DHR vs ILMN vs A Stock Comparison

Danaher, Illumina and Agilent Technologies Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
3 wins
ILMN Illumina, Inc.
$269.42 +5.5% 1M +169.5% 1Y
Market cap
$40.91B
P/E
49.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.49B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
4 wins
A Agilent Technologies, Inc.
$173.05 +4.7% 1M +17.4% 1Y
Market cap
$49.59B
P/E
34.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.37B
Div. yield
0.01%
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Agilent Technologies leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Agilent Technologies 4, Illumina 4, Danaher 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDHRILMNALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $164.19B $40.91B $49.59B DHR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.0x 49.6x 34.4x A
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.5x 53.9x 26.5x DHR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.6% +4.9% +8.6% A
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.9% 18.4% 19.5% A
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.7% 15.1% 13.1% ILMN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 0.7x 1.1x ILMN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +3.5% +169.5% +17.4% ILMN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.0%/yr -7.5%/yr +1.8%/yr A
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.6% 50.3% 32.3% DHR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 65/100 62/100 ILMN

Percentile Scorecard

DHRILMNA

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

AxisDHRILMNA
Valuation 67 #75 of 228 52 #111 of 228 57 #98 of 228
Growth 20 #178 of 222 43 #126 of 222 36 #143 of 222
Profitability 88 #27 of 210 97 #7 of 210 91 #20 of 210
Financial Health 46 #131 of 241 51 #118 of 241 55 #108 of 241
Shareholder Returns 77 #32 of 138 84 #23 of 138 69 #43 of 138
Overall 60 65 62
  • DHR ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ILMN ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • A 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

PeriodDHRILMNASPY
1 month +3.9%+5.5%+4.7% -1.0%
3 months +20.3%+38.8%+24.9% +2.9%
6 months +30.0%+110.7%+49.8% +6.4%
Year to date +0.7%+105.4%+27.2% +11.4%
1 year +3.5%+169.5%+17.4% +13.1%
3 years +17.1%+138.6%+63.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +5.4%+33.6%+17.9% +21.5%
5 years -26.5%-32.3%+9.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year -6.0%-7.5%+1.8% +10.9%
10 years +187.4%+95.3%+279.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +11.1%+6.9%+14.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureDHRILMNASPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.6%50.3%32.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.7%39.1%27.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.440.800.86 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.113.370.54 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.8%-82.9%-39.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.8%-8.3%-2.6% -2.5%
52-week high $242.05$293.69$177.72 $779.14
52-week low $161.91$95.03$110.24 $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.

MultipleDHRILMNA
P/E now vs peer median 40.6xmedian 30.7x 49.3xmedian 30.7x 33.9xmedian 30.7x
P/S now vs peer median 6.5xmedian 3.0x 9.1xmedian 3.0x 6.6xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.0xmedian 17.7x 36.0xmedian 17.7x 26.7xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.6xmedian 23.7x 43.7xmedian 23.7x 38.5xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.4x 14.3xmedian 2.4x 6.6xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -3.24median 0.96 1.64median 0.96 3.45median 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 monthsDHRILMNA
Revenue $25.11B $4.49B $7.37B
Gross profit $14.69B $2.98B $3.97B
Operating income $5.13B $882.00M $1.64B
Net income $4.00B $825.00M $1.44B
Free cash flow $5.47B $931.00M $1.27B
R&D $1.62B $960.00M $485.00M
EPS (diluted) $5.66 $5.39 $5.09
Cash & equivalents $4.35B $1.04B $1.76B
Total debt $26.56B $6.97B $3.95B
Shares (diluted) 707.60M 153.00M 283.00M
Enterprise value $148.00B $35.68B $42.48B

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
MetricDHRILMNA
P/E 40.6x 49.3x 33.9x
P/FCF 29.6x 43.7x 38.5x
P/Operating cash flow 24.4x 37.2x 30.3x
P/S 6.5x 9.1x 6.6x
P/B 3.1x 14.3x 6.6x
P/Tangible book 5.2x 16.8x 7.6x
EV/EBITDA 24.0x 36.0x 26.7x
EV/EBIT 35.9x 47.1x 31.1x
EV/Revenue 7.3x 9.2x 6.9x
EV/FCF 33.7x 44.6x 40.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.8x 37.9x 31.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.24 1.64 3.45

