BTSG vs GRDN vs MDLN Stock Comparison

BrightSpring Health Services, Guardian Pharmacy Services and Medline Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MDLN Medline Inc.
$32.38 -6.7% 1M
Market cap
$42.57B
P/E
33.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.57B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Guardian Pharmacy Services leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Guardian Pharmacy Services 4, BrightSpring Health Services 4, Medline 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBTSGGRDNMDLNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.53B $5.01M $42.57B MDLN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.9x 0.1x 33.2x GRDN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 33.7x 31.1x 22.5x MDLN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +26.4% +10.3% — BTSG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.5% 4.5% 2.9% GRDN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.6% — 5.4% BTSG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.6x — 3.2x BTSG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +72.5% +36.2% — BTSG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — — — –
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.6% 40.5% 44.6% GRDN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 94/100 67/100 GRDN

Percentile Scorecard

BTSGGRDNMDLN

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

AxisBTSGGRDNMDLN
Valuation 66 #32 of 92 100 #1 of 25 84 #37 of 227
Growth 93 #7 of 87 87 #4 of 24 –
Profitability 57 #38 of 86 100 #1 of 24 73 #57 of 206
Financial Health 41 #58 of 97 88 #4 of 26 41 #140 of 238
Shareholder Returns 62 #22 of 56 – 71 #39 of 134
Overall 64 94 67
  • BTSG ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • GRDN ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • 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

PeriodBTSGGRDNMDLNSPY
1 month +3.1%-4.0%-6.7% -0.2%
3 months -19.5%-5.5%-20.1% +3.9%
6 months +22.9%+5.2%-26.8% +8.2%
Year to date +55.8%+31.5%-22.9% +12.9%
1 year +72.5%+36.2%— +12.3%

Risk

MeasureBTSGGRDNMDLNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.6%40.5%44.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.5%38.6%48.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.300.570.61 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.630.89— 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.6%-27.2%-36.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.0%-14.9%-35.2% -1.2%
52-week high $72.91$46.49$49.99 $779.14
52-week low $31.36$27.03$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.

MultipleBTSGGRDNMDLN
P/E now vs peer median 32.9xmedian 24.6x 0.1xmedian 23.9x 33.2xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.6x 0.0xmedian 0.3x 1.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.2xmedian 14.6x -0.8xmedian 13.4x 17.0xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.6xmedian 21.6x 0.1xmedian 15.5x 26.8xmedian 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 3.2x 0.0xmedian 2.5x 2.2xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.66 —median 1.34 —median 1.04

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 monthsBTSGGRDNMDLN
Revenue $14.37B $1.46B $28.57B
Gross profit $1.78B $316.58M $7.79B
Operating income $447.80M $85.44M $2.03B
Net income $365.85M $65.91M $1.03B
Free cash flow $402.35M $75.29M $1.59B
EPS (diluted) $1.66 $1,032.46 $0.97
Cash & equivalents $550.38M $89.81M $2.33B
Total debt $2.19B – $12.58B
Shares (diluted) 220.28M 63.84K 861.00M
Enterprise value $9.87B -$239.77M $43.02B

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
MetricBTSGGRDNMDLN
P/E 32.9x 0.1x 33.2x
P/FCF 28.6x 0.1x 26.8x
P/Operating cash flow 22.8x 0.1x 21.2x
P/S 0.8x 0.0x 1.5x
P/B 5.6x 0.0x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 7.5x 0.0x 7.7x
EV/EBITDA 21.2x -0.8x 17.0x
EV/EBIT 29.4x -1.0x 25.8x
EV/Revenue 0.9x -0.1x 1.8x
EV/FCF 32.7x -1.1x 33.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.0x -0.9x 26.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – – –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBTSGGRDNMDLN
Revenue growth (1Y) 26.4% 10.3% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – – –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 29.4% 21.5% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 143.5% 237.2% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) 472.6% 172.0% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) – – –
EPS growth (1Y) 448.6% 142,625% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 88.6% 71.4% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 110.5% 206.9% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBTSGGRDNMDLN
Gross margin 12.4% 21.6% 27.3%
EBITDA margin 4.3% 7.4% 10.8%
Operating margin 3.1% 5.8% 7.1%
Pretax margin 2.1% 6.5% 4.3%
Net margin 2.5% 4.5% 2.9%
FCF margin 2.8% 5.1% 5.6%
Operating cash flow margin 3.5% 6.8% 7.0%
Return on equity 18.2% 27.1% 5.4%
Return on assets 6.0% 15.3% 2.6%
Return on invested capital 8.6% – 5.4%
Return on capital employed 9.9% 30.4% 5.6%
Asset turnover 2.4x 3.4x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.5x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.7% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBTSGGRDNMDLN
Debt / assets 36.6% – 32.0%
Debt / equity 1.1x – 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.6x – 3.2x
Debt / FCF 5.4x – 7.9x
Liabilities / assets 65.8% 41.9% 51.5%
Equity / assets 34.2% 58.1% 48.5%
Interest coverage 2.9x 135.4x –
Current ratio 1.6x 1.7x 4.3x
Quick ratio 1.1x 1.3x 2.3x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.6x 1.0x
Altman Z-score 4.60 4.54 2.44

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBTSGGRDNMDLN
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 0.6% – 0.0%
Shareholder yield 0.6% – 0.0%
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.

ConsensusBTSGGRDNMDLN
Forward P/E 33.7xFY2026 31.1xFY2026 22.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.73FY2026 $1.27FY2026 $1.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +73.0%FY2026 +18.7%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +42.2% +17.3% +13.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.01BFY2026 $1.41BFY2026 $32.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.0%FY2026 -2.8%FY2026 +14.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.4% +2.1% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBTSGGRDNMDLN
Held by institutions 100.0% 46.1% 85.5%
Institutions holding 421 189 407
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.7% +3.8% +17.9%
Institutions buying 309 109 322
Institutions selling 83 54 68
Buyers to sellers 3.72 2.02 4.74

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.

BTSGGRDNMDLN
BTSG 1.00 0.34 0.10
GRDN 0.34 1.00 0.09
MDLN 0.10 0.09 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BTSG, GRDN and MDLN?

Medline (MDLN) is the largest by market capitalisation: BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) $11.53B, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) $5.01M, Medline (MDLN) $42.57B.

Which stock is cheaper, BTSG, GRDN and MDLN?

Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 32.9x, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 0.1x, Medline (MDLN) 33.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Medline (MDLN) is cheapest (BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 33.7x, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 31.1x, Medline (MDLN) 22.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) +26.4%, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) +10.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) has the highest net margin (BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 2.5%, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 4.5%, Medline (MDLN) 2.9%). On return on invested capital, BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) leads (BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 8.6%, Medline (MDLN) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) returned the most: BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) +72.5%, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) +36.2%. Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) has been the steadiest (BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 44.6%, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 40.5%, Medline (MDLN) 44.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BTSG, GRDN 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, Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) leads on 4. 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.