BAX vs ALC vs BDX Stock Comparison

Baxter International, Alcon and Becton Dickinson Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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BAX Baxter International Inc
$23.49 0.0% 1M +4.8% 1Y
Market cap
$11.81B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$11.61B
Div. yield
0.01%
Medical Supplies Healthcare
1 win
ALC Alcon Inc
$71.18 +8.8% 1M -3.3% 1Y
Market cap
$35.24B
P/E
54.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.80B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
5 wins
BDX Becton Dickinson & Co
$198.32 +8.9% 1M +9.3% 1Y
Market cap
$54.28B
P/E
57.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$23.25B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Becton Dickinson leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Becton Dickinson 5, Alcon 5, Baxter International 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBAXALCBDXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.81B $35.24B $54.28B BDX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -16.3x 54.8x 57.7x ALC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.9x 22.1x 15.3x BAX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.3% +8.5% +17.4% BDX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -6.2% 6.0% 4.0% ALC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.4% 3.6% 5.3% BDX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 9.0x — 3.2x BDX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +4.8% -3.3% +9.3% BDX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -21.5%/yr -3.1%/yr -3.7%/yr ALC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.1% 28.6% 31.8% ALC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 44/100 68/100 68/100 ALC

Percentile Scorecard

BAXALCBDX

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

AxisBAXALCBDX
Valuation 89 #25 of 227 79 #48 of 227 90 #23 of 227
Growth 14 #187 of 218 48 #113 of 218 48 #114 of 218
Profitability 66 #69 of 202 78 #46 of 202 80 #42 of 202
Financial Health 19 #189 of 233 60 #95 of 233 28 #168 of 233
Shareholder Returns 33 #87 of 130 76 #32 of 130 95 #8 of 130
Overall 44 68 68
  • BAX ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ALC ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • BDX 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

PeriodBAXALCBDXSPY
1 month 0.0%+8.8%+8.9% +0.7%
3 months -12.2%+2.3%+19.8% +3.7%
6 months +33.6%-4.9%+33.1% +7.1%
Year to date +22.9%-9.7%+2.2% +12.8%
1 year +4.8%-3.3%+9.3% +11.9%
3 years -26.7%+1.1%-21.0% +85.2%
3 years, per year -9.8%+0.4%-7.6% +22.8%
5 years -70.3%-14.6%-17.2% +67.6%
5 years, per year -21.5%-3.1%-3.7% +10.9%
10 years -50.2%—+18.2% +262.0%
10 years, per year -6.7%—+1.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBAXALCBDXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.1%28.6%31.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 49.5%28.8%33.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.180.380.33 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.11-0.120.29 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.3%-38.4%-50.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.1%-18.4%-5.6% -1.2%
52-week high $28.35$87.18$210.02 $779.14
52-week low $15.80$62.02$140.71 $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.

MultipleBAXALCBDX
P/E now vs peer median -16.8xmedian 28.7x 54.6xmedian 28.7x 57.9xmedian 28.7x
P/S now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 3.0x 3.2xmedian 3.0x 2.3xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 25.6xmedian 17.8x —median 17.8x 14.1xmedian 17.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.5xmedian 26.4x 19.9xmedian 26.4x 16.9xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 2.4x 1.6xmedian 2.4x 2.2xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.53median 0.99 2.60median 0.99 -3.97median 0.99

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 monthsBAXALCBDX
Revenue $11.61B $10.80B $23.25B
Gross profit $3.49B $6.17B $10.91B
Operating income -$221.00M $948.00M $2.48B
Net income -$723.00M $643.00M $941.00M
Free cash flow $1.16B $1.74B $3.20B
R&D $519.00M $1.43B $1.37B
EPS (diluted) $-1.39 $1.30 $3.42
Cash & equivalents $1.98B $1.36B $708.00M
Total debt $8.60B $4.72B $72.81B
Shares (diluted) 520.00M 496.20M 275.16M
Enterprise value $3.69B $26.21B $51.43B

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
MetricBAXALCBDX
P/E -16.8x 54.6x 57.9x
P/FCF 10.5x 19.9x 16.9x
P/Operating cash flow 7.3x 15.0x 13.7x
P/S 1.0x 3.2x 2.3x
P/B 1.9x 1.6x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 4.7x 2.6x 2.3x
EV/EBITDA 25.6x – 14.1x
EV/EBIT -84.9x 39.3x 28.3x
EV/Revenue 1.6x 3.5x 3.0x
EV/FCF 16.2x 21.4x 21.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.3x 16.1x 17.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.53 2.60 -3.97

