EW vs ALC vs MDT Stock Comparison

Edwards Lifesciences, Alcon and Medtronic Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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EW Edwards Lifesciences Corp
$94.40 +7.1% 1M +14.2% 1Y
Market cap
$53.21B
P/E
53.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.51B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
6 wins
ALC Alcon Inc
$71.18 +8.8% 1M -3.3% 1Y
Market cap
$35.24B
P/E
54.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.80B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
1 win
MDT Medtronic plc
$97.10 +11.5% 1M +5.9% 1Y
Market cap
$123.68B
P/E
23.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$37.54B
Div. yield
0.03%
Medical Devices Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Edwards Lifesciences leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Edwards Lifesciences 6, Medtronic 4, Alcon 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionEWALCMDTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $53.21B $35.24B $123.68B MDT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 53.0x 54.8x 23.6x MDT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 33.4x 22.1x 17.4x MDT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.6% +8.5% +9.8% EW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.4% 6.0% 13.9% EW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.0% 3.6% 6.9% EW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.3x — 2.0x EW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.03% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +14.2% -3.3% +5.9% EW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.7%/yr -3.1%/yr -4.1%/yr ALC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.8% 28.6% 24.8% MDT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 77/100 68/100 66/100 EW

Percentile Scorecard

EWALCMDT

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

AxisEWALCMDT
Valuation 64 #83 of 227 79 #48 of 227 83 #40 of 227
Growth 54 #101 of 218 48 #113 of 218 52 #105 of 218
Profitability 95 #11 of 202 78 #46 of 202 89 #24 of 202
Financial Health 87 #31 of 233 60 #95 of 233 50 #118 of 233
Shareholder Returns 87 #18 of 130 76 #32 of 130 58 #55 of 130
Overall 77 68 66
  • EW ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ALC ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • MDT 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

PeriodEWALCMDTSPY
1 month +7.1%+8.8%+11.5% +0.7%
3 months +8.6%+2.3%+13.3% +3.7%
6 months +13.1%-4.9%+19.9% +7.1%
Year to date +10.7%-9.7%+1.1% +12.8%
1 year +14.2%-3.3%+5.9% +11.9%
3 years +51.4%+1.1%+38.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year +14.8%+0.4%+11.5% +22.8%
5 years -21.2%-14.6%-19.0% +67.6%
5 years, per year -4.7%-3.1%-4.1% +10.9%
10 years +194.5%—+18.5% +262.0%
10 years, per year +11.4%—+1.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureEWALCMDTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.8%28.6%24.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.5%28.8%22.0% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.570.380.10 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.57-0.120.24 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.3%-38.4%-43.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.8%-18.4%-7.8% -1.2%
52-week high $95.17$87.18$105.35 $779.14
52-week low $75.87$62.02$73.75 $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.

MultipleEWALCMDT
P/E now vs peer median 54.1xmedian 28.7x 54.6xmedian 28.7x 23.8xmedian 28.7x
P/S now vs peer median 8.4xmedian 3.0x 3.2xmedian 3.0x 3.3xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 31.5xmedian 17.8x —median 17.8x 14.8xmedian 17.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 38.0xmedian 26.4x 19.9xmedian 26.4x 20.3xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 2.4x 1.6xmedian 2.4x 2.4xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -6.31median 0.99 2.60median 0.99 1.64median 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 monthsEWALCMDT
Revenue $6.51B $10.80B $37.54B
Gross profit $5.07B $6.17B $24.41B
Operating income $1.45B $948.00M $6.79B
Net income $1.00B $643.00M $5.27B
Free cash flow $1.43B $1.74B $6.13B
R&D $1.09B $1.43B $2.92B
EPS (diluted) $1.74 $1.30 $4.07
Cash & equivalents $2.91B $1.36B $1.69B
Total debt $598.70M $4.72B $113.29B
Shares (diluted) 577.60M 496.20M 1.29B
Enterprise value $37.22B $26.21B $88.93B

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
MetricEWALCMDT
P/E 54.1x 54.6x 23.8x
P/FCF 38.0x 19.9x 20.3x
P/Operating cash flow 31.6x 15.0x 15.5x
P/S 8.4x 3.2x 3.3x
P/B 5.1x 1.6x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 5.8x 2.6x 3.1x
EV/EBITDA 31.5x – 14.8x
EV/EBIT 35.0x 39.3x 21.2x
EV/Revenue 7.8x 3.5x 3.8x
EV/FCF 35.4x 21.4x 23.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 29.5x 16.1x 17.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.31 2.60 1.64

