xmedian 23.7x 19.9xmedian 23.7x 24.5xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 2.4x 2.4xmedian 2.4x 3.1xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 2.57median 0.96 1.61median 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 monthsALCMDTSTE
Revenue $10.80B $37.54B $6.04B
Gross profit $6.17B $24.41B $2.68B
Operating income $948.00M $6.79B $1.14B
Net income $643.00M $5.27B $808.10M
Free cash flow $1.74B $6.13B $925.60M
R&D $1.43B $2.92B $115.10M
EPS (diluted) $1.30 $4.07 $8.22
Cash & equivalents $1.36B $1.69B $482.30M
Total debt $4.72B $113.29B $1.89B
Shares (diluted) 496.20M 1.29B 97.90M
Enterprise value $25.50B $86.47B $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
MetricALCMDTSTE
P/E 53.8x 23.3x 28.2x
P/FCF 19.7x 19.9x 24.5x
P/Operating cash flow 14.8x 15.2x 17.6x
P/S 3.2x 3.3x 3.8x
P/B 1.6x 2.4x 3.1x
P/Tangible book 2.6x 3.0x 4.0x
EV/EBITDA – 14.5x 14.7x
EV/EBIT 38.8x 20.8x 21.1x
EV/Revenue 3.4x 3.8x 4.0x
EV/FCF 21.2x 23.1x 26.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.9x 17.6x 18.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.57 1.61 0.31

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALCMDTSTE
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 9.8% 8.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 6.0% 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 9.3% 9.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.3% 5.6% 9.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -34.3% 10.9% 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.5% 6.4% 11.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -40.1% 12.4% 24.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 21.1% 13.0% 89.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -40.7% 12.4% 25.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 21.0% 14.5% 89.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.3% 12.4% 1.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.9% 11.3% 16.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.5% 15.6% 1.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 48.0% 11.3% 23.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALCMDTSTE
Gross margin 57.2% 65.0% 44.4%
EBITDA margin – 25.9% 27.0%
Operating margin 8.8% 18.1% 18.9%
Pretax margin 6.9% 17.6% 18.0%
Net margin 6.0% 13.9% 13.3%
FCF margin 16.1% 16.3% 15.3%
Operating cash flow margin 21.4% 21.4% 21.3%
Return on equity 2.9% 10.4% 11.2%
Return on assets 2.1% 5.7% 7.5%
Return on invested capital 3.6% 6.9% 9.3%
Return on capital employed 3.4% 8.3% 12.1%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.4x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.6x 1.5x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 1.3% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALCMDTSTE
Debt / assets 15.2% 30.2% 17.6%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.6x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.0x 0.9x
Debt / FCF 2.7x 4.6x 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 30.6% 45.5% 32.7%
Equity / assets 69.4% 54.5% 67.3%
Interest coverage 9.2x 9.4x 18.8x
Current ratio 2.1x 2.1x 1.9x
Quick ratio 1.3x 1.3x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.7x 0.4x
Altman Z-score – 3.03 5.32

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALCMDTSTE
Dividend yield 0.4% 3.0% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 2.7% 0.2% 1.5%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 3.2% 2.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 69.3% 30.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 59.5% 26.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.4% 9.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 0.2% 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.

ConsensusALCMDTSTE
Forward P/E 21.8xFY2026 17.1xFY2026 20.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.22FY2026 $5.57FY2026 $11.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +7.7%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.5% +7.4% +13.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.51BFY2026 $39.92BFY2026 $6.62BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.4%FY2026 +9.8%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% -4.7% -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALCMDTSTE
Held by institutions 48.8% 85.1% 97.1%
Institutions holding 629 2,124 829
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.3% -0.2% +1.1%
Institutions buying 225 1,013 405
Institutions selling 274 913 300
Buyers to sellers 0.82 1.11 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.

ALCMDTSTE
ALC 1.00 0.47 0.54
MDT 0.47 1.00 0.54
STE 0.54 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALC, MDT and STE?

Medtronic (MDT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alcon (ALC) $34.53B, Medtronic (MDT) $121.22B, Steris (STE) $22.41B.

Which stock is cheaper, ALC, MDT and STE?

Medtronic (MDT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Alcon (ALC) 53.7x, Medtronic (MDT) 23.2x, Steris (STE) 27.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Medtronic (MDT) is cheapest (Alcon (ALC) 21.8x, Medtronic (MDT) 17.1x, 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?

Medtronic (MDT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alcon (ALC) +8.5%, Medtronic (MDT) +9.8%, Steris (STE) +8.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Medtronic (MDT) has the highest net margin (Alcon (ALC) 6.0%, Medtronic (MDT) 13.9%, Steris (STE) 13.3%). On return on invested capital, Steris (STE) leads (Alcon (ALC) 3.6%, Medtronic (MDT) 6.9%, Steris (STE) 9.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Medtronic (MDT) returned the most: Alcon (ALC) -8.0%, Medtronic (MDT) +1.3%, Steris (STE) -4.0%. Over five years, Steris (STE) compounded fastest (Alcon (ALC) -3.0%/yr, Medtronic (MDT) -5.0%/yr, Steris (STE) -0.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Medtronic (MDT) has the highest dividend yield: Alcon (ALC) 0.00%, Medtronic (MDT) 0.03%, Steris (STE) 0.01%. Alcon (ALC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Medtronic (MDT) has been the steadiest (Alcon (ALC) 28.6%, Medtronic (MDT) 24.7%, Steris (STE) 26.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ALC, MDT 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, Medtronic (MDT) leads on 8. 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.