DHR vs GRFS vs STE Stock Comparison

Danaher, Grifols and Steris Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DHR Danaher Corp /De/
$232.95 +3.7% 1M +4.5% 1Y
Market cap
$163.62B
P/E
40.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.11B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
3 wins
GRFS Grifols SA
$7.92 +7.8% 1M -16.3% 1Y
Market cap
$5.52B
P/E
11.9x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Biotechnology Healthcare
2 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
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Steris leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Steris 6, Danaher 3, Grifols 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDHRGRFSSTELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $163.62B $5.52B $22.29B DHR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 40.9x 11.9x 27.7x GRFS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.6x 8.4x 19.9x GRFS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.6% — +8.4% STE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.9% — 13.3% DHR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.7% — 9.3% STE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.9x — 0.9x STE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +4.5% -16.3% -4.4% DHR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.3%/yr -9.9%/yr -0.2%/yr STE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.7% 32.4% 26.3% STE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 57/100 76/100 STE

Percentile Scorecard

DHRGRFSSTE

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

AxisDHRGRFSSTE
Valuation 67 #75 of 228 99 #6 of 626 84 #38 of 228
Growth 21 #176 of 221 – 71 #64 of 221
Profitability 88 #26 of 208 – 87 #27 of 208
Financial Health 46 #130 of 239 14 #566 of 658 63 #89 of 239
Shareholder Returns 76 #34 of 137 56 #161 of 368 73 #38 of 137
Overall 59 57 76
  • DHR ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • GRFS ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • STE 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

PeriodDHRGRFSSTESPY
1 month +3.7%+7.8%+10.1% -0.8%
3 months +18.5%+2.2%+5.3% +3.5%
6 months +29.0%-2.6%+3.6% +7.0%
Year to date +1.8%-15.3%-9.2% +12.2%
1 year +4.5%-16.3%-4.4% +13.0%
3 years +24.0%+1.0%+9.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +7.4%+0.3%+3.2% +23.1%
5 years -23.7%-40.5%-0.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year -5.3%-9.9%-0.2% +11.0%
10 years +199.7%-46.6%+238.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year +11.6%-6.1%+13.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureDHRGRFSSTESPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.7%32.4%26.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.8%34.1%25.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.450.950.40 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.15-0.50-0.17 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.8%-58.9%-36.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.8%-18.5%-14.3% -1.8%
52-week high $242.05$9.72$268.65 $779.14
52-week low $161.91$7.02$199.40 $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.

MultipleDHRGRFSSTE
P/E now vs peer median 41.0xmedian 30.6x 11.9xmedian 17.1x 27.9xmedian 30.6x
P/S now vs peer median 6.5xmedian 3.0x 0.6xmedian 8.8x 3.7xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.3xmedian 17.5x —median 17.1x 14.6xmedian 17.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 30.0xmedian 23.3x 7.6xmedian 18.0x 24.2xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.4x 0.6xmedian 2.1x 3.1xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -3.28median 0.87 —median 0.31 0.31median 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 monthsDHRGRFSSTE
Revenue $25.11B – $6.04B
Gross profit $14.69B – $2.68B
Operating income $5.13B – $1.14B
Net income $4.00B – $808.10M
Free cash flow $5.47B – $925.60M
R&D $1.62B – $115.10M
EPS (diluted) $5.66 – $8.22
Cash & equivalents $4.35B $969.15M $482.30M
Total debt $26.56B $44.00B $1.89B
Shares (diluted) 707.60M 681.57M 97.90M
Enterprise value $147.42B $1.86B $20.63B

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
MetricDHRGRFSSTE
P/E 41.0x 11.9x 27.9x
P/FCF 30.0x 7.6x 24.2x
P/Operating cash flow 24.7x – 17.4x
P/S 6.5x 0.6x 3.7x
P/B 3.1x 0.6x 3.1x
P/Tangible book 5.2x 0.9x 4.0x
EV/EBITDA 24.3x – 14.6x
EV/EBIT 36.3x – 20.9x
EV/Revenue 7.4x – 3.9x
EV/FCF 34.0x – 25.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 28.0x – 18.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.28 – 0.31

