BDX vs ACU vs UEEC Stock Comparison

Becton Dickinson, Acme United and United Health Products Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (SKYA) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
BDX Becton Dickinson & Co
$198.85 +8.8% 1M +6.6% 1Y
Market cap
$53.87B
P/E
57.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$23.25B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
3 wins
ACU Acme United Corp
$63.19 +0.9% 1M +62.7% 1Y
Market cap
$243.68M
P/E
24.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$211.60M
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Acme United leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Acme United 7, Becton Dickinson 3, United Health Products 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBDXACUUEECLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $53.87B $243.68M $7.17M BDX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 57.2x 24.8x -5.0x ACU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.3x 23.0x — BDX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.4% +9.0% — BDX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.0% 4.6% — ACU
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.3% 7.3% — ACU
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 1.1x -1.9x UEEC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.6% +62.7% -33.3% ACU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.3%/yr +10.8%/yr -46.7%/yr ACU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.8% 30.5% 185.6% ACU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 71/100 37/100 ACU

Percentile Scorecard

BDXACUUEEC

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

AxisBDXACUUEEC
Valuation 89 #25 of 228 95 #12 of 228 35 #149 of 228
Growth 48 #117 of 222 59 #91 of 222 75 #57 of 222
Profitability 78 #48 of 210 79 #44 of 210 –
Financial Health 26 #178 of 241 57 #105 of 241 1 #238 of 241
Shareholder Returns 95 #8 of 138 63 #52 of 138 –
Overall 67 71 37
  • BDX ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ACU ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • UEEC 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

PeriodBDXACUUEECSPY
1 month +8.8%+0.9%+33.3% -1.0%
3 months +27.2%+16.6%0.0% +2.9%
6 months +30.7%+49.0%-55.6% +6.4%
Year to date +2.5%+56.8%-20.0% +11.4%
1 year +6.6%+62.7%-33.3% +13.1%
3 years -23.3%+110.8%-86.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year -8.5%+28.3%-48.4% +21.5%
5 years -19.5%+67.1%-95.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year -4.3%+10.8%-46.7% +10.9%
10 years +15.4%+206.7%-55.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +1.4%+11.9%-7.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureBDXACUUEECSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.8%30.5%185.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.1%24.1%328.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.340.22-0.43 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.212.05-0.18 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.4%-43.5%-96.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.3%-1.0%-60.0% -2.5%
52-week high $210.02$63.85$0.10 $779.14
52-week low $140.71$35.50$0.03 $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.

MultipleBDXACUUEEC
P/E now vs peer median 58.1xmedian 30.7x 24.6xmedian 30.7x -6.7xmedian 30.7x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 3.0x 1.1xmedian 3.0x —median 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.1xmedian 17.7x 10.9xmedian 17.7x -12.5xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.9xmedian 23.7x 15.6xmedian 23.7x -10.3xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 2.4x 2.0xmedian 2.4x -2.2xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -3.98median 0.96 0.83median 0.96 -1.41median 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 monthsBDXACUUEEC
Revenue $23.25B $211.60M –
Gross profit $10.91B $84.82M –
Operating income $2.48B $14.48M -$930.33K
Net income $941.00M $9.82M $3.92M
Free cash flow $3.20B $15.48M -$950.64K
R&D $1.37B – $89.05K
EPS (diluted) $3.42 $2.37 $-0.01
Cash & equivalents $708.00M $5.04M $24.50K
Total debt $72.81B $125.18M $4.92M
Shares (diluted) 275.16M 4.14M 260.04M
Enterprise value $51.02B $225.70M $7.06M

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
MetricBDXACUUEEC
P/E 58.1x 24.6x -6.7x
P/FCF 16.9x 15.6x -10.3x
P/Operating cash flow 13.7x 9.3x -10.3x
P/S 2.3x 1.1x –
P/B 2.2x 2.0x -2.2x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 2.7x -2.2x
EV/EBITDA 14.1x 10.9x -12.5x
EV/EBIT 28.3x 18.6x -12.5x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 1.3x –
EV/FCF 21.9x 17.4x -12.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.8x 10.3x -12.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.98 0.83 -1.41

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBDXACUUEEC
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.4% 9.0% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 3.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 23.7% 11.0% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 8.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.0% 3.3% 68.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 20.1% 29.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -40.6% -5.1% 277.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -17.3% 36.0% 40.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -38.0% -5.9% 52.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -14.6% 29.7% 4.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 43.5% 43.2% 1.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.5% 12.0% 8.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 54.2% 26.7% 1.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.5% 1.5% 8.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBDXACUUEEC
Gross margin 46.9% 40.1% –
EBITDA margin 21.4% 11.7% –
Operating margin 10.7% 6.8% –
Pretax margin 8.4% 5.9% –
Net margin 4.0% 4.6% –
FCF margin 13.8% 7.3% –
Operating cash flow margin 17.0% 12.3% –
Return on equity 3.9% 8.2% –
Return on assets 1.9% 5.0% -407.2%
Return on invested capital 5.3% 7.3% –
Return on capital employed 6.0% 8.9% –
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.1x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 4.2x 2.7x -0.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% 0.9% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBDXACUUEEC
Debt / assets 33.1% 16.1% 737.4%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.3x -0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 1.1x -1.9x
Debt / FCF 5.2x 2.1x -1.9x
Liabilities / assets 51.9% 39.5% 1,892%
Equity / assets 48.1% 60.5% -1,792%
Interest coverage 4.2x – -8.2x
Current ratio 0.9x 3.2x 0.0x
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.3x 0.0x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 2.31 4.34 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBDXACUUEEC
Dividend yield 2.1% 1.0% –
Net buyback yield 4.6% -0.2% –
Shareholder yield 6.7% 0.8% –
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.

ConsensusBDXACUUEEC
Forward P/E 15.3xFY2026 23.0xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $12.99FY2026 $2.75FY2026 –
EPS growth, next FY +14.8%FY2026 +10.4%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after -3.0% +4.0% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.11BFY2026 $217.65MFY2026 –
Revenue growth, next FY -17.1%FY2026 +10.7%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after +11.7% +0.7% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBDXACUUEEC
Held by institutions 96.1% 73.5% –
Institutions holding 1,442 84 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +1.3% –
Institutions buying 688 47 –
Institutions selling 543 21 –
Buyers to sellers 1.27 2.24 –

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.

BDXACUUEEC
BDX 1.00 0.20 0.12
ACU 0.20 1.00 -0.04
UEEC 0.12 -0.04 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BDX, ACU and UEEC?

Becton Dickinson (BDX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Becton Dickinson (BDX) $53.87B, Acme United (ACU) $243.68M, United Health Products (UEEC) $7.17M.

Which stock is cheaper, BDX, ACU and UEEC?

Acme United (ACU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 57.2x, Acme United (ACU) 24.8x, United Health Products (UEEC) -5.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Becton Dickinson (BDX) is cheapest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 15.3x, Acme United (ACU) 23.0x). 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: Becton Dickinson (BDX) +17.4%, Acme United (ACU) +9.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Acme United (ACU) returned the most: Becton Dickinson (BDX) +6.6%, Acme United (ACU) +62.7%, United Health Products (UEEC) -33.3%. Over five years, Acme United (ACU) compounded fastest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) -4.3%/yr, Acme United (ACU) +10.8%/yr, United Health Products (UEEC) -46.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Acme United (ACU) has been the steadiest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 31.8%, Acme United (ACU) 30.5%, United Health Products (UEEC) 185.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 7. 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.