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBAXALCBDX
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.3% 8.5% 17.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 5.9% 6.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -7.1% 11.7% 23.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -7.7% 7.3% 8.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -136.3% -34.3% 13.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 7.5% 3.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -112.0% -40.1% -40.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -31.6% 21.1% -17.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -109.6% -40.7% -38.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -31.5% 21.0% -14.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 97.4% 10.3% 43.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.6% 25.9% 14.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 243.5% 7.5% 54.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -5.0% 48.0% 22.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBAXALCBDX
Gross margin 30.1% 57.2% 46.9%
EBITDA margin 6.3% – 21.4%
Operating margin -1.9% 8.8% 10.7%
Pretax margin -1.6% 6.9% 8.4%
Net margin -6.2% 6.0% 4.0%
FCF margin 10.0% 16.1% 13.8%
Operating cash flow margin 14.3% 21.4% 17.0%
Return on equity -11.4% 2.9% 3.9%
Return on assets -3.7% 2.1% 1.9%
Return on invested capital -1.4% 3.6% 5.3%
Return on capital employed -1.4% 3.4% 6.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.3x 3.6x 4.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 1.6% 1.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBAXALCBDX
Debt / assets 44.3% 15.2% 33.1%
Debt / equity 1.3x 0.2x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 9.0x – 3.2x
Debt / FCF 7.4x 2.7x 5.2x
Liabilities / assets 66.5% 30.6% 51.9%
Equity / assets 33.5% 69.4% 48.1%
Interest coverage – 9.2x 4.2x
Current ratio 1.8x 2.1x 0.9x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.3x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.7x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.33 – 2.30

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBAXALCBDX
Dividend yield 0.2% 0.4% 2.1%
Net buyback yield -0.2% 2.6% 4.6%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 3.0% 6.7%
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.

ConsensusBAXALCBDX
Forward P/E 11.9xFY2026 22.1xFY2026 15.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.98FY2026 $3.22FY2026 $12.99FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.4%FY2026 +7.7%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.5% +15.5% -2.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.05BFY2026 $10.50BFY2026 $18.11BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.7%FY2026 +4.3%FY2026 -17.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.7% +8.1% +11.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBAXALCBDX
Held by institutions 100.0% 48.8% 96.1%
Institutions holding 691 630 1,443
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.2% +5.3% +0.6%
Institutions buying 359 226 688
Institutions selling 193 274 544
Buyers to sellers 1.86 0.82 1.26

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.

BAXALCBDX
BAX 1.00 0.40 0.39
ALC 0.40 1.00 0.31
BDX 0.39 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BAX, ALC and BDX?

Becton Dickinson (BDX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Baxter International (BAX) $11.81B, Alcon (ALC) $35.24B, Becton Dickinson (BDX) $54.28B.

Which stock is cheaper, BAX, ALC and BDX?

Alcon (ALC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Baxter International (BAX) -16.3x, Alcon (ALC) 54.8x, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 57.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Baxter International (BAX) is cheapest (Baxter International (BAX) 11.9x, Alcon (ALC) 22.1x, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 15.3x). 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: Baxter International (BAX) +5.3%, Alcon (ALC) +8.5%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) +17.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Alcon (ALC) has the highest net margin (Baxter International (BAX) -6.2%, Alcon (ALC) 6.0%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 4.0%). On return on invested capital, Becton Dickinson (BDX) leads (Baxter International (BAX) -1.4%, Alcon (ALC) 3.6%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 5.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Becton Dickinson (BDX) returned the most: Baxter International (BAX) +4.8%, Alcon (ALC) -3.3%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) +9.3%. Over five years, Alcon (ALC) compounded fastest (Baxter International (BAX) -21.5%/yr, Alcon (ALC) -3.1%/yr, Becton Dickinson (BDX) -3.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Baxter International (BAX) 0.01%, Alcon (ALC) 0.00%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 0.00%. Alcon (ALC) and Becton Dickinson (BDX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Alcon (ALC) has been the steadiest (Baxter International (BAX) 45.1%, Alcon (ALC) 28.6%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 31.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BAX, ALC and BDX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 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.