BDX vs WST vs MDLN Stock Comparison

Becton Dickinson, West Pharmaceutical Services and Medline Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
MDLN Medline Inc.
$32.00 -8.5% 1M
Market cap
$27.54B
P/E
32.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.57B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionBDXWSTMDLNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $54.28B $29.11B $27.54B BDX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 57.7x 45.6x 32.9x MDLN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.3x 43.5x 22.2x BDX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.4% +12.6% — BDX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.0% 18.8% 2.9% WST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.3% 19.3% 5.4% WST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x -0.3x 3.2x WST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +9.3% +45.9% — WST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.7%/yr -0.7%/yr — WST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.8% 31.3% 44.4% WST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 70/100 68/100 WST

Percentile Scorecard

BDXWSTMDLN

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

AxisBDXWSTMDLN
Valuation 90 #23 of 227 50 #115 of 227 85 #36 of 227
Growth 48 #114 of 218 49 #112 of 218 –
Profitability 80 #42 of 202 94 #14 of 202 74 #54 of 202
Financial Health 28 #168 of 233 78 #52 of 233 41 #137 of 233
Shareholder Returns 95 #8 of 130 79 #28 of 130 72 #37 of 130
Overall 68 70 68
  • BDX ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • WST ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • MDLN 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

PeriodBDXWSTMDLNSPY
1 month +8.9%+10.4%-8.5% +0.7%
3 months +19.8%+22.5%-18.2% +3.7%
6 months +33.1%+39.7%-28.0% +7.1%
Year to date +2.2%+51.1%-23.8% +12.8%
1 year +9.3%+45.9%— +11.9%
3 years -21.0%+30.0%— +85.2%
3 years, per year -7.6%+9.1%— +22.8%
5 years -17.2%-3.3%— +67.6%
5 years, per year -3.7%-0.7%— +10.9%
10 years +18.2%+467.2%— +262.0%
10 years, per year +1.7%+19.0%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBDXWSTMDLNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.8%31.3%44.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.1%30.9%48.3% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.330.620.61 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.291.47— 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.4%-59.6%-36.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.6%0.0%-36.0% -1.2%
52-week high $210.02$415.75$49.99 $779.14
52-week low $140.71$230.95$31.64 $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.

MultipleBDXWSTMDLN
P/E now vs peer median 57.9xmedian 28.7x 45.8xmedian 28.7x 32.8xmedian 28.7x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 3.0x 8.5xmedian 3.0x 1.5xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.1xmedian 17.8x 29.8xmedian 17.8x 16.8xmedian 17.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.9xmedian 26.4x 64.0xmedian 26.4x 26.4xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 2.4x 9.8xmedian 2.4x 2.2xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -3.97median 0.99 6.84median 0.99 —median 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 monthsBDXWSTMDLN
Revenue $23.25B $3.40B $28.57B
Gross profit $10.91B $1.28B $7.79B
Operating income $2.48B $780.20M $2.03B
Net income $941.00M $638.90M $1.03B
Free cash flow $3.20B $453.40M $1.59B
R&D $1.37B $75.60M –
EPS (diluted) $3.42 $9.02 $0.97
Cash & equivalents $708.00M $464.10M $2.33B
Total debt $72.81B $202.90M $12.58B
Shares (diluted) 275.16M 70.80M 861.00M
Enterprise value $51.43B $26.90B $20.49B

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
MetricBDXWSTMDLN
P/E 57.9x 45.8x 32.8x
P/FCF 16.9x 64.0x 26.4x
P/Operating cash flow 13.7x 44.3x 21.0x
P/S 2.3x 8.5x 1.5x
P/B 2.2x 9.8x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 9.8x 7.6x
EV/EBITDA 14.1x 29.8x 16.8x
EV/EBIT 28.3x 36.9x 25.6x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 8.5x 1.8x
EV/FCF 21.9x 63.4x 32.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.7x 43.9x 25.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.97 6.84 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBDXWSTMDLN
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.4% 12.6% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 5.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 23.7% 18.9% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 4.7% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.0% 32.7% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.3% 6.6% –
Net income growth (1Y) -40.6% 29.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -17.3% 4.5% –
EPS growth (1Y) -38.0% 33.2% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -14.6% 6.7% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 43.5% -5.7% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.5% -5.2% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 54.2% 19.6% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.5% 2.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBDXWSTMDLN
Gross margin 46.9% 37.6% 27.3%
EBITDA margin 21.4% 28.4% 10.8%
Operating margin 10.7% 23.0% 7.1%
Pretax margin 8.4% 23.2% 4.3%
Net margin 4.0% 18.8% 2.9%
FCF margin 13.8% 13.3% 5.6%
Operating cash flow margin 17.0% 19.3% 7.0%
Return on equity 3.9% 20.9% 5.4%
Return on assets 1.9% 15.3% 2.6%
Return on invested capital 5.3% 19.3% 5.4%
Return on capital employed 6.0% 22.8% 5.6%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.8x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 4.2x 1.0x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% 0.8% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBDXWSTMDLN
Debt / assets 33.1% 5.0% 32.0%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.1x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x -0.3x 3.2x
Debt / FCF 5.2x 0.4x 7.9x
Liabilities / assets 51.9% 26.9% 51.5%
Equity / assets 48.1% 73.1% 48.5%
Interest coverage 4.2x 96.3x –
Current ratio 0.9x 2.8x 4.3x
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.9x 2.3x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.7x 1.0x
Altman Z-score 2.30 19.42 2.42

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBDXWSTMDLN
Dividend yield 2.1% 0.2% –
Net buyback yield 4.6% 2.3% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 6.7% 2.5% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 9.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 13.9% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 3.7% –

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.

ConsensusBDXWSTMDLN
Forward P/E 15.3xFY2026 43.5xFY2026 22.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.99FY2026 $9.56FY2026 $1.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.8%FY2026 +31.1%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -2.9% +10.6% +13.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.11BFY2026 $3.24BFY2026 $32.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -17.1%FY2026 +5.6%FY2026 +14.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.6% +16.8% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBDXWSTMDLN
Held by institutions 96.1% 99.5% 85.5%
Institutions holding 1,443 834 408
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% -0.9% +17.9%
Institutions buying 688 449 322
Institutions selling 544 261 69
Buyers to sellers 1.26 1.72 4.67

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.

BDXWSTMDLN
BDX 1.00 0.26 0.31
WST 0.26 1.00 0.08
MDLN 0.31 0.08 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BDX, WST and MDLN?

Becton Dickinson (BDX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Becton Dickinson (BDX) $54.28B, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) $29.11B, Medline (MDLN) $27.54B.

Which stock is cheaper, BDX, WST and MDLN?

Medline (MDLN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 57.7x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 45.6x, Medline (MDLN) 32.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Becton Dickinson (BDX) is cheapest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 15.3x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 43.5x, Medline (MDLN) 22.2x). 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%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) +12.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) has the highest net margin (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 4.0%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 18.8%, Medline (MDLN) 2.9%). On return on invested capital, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) leads (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 5.3%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 19.3%, Medline (MDLN) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) returned the most: Becton Dickinson (BDX) +9.3%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) +45.9%. Over five years, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) compounded fastest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) -3.7%/yr, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) -0.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Becton Dickinson (BDX) 0.00%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 0.00%, Medline (MDLN) 0.00%. Becton Dickinson (BDX) and Medline (MDLN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) has been the steadiest (Becton Dickinson (BDX) 31.8%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 31.3%, Medline (MDLN) 44.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 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.