BDX vs STE vs WST Stock Comparison

Becton Dickinson, Steris and West Pharmaceutical Services Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BDX Becton Dickinson & Co
$196.39 +6.8% 1M +5.7% 1Y
Market cap
$53.61B
P/E
57.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$23.25B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
3 wins
STE STERIS plc
$230.10 +10.1% 1M -4.4% 1Y
Market cap
$22.29B
P/E
27.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.04B
Div. yield
0.01%
Medical Devices Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Steris leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Steris 5, West Pharmaceutical Services 4, Becton Dickinson 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBDXSTEWSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $53.61B $22.29B $28.21B BDX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 57.0x 27.7x 49.9x STE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.1x 19.9x 41.3x BDX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.4% +8.4% +12.4% BDX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.0% 13.3% 17.0% WST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.3% 9.3% 16.9% WST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 0.9x -0.3x WST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% STE
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +5.7% -4.4% +32.8% WST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.3%/yr -0.2%/yr -1.3%/yr STE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.9% 26.3% 31.3% STE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 76/100 67/100 STE

Percentile Scorecard

BDXSTEWST

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

AxisBDXSTEWST
Valuation 90 #24 of 228 84 #38 of 228 47 #122 of 228
Growth 47 #117 of 221 71 #64 of 221 40 #134 of 221
Profitability 78 #46 of 208 87 #27 of 208 92 #18 of 208
Financial Health 27 #176 of 239 63 #89 of 239 77 #55 of 239
Shareholder Returns 95 #8 of 137 73 #38 of 137 81 #27 of 137
Overall 67 76 67
  • BDX ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • STE ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • WST 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

PeriodBDXSTEWSTSPY
1 month +6.8%+10.1%+6.6% -0.8%
3 months +23.6%+5.3%+19.2% +3.5%
6 months +30.7%+3.6%+30.7% +7.0%
Year to date +1.2%-9.2%+43.5% +12.2%
1 year +5.7%-4.4%+32.8% +13.0%
3 years -21.9%+9.9%+23.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year -7.9%+3.2%+7.2% +23.1%
5 years -19.8%-0.9%-6.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year -4.3%-0.2%-1.3% +11.0%
10 years +17.2%+238.8%+459.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +1.6%+13.0%+18.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureBDXSTEWSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.9%26.3%31.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.1%25.7%30.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.340.400.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.18-0.171.05 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.4%-36.5%-59.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.5%-14.3%0.0% -1.8%
52-week high $210.02$268.65$394.93 $779.14
52-week low $140.71$199.40$230.95 $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.

MultipleBDXSTEWST
P/E now vs peer median 57.3xmedian 30.6x 27.9xmedian 30.6x 49.5xmedian 30.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 3.0x 3.7xmedian 3.0x 8.4xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.0xmedian 17.5x 14.6xmedian 17.5x 32.0xmedian 17.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.7xmedian 23.3x 24.2xmedian 23.3x 63.6xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 2.4x 3.1xmedian 2.4x 9.3xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -3.93median 0.87 0.31median 0.87 10.27median 0.87

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 monthsBDXSTEWST
Revenue $23.25B $6.04B $3.33B
Gross profit $10.91B $2.68B $1.22B
Operating income $2.48B $1.14B $680.40M
Net income $941.00M $808.10M $564.90M
Free cash flow $3.20B $925.60M $436.90M
R&D $1.37B $115.10M $74.40M
EPS (diluted) $3.42 $8.22 $7.92
Cash & equivalents $708.00M $482.30M $435.80M
Total debt $72.81B $1.89B $202.90M
Shares (diluted) 275.16M 97.90M 71.30M
Enterprise value $50.76B $20.63B $25.83B

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
MetricBDXSTEWST
P/E 57.3x 27.9x 49.5x
P/FCF 16.7x 24.2x 63.6x
P/Operating cash flow 13.5x 17.4x 42.0x
P/S 2.3x 3.7x 8.4x
P/B 2.2x 3.1x 9.3x
P/Tangible book 2.2x 4.0x 9.3x
EV/EBITDA 14.0x 14.6x 32.0x
EV/EBIT 28.0x 20.9x 40.5x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 3.9x 8.3x
EV/FCF 21.7x 25.8x 63.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.6x 18.5x 41.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.93 0.31 10.27

