EW vs BSX vs ALC Stock Comparison

Edwards Lifesciences, Boston Scientific and Alcon Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
EW Edwards Lifesciences Corp
$90.81 +5.2% 1M +12.4% 1Y
Market cap
$52.36B
P/E
52.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.51B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
5 wins
BSX Boston Scientific Corp
$45.08 +2.6% 1M -56.0% 1Y
Market cap
$65.33B
P/E
18.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$21.00B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
6 wins
ALC Alcon Inc
$69.42 +7.7% 1M -8.8% 1Y
Market cap
$33.84B
P/E
53.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.80B
Div. yield
0.40%
Medical Devices Healthcare

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Boston Scientific leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Boston Scientific 6, Edwards Lifesciences 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionEWBSXALCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $52.36B $65.33B $33.84B BSX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 52.1x 18.0x 53.2x BSX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.1x 14.4x 21.6x BSX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.6% +13.5% +8.5% EW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.4% 17.5% 6.0% BSX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.0% 10.5% 3.6% BSX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.3x 2.2x — EW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 0.40% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.4% -56.0% -8.8% EW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.9%/yr +0.8%/yr -3.5%/yr BSX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.7% 39.9% 28.6% EW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 78/100 69/100 68/100 EW

Percentile Scorecard

EWBSXALC

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

AxisEWBSXALC
Valuation 64 #83 of 227 89 #26 of 227 79 #48 of 227
Growth 55 #100 of 219 86 #32 of 219 48 #114 of 219
Profitability 95 #12 of 206 91 #19 of 206 76 #50 of 206
Financial Health 87 #31 of 238 42 #138 of 238 60 #96 of 238
Shareholder Returns 88 #17 of 134 39 #82 of 134 74 #35 of 134
Overall 78 69 68
  • EW ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • BSX ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ALC 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

PeriodEWBSXALCSPY
1 month +5.2%+2.6%+7.7% -0.2%
3 months +8.5%-2.3%+0.4% +3.9%
6 months +10.4%-22.9%-7.9% +8.2%
Year to date +6.5%-52.7%-11.9% +12.9%
1 year +12.4%-56.0%-8.8% +12.3%
3 years +47.2%-9.0%-0.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +13.8%-3.1%-0.3% +23.3%
5 years -22.1%+4.3%-16.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year -4.9%+0.8%-3.5% +10.9%
10 years +195.5%+109.8%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +11.4%+7.7%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureEWBSXALCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.7%39.9%28.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.5%46.9%28.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.580.140.38 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.50-1.40-0.31 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.3%-61.6%-38.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.6%-57.1%-20.4% -1.2%
52-week high $95.17$104.98$87.18 $779.14
52-week low $75.87$41.57$62.02 $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.

MultipleEWBSXALC
P/E now vs peer median 52.1xmedian 29.6x 18.0xmedian 29.6x 53.2xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 8.0xmedian 2.9x 3.1xmedian 2.9x 3.1xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 30.2xmedian 17.4x 13.9xmedian 17.4x —median 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 36.5xmedian 22.3x 18.0xmedian 22.3x 19.4xmedian 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.3x 2.6xmedian 2.3x 1.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -6.07median 1.04 0.29median 1.04 2.54median 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 monthsEWBSXALC
Revenue $6.51B $21.00B $10.80B
Gross profit $5.07B $14.68B $6.17B
Operating income $1.45B $4.15B $948.00M
Net income $1.00B $3.67B $643.00M
Free cash flow $1.43B $3.63B $1.74B
R&D $1.09B $2.15B $1.43B
EPS (diluted) $1.74 $2.49 $1.30
Cash & equivalents $2.91B $539.00M $1.36B
Total debt $598.70M $12.62B $4.72B
Shares (diluted) 577.60M 1.47B 496.20M
Enterprise value $36.48B $60.34B $24.80B

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
MetricEWBSXALC
P/E 52.1x 18.0x 53.2x
P/FCF 36.5x 18.0x 19.4x
P/Operating cash flow 30.4x 14.4x 14.6x
P/S 8.0x 3.1x 3.1x
P/B 4.9x 2.6x 1.6x
P/Tangible book 5.6x 3.6x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 30.2x 13.9x –
EV/EBIT 33.6x 18.6x 38.4x
EV/Revenue 7.5x 3.7x 3.4x
EV/FCF 34.0x 21.4x 20.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 28.3x 17.1x 15.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.07 0.29 2.54

