DHR vs QGEN vs ILMN Stock Comparison

Danaher, Qiagen and Illumina Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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DHR Danaher Corp /De/
$234.09 +2.9% 1M +7.9% 1Y
Market cap
$167.09B
P/E
41.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.11B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
2 wins
QGEN Qiagen N.V.
$50.33 +11.8% 1M -0.3% 1Y
Market cap
$10.95B
P/E
26.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.10B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
5 wins
ILMN Illumina, Inc.
$288.79 +6.2% 1M +195.3% 1Y
Market cap
$43.51B
P/E
52.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.49B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Qiagen leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Qiagen 5, Illumina 4, Danaher 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDHRQGENILMNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $167.09B $10.95B $43.51B DHR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.7x 26.7x 52.7x QGEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.7x 21.4x 57.9x QGEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.6% +3.0% +4.9% ILMN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.9% 19.5% 18.4% QGEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.7% 7.9% 15.1% ILMN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 1.3x 0.7x ILMN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +7.9% -0.3% +195.3% ILMN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.6%/yr -4.2%/yr -6.5%/yr QGEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.6% 35.7% 50.4% DHR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 71/100 65/100 QGEN

Percentile Scorecard

DHRQGENILMN

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

AxisDHRQGENILMN
Valuation 69 #72 of 227 76 #55 of 227 50 #115 of 227
Growth 22 #172 of 219 30 #153 of 219 46 #119 of 219
Profitability 88 #26 of 205 93 #16 of 205 97 #8 of 205
Financial Health 46 #129 of 237 63 #88 of 237 51 #116 of 237
Shareholder Returns 75 #34 of 135 94 #9 of 135 83 #24 of 135
Overall 60 71 65
  • DHR ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • QGEN ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ILMN 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

PeriodDHRQGENILMNSPY
1 month +2.9%+11.8%+6.2% +0.9%
3 months +19.1%+20.3%+48.2% +5.9%
6 months +30.9%+49.7%+139.9% +8.5%
Year to date +2.3%+6.3%+120.2% +13.3%
1 year +7.9%-0.3%+195.3% +12.4%
3 years +24.6%+24.9%+171.8% +88.1%
3 years, per year +7.6%+7.7%+39.6% +23.5%
5 years -24.9%-19.1%-28.5% +68.2%
5 years, per year -5.6%-4.2%-6.5% +11.0%
10 years +199.4%+75.6%+114.2% +263.4%
10 years, per year +11.6%+5.8%+7.9% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureDHRQGENILMNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.6%35.7%50.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.7%30.5%39.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.450.470.83 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.26-0.013.88 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.8%-48.2%-82.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.3%-9.6%-1.7% -0.9%
52-week high $242.05$55.66$293.69 $779.14
52-week low $161.91$32.63$95.03 $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.

MultipleDHRQGENILMN
P/E now vs peer median 41.2xmedian 28.8x 26.7xmedian 28.8x 52.9xmedian 28.8x
P/S now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 3.0x 5.2xmedian 3.0x 9.7xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.4xmedian 17.4x 18.1xmedian 17.4x 38.5xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 30.1xmedian 25.7x 11.0xmedian 25.7x 46.8xmedian 25.7x
P/B now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.4x 3.3xmedian 2.4x 15.4xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -3.29median 1.03 3.61median 1.03 1.75median 1.03

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 monthsDHRQGENILMN
Revenue $25.11B $2.10B $4.49B
Gross profit $14.69B $1.31B $2.98B
Operating income $5.13B $445.43M $882.00M
Net income $4.00B $409.32M $825.00M
Free cash flow $5.47B $991.33M $931.00M
R&D $1.62B $194.67M $960.00M
EPS (diluted) $5.66 $1.87 $5.39
Cash & equivalents $4.35B $768.50M $1.04B
Total debt $26.56B $6.86B $1.99B
Shares (diluted) 707.60M 218.88M 153.00M
Enterprise value $150.90B $6.72B $38.28B

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
MetricDHRQGENILMN
P/E 41.2x 26.7x 52.9x
P/FCF 30.1x 11.0x 46.8x
P/Operating cash flow 24.8x 16.7x 39.8x
P/S 6.6x 5.2x 9.7x
P/B 3.1x 3.3x 15.4x
P/Tangible book 5.3x 3.6x 18.0x
EV/EBITDA 24.4x 18.1x 38.5x
EV/EBIT 36.4x 26.4x 50.4x
EV/Revenue 7.4x 5.6x 9.9x
EV/FCF 34.2x 11.9x 47.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 28.1x 18.0x 40.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.29 3.61 1.75