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDHRGRFSSTE
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.6% – 8.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -0.5% – 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.6% – 9.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -0.9% – 9.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.1% – 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -7.1% – 11.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.3% – 24.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -14.3% – 89.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 19.2% – 25.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -12.5% – 89.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.6% – 1.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.6% – 16.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 12.4% – 1.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.0% – 23.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDHRGRFSSTE
Gross margin 58.5% – 44.4%
EBITDA margin 30.5% – 27.0%
Operating margin 20.4% – 18.9%
Pretax margin 19.0% – 18.0%
Net margin 15.9% – 13.3%
FCF margin 21.8% – 15.3%
Operating cash flow margin 26.4% – 21.3%
Return on equity 7.6% – 11.2%
Return on assets 4.5% – 7.5%
Return on invested capital 5.7% – 9.3%
Return on capital employed 6.4% – 12.1%
Asset turnover 0.3x – 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x – 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% – 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDHRGRFSSTE
Debt / assets 28.8% 48.9% 17.6%
Debt / equity 0.5x 1.3x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.9x – 0.9x
Debt / FCF 4.9x – 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 43.1% 61.4% 32.7%
Equity / assets 56.9% 38.6% 67.3%
Interest coverage 17.6x – 18.8x
Current ratio 1.7x 2.5x 1.9x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.8x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.4x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.72 – 5.28

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDHRGRFSSTE
Dividend yield 0.7% 1.4% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 1.8% – 1.5%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 1.4% 2.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 30.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 26.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 9.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 9.7%

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.

ConsensusDHRGRFSSTE
Forward P/E 25.6xFY2026 8.4xFY2026 19.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.11FY2026 $0.94FY2026 $11.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.8%FY2026 +10.6%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +8.0% +26.6% +13.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $27.01BFY2026 $8.88BFY2026 $6.62BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.9%FY2026 +0.0%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.9% +10.3% -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDHRGRFSSTE
Held by institutions 81.9% 21.0% 97.1%
Institutions holding 2,115 166 829
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.1% -0.5% +1.1%
Institutions buying 837 73 405
Institutions selling 1,015 65 300
Buyers to sellers 0.82 1.12 1.35

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.

DHRGRFSSTE
DHR 1.00 0.20 0.37
GRFS 0.20 1.00 0.25
STE 0.37 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DHR, GRFS and STE?

Danaher (DHR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Danaher (DHR) $163.62B, Grifols (GRFS) $5.52B, Steris (STE) $22.29B.

Which stock is cheaper, DHR, GRFS and STE?

Grifols (GRFS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Danaher (DHR) 40.9x, Grifols (GRFS) 11.9x, Steris (STE) 27.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Grifols (GRFS) is cheapest (Danaher (DHR) 25.6x, Grifols (GRFS) 8.4x, Steris (STE) 19.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Steris (STE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Danaher (DHR) +4.6%, Steris (STE) +8.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Danaher (DHR) has the highest net margin (Danaher (DHR) 15.9%, Steris (STE) 13.3%). On return on invested capital, Steris (STE) leads (Danaher (DHR) 5.7%, Steris (STE) 9.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Danaher (DHR) returned the most: Danaher (DHR) +4.5%, Grifols (GRFS) -16.3%, Steris (STE) -4.4%. Over five years, Steris (STE) compounded fastest (Danaher (DHR) -5.3%/yr, Grifols (GRFS) -9.9%/yr, Steris (STE) -0.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Danaher (DHR) 0.00%, Grifols (GRFS) 0.00%, Steris (STE) 0.01%. Danaher (DHR) and Grifols (GRFS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Steris (STE) has been the steadiest (Danaher (DHR) 30.7%, Grifols (GRFS) 32.4%, Steris (STE) 26.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DHR, GRFS and STE?

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 6. 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.