BAX vs BDX vs STE Stock Comparison

Baxter International, Becton Dickinson and Steris 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
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
3 wins
STE STERIS plc
$232.24 +10.2% 1M -1.9% 1Y
Market cap
$22.08B
P/E
27.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.04B
Div. yield
0.01%
Medical Devices Healthcare
8 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Steris leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Steris 8, Becton Dickinson 3, Baxter International 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBAXBDXSTELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.81B $54.28B $22.08B BDX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -16.3x 57.7x 27.4x STE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.9x 15.3x 20.1x BAX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.3% +17.4% +8.4% BDX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -6.2% 4.0% 13.3% STE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.4% 5.3% 9.3% STE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 9.0x 3.2x 0.9x STE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.01% STE
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +4.8% +9.3% -1.9% BDX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -21.5%/yr -3.7%/yr -0.1%/yr STE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.1% 31.8% 26.2% STE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 44/100 68/100 76/100 STE

Percentile Scorecard

BAXBDXSTE

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

AxisBAXBDXSTE
Valuation 89 #25 of 227 90 #23 of 227 84 #38 of 227
Growth 14 #187 of 218 48 #114 of 218 71 #63 of 218
Profitability 66 #69 of 202 80 #42 of 202 90 #22 of 202
Financial Health 19 #189 of 233 28 #168 of 233 62 #89 of 233
Shareholder Returns 33 #87 of 130 95 #8 of 130 74 #34 of 130
Overall 44 68 76
  • BAX ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • BDX ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • STE 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

PeriodBAXBDXSTESPY
1 month 0.0%+8.9%+10.2% +0.7%
3 months -12.2%+19.8%+0.4% +3.7%
6 months +33.6%+33.1%+7.1% +7.1%
Year to date +22.9%+2.2%-8.4% +12.8%
1 year +4.8%+9.3%-1.9% +11.9%
3 years -26.7%-21.0%+11.1% +85.2%
3 years, per year -9.8%-7.6%+3.6% +22.8%
5 years -70.3%-17.2%-0.6% +67.6%
5 years, per year -21.5%-3.7%-0.1% +10.9%
10 years -50.2%+18.2%+247.0% +262.0%
10 years, per year -6.7%+1.7%+13.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBAXBDXSTESPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.1%31.8%26.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 49.5%33.1%25.6% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.180.330.39 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.110.29-0.07 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.3%-50.4%-36.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.1%-5.6%-13.6% -1.2%
52-week high $28.35$210.02$268.65 $779.14
52-week low $15.80$140.71$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.

MultipleBAXBDXSTE
P/E now vs peer median -16.8xmedian 28.7x 57.9xmedian 28.7x 28.2xmedian 28.7x
P/S now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 3.0x 2.3xmedian 3.0x 3.8xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 25.6xmedian 17.8x 14.1xmedian 17.8x 14.7xmedian 17.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.5xmedian 26.4x 16.9xmedian 26.4x 24.5xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 2.4x 2.2xmedian 2.4x 3.1xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.53median 0.99 -3.97median 0.99 0.31median 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 monthsBAXBDXSTE
Revenue $11.61B $23.25B $6.04B
Gross profit $3.49B $10.91B $2.68B
Operating income -$221.00M $2.48B $1.14B
Net income -$723.00M $941.00M $808.10M
Free cash flow $1.16B $3.20B $925.60M
R&D $519.00M $1.37B $115.10M
EPS (diluted) $-1.39 $3.42 $8.22
Cash & equivalents $1.98B $708.00M $482.30M
Total debt $8.60B $72.81B $1.89B
Shares (diluted) 520.00M 275.16M 97.90M
Enterprise value $3.69B $51.43B $20.42B

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
MetricBAXBDXSTE
P/E -16.8x 57.9x 28.2x
P/FCF 10.5x 16.9x 24.5x
P/Operating cash flow 7.3x 13.7x 17.6x
P/S 1.0x 2.3x 3.8x
P/B 1.9x 2.2x 3.1x
P/Tangible book 4.7x 2.3x 4.0x
EV/EBITDA 25.6x 14.1x 14.7x
EV/EBIT -84.9x 28.3x 21.1x
EV/Revenue 1.6x 3.0x 4.0x
EV/FCF 16.2x 21.9x 26.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.3x 17.7x 18.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.53 -3.97 0.31