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDHRILMNA
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.6% 4.9% 8.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -0.5% -1.0% 1.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.6% 4.6% 11.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -0.9% 2.9% 3.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.1% -31.8% 13.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -7.1% 28.3% 5.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.3% -34.4% 18.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -14.3% 30.0% 8.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 19.2% -32.7% 18.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -12.5% 30.1% 9.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.6% -5.1% 7.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.6% 38.1% -1.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 12.4% -9.7% 16.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.0% 105.0% -3.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDHRILMNA
Gross margin 58.5% 66.4% 53.8%
EBITDA margin 30.5% 25.7% 25.9%
Operating margin 20.4% 19.6% 22.2%
Pretax margin 19.0% 22.6% 22.5%
Net margin 15.9% 18.4% 19.5%
FCF margin 21.8% 20.7% 17.2%
Operating cash flow margin 26.4% 24.4% 21.8%
Return on equity 7.6% 29.9% 19.9%
Return on assets 4.5% 12.5% 10.7%
Return on invested capital 5.7% 15.1% 13.1%
Return on capital employed 6.4% 17.5% 14.6%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.7x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.3x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% 5.9% 1.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDHRILMNA
Debt / assets 28.8% 29.9% 28.3%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.7x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 0.7x 1.1x
Debt / FCF 4.9x 2.1x 3.1x
Liabilities / assets 43.1% 57.3% 47.3%
Equity / assets 56.9% 42.7% 52.7%
Interest coverage 17.6x 8.9x 15.5x
Current ratio 1.7x 1.8x 2.1x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.2x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.7x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 3.70 7.73 5.75

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDHRILMNA
Dividend yield 0.7% – 0.6%
Net buyback yield 1.8% 1.2% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 2.5% 1.2% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 19.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 22.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 2.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 3.1%

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.

ConsensusDHRILMNA
Forward P/E 25.5xFY2026 53.9xFY2026 26.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.03FY2026 $5.00FY2026 $6.54FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.8%FY2026 +3.3%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +8.9% +25.4% +0.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $27.12BFY2026 $4.52BFY2026 $7.87BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.4%FY2026 +4.1%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.6% +12.0% -5.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDHRILMNA
Held by institutions 81.9% 100.0% 92.6%
Institutions holding 2,115 933 1,122
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.1% +0.0% +3.2%
Institutions buying 837 463 599
Institutions selling 1,015 330 350
Buyers to sellers 0.82 1.40 1.71

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.

DHRILMNA
DHR 1.00 0.34 0.60
ILMN 0.34 1.00 0.48
A 0.60 0.48 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DHR, ILMN and A?

Danaher (DHR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Danaher (DHR) $164.19B, Illumina (ILMN) $40.91B, Agilent Technologies (A) $49.59B.

Which stock is cheaper, DHR, ILMN and A?

Agilent Technologies (A) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Danaher (DHR) 41.0x, Illumina (ILMN) 49.6x, Agilent Technologies (A) 34.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Danaher (DHR) is cheapest (Danaher (DHR) 25.5x, Illumina (ILMN) 53.9x, Agilent Technologies (A) 26.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Agilent Technologies (A) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Danaher (DHR) +4.6%, Illumina (ILMN) +4.9%, Agilent Technologies (A) +8.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Agilent Technologies (A) has the highest net margin (Danaher (DHR) 15.9%, Illumina (ILMN) 18.4%, Agilent Technologies (A) 19.5%). On return on invested capital, Illumina (ILMN) leads (Danaher (DHR) 5.7%, Illumina (ILMN) 15.1%, Agilent Technologies (A) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Illumina (ILMN) returned the most: Danaher (DHR) +3.5%, Illumina (ILMN) +169.5%, Agilent Technologies (A) +17.4%. Over five years, Agilent Technologies (A) compounded fastest (Danaher (DHR) -6.0%/yr, Illumina (ILMN) -7.5%/yr, Agilent Technologies (A) +1.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Danaher (DHR) 0.00%, Illumina (ILMN) 0.00%, Agilent Technologies (A) 0.01%. Danaher (DHR) and Illumina (ILMN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Danaher (DHR) has been the steadiest (Danaher (DHR) 30.6%, Illumina (ILMN) 50.3%, Agilent Technologies (A) 32.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DHR, ILMN and A?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Agilent Technologies (A) 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.