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBDXSTEWST
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.4% 8.4% 12.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 9.0% 5.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 23.7% 9.1% 17.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 9.6% 3.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.0% 23.1% 17.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 11.2% 1.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -40.6% 24.6% 15.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -17.3% 89.1% 2.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -38.0% 25.7% 17.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -14.6% 89.8% 4.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 43.5% 1.9% -2.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.5% 16.9% -2.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 54.2% 1.8% 27.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.5% 23.3% 3.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBDXSTEWST
Gross margin 46.9% 44.4% 36.8%
EBITDA margin 21.4% 27.0% 25.9%
Operating margin 10.7% 18.9% 20.5%
Pretax margin 8.4% 18.0% 20.8%
Net margin 4.0% 13.3% 17.0%
FCF margin 13.8% 15.3% 13.1%
Operating cash flow margin 17.0% 21.3% 19.9%
Return on equity 3.9% 11.2% 18.4%
Return on assets 1.9% 7.5% 13.4%
Return on invested capital 5.3% 9.3% 16.9%
Return on capital employed 6.0% 12.1% 19.7%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.6x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 4.2x 1.6x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% 1.0% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBDXSTEWST
Debt / assets 33.1% 17.6% 5.0%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.3x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 0.9x -0.3x
Debt / FCF 5.2x 2.0x 0.5x
Liabilities / assets 51.9% 32.7% 26.6%
Equity / assets 48.1% 67.3% 73.4%
Interest coverage 4.2x 18.8x 151.2x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.9x 2.8x
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.2x 1.8x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.4x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 2.29 5.28 18.66

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBDXSTEWST
Dividend yield 2.1% 1.1% 0.2%
Net buyback yield 4.7% 1.5% 1.5%
Shareholder yield 6.8% 2.6% 1.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 30.6% 11.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 26.7% 14.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 9.9% 3.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 9.7% 3.8%

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.

ConsensusBDXSTEWST
Forward P/E 15.1xFY2026 19.9xFY2026 41.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.99FY2026 $11.56FY2026 $9.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.8%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026 +31.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -2.9% +13.2% +10.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.11BFY2026 $6.62BFY2026 $3.24BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -17.1%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026 +5.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.6% -0.3% +16.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBDXSTEWST
Held by institutions 96.1% 97.1% 99.5%
Institutions holding 1,442 829 833
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +1.1% -0.9%
Institutions buying 688 405 448
Institutions selling 543 300 261
Buyers to sellers 1.27 1.35 1.72

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.

BDXSTEWST
BDX 1.00 0.47 0.26
STE 0.47 1.00 0.28
WST 0.26 0.28 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BDX, STE and WST?

Becton Dickinson (BDX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Becton Dickinson (BDX) $53.61B, Steris (STE) $22.29B, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) $28.21B.

Which stock is cheaper, BDX, STE and WST?

Steris (STE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 57.0x, Steris (STE) 27.7x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 49.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Becton Dickinson (BDX) is cheapest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 15.1x, Steris (STE) 19.9x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 41.3x). 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: Becton Dickinson (BDX) +17.4%, Steris (STE) +8.4%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) +12.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) has the highest net margin (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 4.0%, Steris (STE) 13.3%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 17.0%). On return on invested capital, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) leads (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 5.3%, Steris (STE) 9.3%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 16.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) returned the most: Becton Dickinson (BDX) +5.7%, Steris (STE) -4.4%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) +32.8%. Over five years, Steris (STE) compounded fastest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) -4.3%/yr, Steris (STE) -0.2%/yr, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) -1.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Steris (STE) has the highest dividend yield: Becton Dickinson (BDX) 0.00%, Steris (STE) 0.01%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 0.00%. Becton Dickinson (BDX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Steris (STE) has been the steadiest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 31.9%, Steris (STE) 26.3%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 31.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BDX, STE and WST?

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 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.