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBAXBDXSTE
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.3% 17.4% 8.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 6.9% 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -7.1% 23.7% 9.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -7.7% 8.5% 9.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -136.3% 13.0% 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 3.3% 11.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -112.0% -40.6% 24.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -31.6% -17.3% 89.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -109.6% -38.0% 25.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -31.5% -14.6% 89.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 97.4% 43.5% 1.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.6% 14.5% 16.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 243.5% 54.2% 1.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -5.0% 22.5% 23.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBAXBDXSTE
Gross margin 30.1% 46.9% 44.4%
EBITDA margin 6.3% 21.4% 27.0%
Operating margin -1.9% 10.7% 18.9%
Pretax margin -1.6% 8.4% 18.0%
Net margin -6.2% 4.0% 13.3%
FCF margin 10.0% 13.8% 15.3%
Operating cash flow margin 14.3% 17.0% 21.3%
Return on equity -11.4% 3.9% 11.2%
Return on assets -3.7% 1.9% 7.5%
Return on invested capital -1.4% 5.3% 9.3%
Return on capital employed -1.4% 6.0% 12.1%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.3x 4.2x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 1.2% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBAXBDXSTE
Debt / assets 44.3% 33.1% 17.6%
Debt / equity 1.3x 0.7x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 9.0x 3.2x 0.9x
Debt / FCF 7.4x 5.2x 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 66.5% 51.9% 32.7%
Equity / assets 33.5% 48.1% 67.3%
Interest coverage – 4.2x 18.8x
Current ratio 1.8x 0.9x 1.9x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.3x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.1x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 2.33 2.30 5.32

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBAXBDXSTE
Dividend yield 0.2% 2.1% 1.1%
Net buyback yield -0.2% 4.6% 1.5%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 6.7% 2.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) -14.1% – 30.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) 8.8% – 26.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) -75.0% – 9.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -44.1% – 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.

ConsensusBAXBDXSTE
Forward P/E 11.9xFY2026 15.3xFY2026 20.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.98FY2026 $12.99FY2026 $11.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.4%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.5% -2.9% +13.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.05BFY2026 $18.11BFY2026 $6.62BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.7%FY2026 -17.1%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.7% +11.6% -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBAXBDXSTE
Held by institutions 100.0% 96.1% 97.1%
Institutions holding 691 1,443 830
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.2% +0.6% +1.1%
Institutions buying 359 688 406
Institutions selling 193 544 300
Buyers to sellers 1.86 1.26 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.

BAXBDXSTE
BAX 1.00 0.39 0.39
BDX 0.39 1.00 0.47
STE 0.39 0.47 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BAX, BDX and STE?

Becton Dickinson (BDX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Baxter International (BAX) $11.81B, Becton Dickinson (BDX) $54.28B, Steris (STE) $22.08B.

Which stock is cheaper, BAX, BDX and STE?

Steris (STE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Baxter International (BAX) -16.3x, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 57.7x, Steris (STE) 27.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Baxter International (BAX) is cheapest (Baxter International (BAX) 11.9x, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 15.3x, 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?

Becton Dickinson (BDX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Baxter International (BAX) +5.3%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) +17.4%, Steris (STE) +8.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Steris (STE) has the highest net margin (Baxter International (BAX) -6.2%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 4.0%, Steris (STE) 13.3%). On return on invested capital, Steris (STE) leads (Baxter International (BAX) -1.4%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 5.3%, Steris (STE) 9.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Becton Dickinson (BDX) returned the most: Baxter International (BAX) +4.8%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) +9.3%, Steris (STE) -1.9%. Over five years, Steris (STE) compounded fastest (Baxter International (BAX) -21.5%/yr, Becton Dickinson (BDX) -3.7%/yr, Steris (STE) -0.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Steris (STE) has the highest dividend yield: Baxter International (BAX) 0.01%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 0.00%, Steris (STE) 0.01%. Becton Dickinson (BDX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Steris (STE) has been the steadiest (Baxter International (BAX) 45.1%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 31.8%, Steris (STE) 26.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BAX, BDX 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, Steris (STE) 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.