BDX vs DHR vs ACU Stock Comparison

Becton Dickinson, Danaher and Acme United Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
2 wins
DHR Danaher Corp /De/
$230.44 +3.9% 1M +3.5% 1Y
Market cap
$164.19B
P/E
41.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.11B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
2 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, Danaher 2, Becton Dickinson 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBDXDHRACULeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $53.87B $164.19B $243.68M DHR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 57.2x 41.0x 24.8x ACU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.3x 25.5x 23.0x BDX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.4% +4.6% +9.0% BDX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.0% 15.9% 4.6% DHR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.3% 5.7% 7.3% ACU
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 2.9x 1.1x ACU
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.6% +3.5% +62.7% ACU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.3%/yr -6.0%/yr +10.8%/yr ACU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.8% 30.6% 30.5% ACU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 60/100 71/100 ACU

Percentile Scorecard

BDXDHRACU

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

AxisBDXDHRACU
Valuation 89 #25 of 228 67 #75 of 228 95 #12 of 228
Growth 48 #117 of 222 20 #178 of 222 59 #91 of 222
Profitability 78 #48 of 210 88 #27 of 210 79 #44 of 210
Financial Health 26 #178 of 241 46 #131 of 241 57 #105 of 241
Shareholder Returns 95 #8 of 138 77 #32 of 138 63 #52 of 138
Overall 67 60 71
  • BDX ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • DHR ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ACU 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

PeriodBDXDHRACUSPY
1 month +8.8%+3.9%+0.9% -1.0%
3 months +27.2%+20.3%+16.6% +2.9%
6 months +30.7%+30.0%+49.0% +6.4%
Year to date +2.5%+0.7%+56.8% +11.4%
1 year +6.6%+3.5%+62.7% +13.1%
3 years -23.3%+17.1%+110.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year -8.5%+5.4%+28.3% +21.5%
5 years -19.5%-26.5%+67.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year -4.3%-6.0%+10.8% +10.9%
10 years +15.4%+187.4%+206.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +1.4%+11.1%+11.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureBDXDHRACUSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.8%30.6%30.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.1%31.7%24.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.340.440.22 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.210.112.05 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.4%-50.8%-43.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.3%-4.8%-1.0% -2.5%
52-week high $210.02$242.05$63.85 $779.14
52-week low $140.71$161.91$35.50 $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.

MultipleBDXDHRACU
P/E now vs peer median 58.1xmedian 30.7x 40.6xmedian 30.7x 24.6xmedian 30.7x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 3.0x 6.5xmedian 3.0x 1.1xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.1xmedian 17.7x 24.0xmedian 17.7x 10.9xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.9xmedian 23.7x 29.6xmedian 23.7x 15.6xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 2.4x 3.1xmedian 2.4x 2.0xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -3.98median 0.96 -3.24median 0.96 0.83median 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 monthsBDXDHRACU
Revenue $23.25B $25.11B $211.60M
Gross profit $10.91B $14.69B $84.82M
Operating income $2.48B $5.13B $14.48M
Net income $941.00M $4.00B $9.82M
Free cash flow $3.20B $5.47B $15.48M
R&D $1.37B $1.62B –
EPS (diluted) $3.42 $5.66 $2.37
Cash & equivalents $708.00M $4.35B $5.04M
Total debt $72.81B $26.56B $125.18M
Shares (diluted) 275.16M 707.60M 4.14M
Enterprise value $51.02B $148.00B $225.70M

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
MetricBDXDHRACU
P/E 58.1x 40.6x 24.6x
P/FCF 16.9x 29.6x 15.6x
P/Operating cash flow 13.7x 24.4x 9.3x
P/S 2.3x 6.5x 1.1x
P/B 2.2x 3.1x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 5.2x 2.7x
EV/EBITDA 14.1x 24.0x 10.9x
EV/EBIT 28.3x 35.9x 18.6x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 7.3x 1.3x
EV/FCF 21.9x 33.7x 17.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.8x 27.8x 10.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.98 -3.24 0.83

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBDXDHRACU
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.4% 4.6% 9.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.9% -0.5% 3.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 23.7% 2.6% 11.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.5% -0.9% 8.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.0% 16.1% 3.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.3% -7.1% 20.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -40.6% 17.3% -5.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -17.3% -14.3% 36.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -38.0% 19.2% -5.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -14.6% -12.5% 29.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 43.5% 7.6% 43.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.5% -7.6% 12.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 54.2% 12.4% 26.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.5% -9.0% 1.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBDXDHRACU
Gross margin 46.9% 58.5% 40.1%
EBITDA margin 21.4% 30.5% 11.7%
Operating margin 10.7% 20.4% 6.8%
Pretax margin 8.4% 19.0% 5.9%
Net margin 4.0% 15.9% 4.6%
FCF margin 13.8% 21.8% 7.3%
Operating cash flow margin 17.0% 26.4% 12.3%
Return on equity 3.9% 7.6% 8.2%
Return on assets 1.9% 4.5% 5.0%
Return on invested capital 5.3% 5.7% 7.3%
Return on capital employed 6.0% 6.4% 8.9%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.3x 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 4.2x 1.7x 2.7x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% 1.2% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBDXDHRACU
Debt / assets 33.1% 28.8% 16.1%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.5x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 2.9x 1.1x
Debt / FCF 5.2x 4.9x 2.1x
Liabilities / assets 51.9% 43.1% 39.5%
Equity / assets 48.1% 56.9% 60.5%
Interest coverage 4.2x 17.6x –
Current ratio 0.9x 1.7x 3.2x
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.0x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.5x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.31 3.70 4.34

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBDXDHRACU
Dividend yield 2.1% 0.7% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 4.6% 1.8% -0.2%
Shareholder yield 6.7% 2.5% 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.

ConsensusBDXDHRACU
Forward P/E 15.3xFY2026 25.5xFY2026 23.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.99FY2026 $9.03FY2026 $2.75FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.8%FY2026 +15.8%FY2026 +10.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.0% +8.9% +4.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.11BFY2026 $27.12BFY2026 $217.65MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -17.1%FY2026 +10.4%FY2026 +10.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.7% -1.6% +0.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBDXDHRACU
Held by institutions 96.1% 81.9% 73.5%
Institutions holding 1,442 2,115 84
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +1.1% +1.3%
Institutions buying 688 837 47
Institutions selling 543 1,015 21
Buyers to sellers 1.27 0.82 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.

BDXDHRACU
BDX 1.00 0.32 0.20
DHR 0.32 1.00 0.32
ACU 0.20 0.32 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BDX, DHR and ACU?

Danaher (DHR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Becton Dickinson (BDX) $53.87B, Danaher (DHR) $164.19B, Acme United (ACU) $243.68M.

Which stock is cheaper, BDX, DHR and ACU?

Acme United (ACU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 57.2x, Danaher (DHR) 41.0x, Acme United (ACU) 24.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Becton Dickinson (BDX) is cheapest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 15.3x, Danaher (DHR) 25.5x, 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%, Danaher (DHR) +4.6%, Acme United (ACU) +9.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Danaher (DHR) has the highest net margin (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 4.0%, Danaher (DHR) 15.9%, Acme United (ACU) 4.6%). On return on invested capital, Acme United (ACU) leads (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 5.3%, Danaher (DHR) 5.7%, 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%, Danaher (DHR) +3.5%, Acme United (ACU) +62.7%. Over five years, Acme United (ACU) compounded fastest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) -4.3%/yr, Danaher (DHR) -6.0%/yr, Acme United (ACU) +10.8%/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%, Danaher (DHR) 30.6%, Acme United (ACU) 30.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.