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDHRQGENILMN
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.6% 3.0% 4.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -0.5% 2.0% -1.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.6% 1.7% 4.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -0.9% 1.3% 2.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.1% -4.9% -31.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -7.1% 3.3% 28.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.3% 143.9% -34.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -14.3% 6.7% 30.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 19.2% 12.5% -32.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -12.5% 7.4% 30.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.6% -3.0% -5.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.6% 8.0% 38.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 12.4% 2.3% -9.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.0% 10.5% 105.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDHRQGENILMN
Gross margin 58.5% 62.2% 66.4%
EBITDA margin 30.5% 31.0% 25.7%
Operating margin 20.4% 21.2% 19.6%
Pretax margin 19.0% 22.0% 22.6%
Net margin 15.9% 19.5% 18.4%
FCF margin 21.8% 47.2% 20.7%
Operating cash flow margin 26.4% 31.2% 24.4%
Return on equity 7.6% 12.2% 29.9%
Return on assets 4.5% 7.0% 12.5%
Return on invested capital 5.7% 7.9% 15.1%
Return on capital employed 6.4% 8.5% 17.5%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.4x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.6x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% 2.1% 5.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDHRQGENILMN
Debt / assets 28.8% 27.9% 29.9%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.5x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 1.3x 0.7x
Debt / FCF 4.9x 1.7x 2.1x
Liabilities / assets 43.1% 43.0% 57.3%
Equity / assets 56.9% 57.0% 42.7%
Interest coverage 17.6x 11.3x 8.9x
Current ratio 1.7x 2.8x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.0x 2.0x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.5x 1.4x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 3.74 4.08 8.19

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDHRQGENILMN
Dividend yield 0.6% 5.2% –
Net buyback yield 1.8% 0.6% 1.2%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 5.8% 1.2%
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.

ConsensusDHRQGENILMN
Forward P/E 25.7xFY2026 21.4xFY2026 57.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.11FY2026 $2.35FY2026 $4.99FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.8%FY2026 -1.3%FY2026 +3.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +8.0% +17.4% +25.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $27.01BFY2026 $2.25BFY2026 $4.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.9%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026 +4.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.9% -2.8% +12.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDHRQGENILMN
Held by institutions 81.9% 0.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 2,117 1 933
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.1% – +0.0%
Institutions buying 839 0 463
Institutions selling 1,015 0 330
Buyers to sellers 0.83 – 1.40

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.

DHRQGENILMN
DHR 1.00 0.38 0.33
QGEN 0.38 1.00 0.39
ILMN 0.33 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DHR, QGEN and ILMN?

Danaher (DHR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Danaher (DHR) $167.09B, Qiagen (QGEN) $10.95B, Illumina (ILMN) $43.51B.

Which stock is cheaper, DHR, QGEN and ILMN?

Qiagen (QGEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Danaher (DHR) 41.7x, Qiagen (QGEN) 26.7x, Illumina (ILMN) 52.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Qiagen (QGEN) is cheapest (Danaher (DHR) 25.7x, Qiagen (QGEN) 21.4x, Illumina (ILMN) 57.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Illumina (ILMN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Danaher (DHR) +4.6%, Qiagen (QGEN) +3.0%, Illumina (ILMN) +4.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Qiagen (QGEN) has the highest net margin (Danaher (DHR) 15.9%, Qiagen (QGEN) 19.5%, Illumina (ILMN) 18.4%). On return on invested capital, Illumina (ILMN) leads (Danaher (DHR) 5.7%, Qiagen (QGEN) 7.9%, Illumina (ILMN) 15.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Illumina (ILMN) returned the most: Danaher (DHR) +7.9%, Qiagen (QGEN) -0.3%, Illumina (ILMN) +195.3%. Over five years, Qiagen (QGEN) compounded fastest (Danaher (DHR) -5.6%/yr, Qiagen (QGEN) -4.2%/yr, Illumina (ILMN) -6.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Danaher (DHR) has been the steadiest (Danaher (DHR) 30.6%, Qiagen (QGEN) 35.7%, Illumina (ILMN) 50.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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