Growth

14 metrics
MetricEWBSXALC
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.6% 13.5% 8.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.3% 16.1% 5.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.0% 16.3% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.9% 16.4% 7.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -1.4% 31.9% -34.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 31.5% 7.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -75.8% 46.9% -40.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -10.2% 59.0% 21.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -75.3% 48.6% -40.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -8.6% 61.5% 21.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 116.4% 5.7% 10.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.3% 28.7% 25.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 143.9% 4.0% 7.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.9% 33.9% 48.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricEWBSXALC
Gross margin 77.8% 69.9% 57.2%
EBITDA margin 24.8% 26.5% –
Operating margin 22.3% 19.8% 8.8%
Pretax margin 21.8% 18.4% 6.9%
Net margin 15.4% 17.5% 6.0%
FCF margin 22.0% 17.3% 16.1%
Operating cash flow margin 26.4% 21.6% 21.4%
Return on equity 9.5% 14.3% 2.9%
Return on assets 7.4% 8.2% 2.1%
Return on invested capital 9.0% 10.5% 3.6%
Return on capital employed 12.0% 10.8% 3.4%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.2x 3.6x
Stock comp / revenue 2.6% 1.5% 1.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricEWBSXALC
Debt / assets 4.3% 27.9% 15.2%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.5x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.3x 2.2x –
Debt / FCF 0.4x 3.5x 2.7x
Liabilities / assets 22.7% 44.3% 30.6%
Equity / assets 77.3% 55.7% 69.4%
Interest coverage – 11.4x 9.2x
Current ratio 4.5x 1.2x 2.1x
Quick ratio 3.5x 0.6x 1.3x
Cash ratio 2.8x 0.1x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 12.77 3.01 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricEWBSXALC
Dividend yield – – 0.4%
Net buyback yield 1.9% -0.3% 2.7%
Shareholder yield 1.9% -0.3% 3.1%
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.

ConsensusEWBSXALC
Forward P/E 32.1xFY2026 14.4xFY2026 21.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.83FY2026 $3.12FY2026 $3.22FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 +2.0%FY2026 +7.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.7% +14.7% +15.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.24BFY2026 $20.67BFY2026 $10.50BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.2%FY2026 +3.0%FY2026 +4.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.6% +1.6% +8.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersEWBSXALC
Held by institutions 90.6% 90.5% 48.8%
Institutions holding 1,323 1,481 629
Change in shares held, QoQ +20.4% -0.7% +5.3%
Institutions buying 641 738 225
Institutions selling 453 610 274
Buyers to sellers 1.42 1.21 0.82

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.

EWBSXALC
EW 1.00 0.28 0.33
BSX 0.28 1.00 0.29
ALC 0.33 0.29 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, EW, BSX and ALC?

Boston Scientific (BSX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Edwards Lifesciences (EW) $52.36B, Boston Scientific (BSX) $65.33B, Alcon (ALC) $33.84B.

Which stock is cheaper, EW, BSX and ALC?

Boston Scientific (BSX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 52.1x, Boston Scientific (BSX) 18.0x, Alcon (ALC) 53.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Boston Scientific (BSX) is cheapest (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 32.1x, Boston Scientific (BSX) 14.4x, Alcon (ALC) 21.6x). 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%, Boston Scientific (BSX) +13.5%, Alcon (ALC) +8.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Boston Scientific (BSX) has the highest net margin (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 15.4%, Boston Scientific (BSX) 17.5%, Alcon (ALC) 6.0%). On return on invested capital, Boston Scientific (BSX) leads (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 9.0%, Boston Scientific (BSX) 10.5%, Alcon (ALC) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Edwards Lifesciences (EW) returned the most: Edwards Lifesciences (EW) +12.4%, Boston Scientific (BSX) -56.0%, Alcon (ALC) -8.8%. Over five years, Boston Scientific (BSX) compounded fastest (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) -4.9%/yr, Boston Scientific (BSX) +0.8%/yr, Alcon (ALC) -3.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Alcon (ALC) 0.40%. Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and Boston Scientific (BSX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Edwards Lifesciences (EW) has been the steadiest (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 24.7%, Boston Scientific (BSX) 39.9%, Alcon (ALC) 28.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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