Growth

14 metrics
MetricEWALCMDT
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.6% 8.5% 9.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.3% 5.9% 6.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.0% 11.7% 9.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.9% 7.3% 5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -1.4% -34.3% 10.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 7.5% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -75.8% -40.1% 12.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -10.2% 21.1% 13.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -75.3% -40.7% 12.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -8.6% 21.0% 14.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 116.4% 10.3% 12.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.3% 25.9% 11.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 143.9% 7.5% 15.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.9% 48.0% 11.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricEWALCMDT
Gross margin 77.8% 57.2% 65.0%
EBITDA margin 24.8% – 25.9%
Operating margin 22.3% 8.8% 18.1%
Pretax margin 21.8% 6.9% 17.6%
Net margin 15.4% 6.0% 13.9%
FCF margin 22.0% 16.1% 16.3%
Operating cash flow margin 26.4% 21.4% 21.4%
Return on equity 9.5% 2.9% 10.4%
Return on assets 7.4% 2.1% 5.7%
Return on invested capital 9.0% 3.6% 6.9%
Return on capital employed 12.0% 3.4% 8.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.3x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 3.6x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 2.6% 1.6% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricEWALCMDT
Debt / assets 4.3% 15.2% 30.2%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.2x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.3x – 2.0x
Debt / FCF 0.4x 2.7x 4.6x
Liabilities / assets 22.7% 30.6% 45.5%
Equity / assets 77.3% 69.4% 54.5%
Interest coverage – 9.2x 9.4x
Current ratio 4.5x 2.1x 2.1x
Quick ratio 3.5x 1.3x 1.3x
Cash ratio 2.8x 0.7x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 13.17 – 3.06

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricEWALCMDT
Dividend yield – 0.4% 2.9%
Net buyback yield 1.9% 2.6% 0.2%
Shareholder yield 1.9% 3.0% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 69.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 59.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 1.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 0.2%

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.

ConsensusEWALCMDT
Forward P/E 33.4xFY2026 22.1xFY2026 17.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.83FY2026 $3.22FY2026 $5.57FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 +7.7%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.7% +15.5% +7.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.24BFY2026 $10.50BFY2026 $39.92BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.2%FY2026 +4.3%FY2026 +9.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.6% +8.1% -4.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersEWALCMDT
Held by institutions 90.6% 48.8% 85.1%
Institutions holding 1,324 630 2,126
Change in shares held, QoQ +20.4% +5.3% -0.2%
Institutions buying 641 226 1,015
Institutions selling 454 274 913
Buyers to sellers 1.41 0.82 1.11

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.

EWALCMDT
EW 1.00 0.33 0.34
ALC 0.33 1.00 0.47
MDT 0.34 0.47 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, EW, ALC and MDT?

Medtronic (MDT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Edwards Lifesciences (EW) $53.21B, Alcon (ALC) $35.24B, Medtronic (MDT) $123.68B.

Which stock is cheaper, EW, ALC and MDT?

Medtronic (MDT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 53.0x, Alcon (ALC) 54.8x, Medtronic (MDT) 23.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Medtronic (MDT) is cheapest (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 33.4x, Alcon (ALC) 22.1x, Medtronic (MDT) 17.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Edwards Lifesciences (EW) +14.6%, Alcon (ALC) +8.5%, Medtronic (MDT) +9.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) has the highest net margin (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 15.4%, Alcon (ALC) 6.0%, Medtronic (MDT) 13.9%). On return on invested capital, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) leads (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 9.0%, Alcon (ALC) 3.6%, Medtronic (MDT) 6.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Edwards Lifesciences (EW) returned the most: Edwards Lifesciences (EW) +14.2%, Alcon (ALC) -3.3%, Medtronic (MDT) +5.9%. Over five years, Alcon (ALC) compounded fastest (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) -4.7%/yr, Alcon (ALC) -3.1%/yr, Medtronic (MDT) -4.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 0.00%, Alcon (ALC) 0.00%, Medtronic (MDT) 0.03%. Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and Alcon (ALC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Medtronic (MDT) has been the steadiest (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 24.8%, Alcon (ALC) 28.6%, Medtronic (MDT) 24.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, EW, ALC and MDT?

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