EW vs STE vs SYK Stock Comparison

Edwards Lifesciences, Steris and Stryker Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
EW Edwards Lifesciences Corp
$90.81 +5.2% 1M +12.4% 1Y
Market cap
$52.76B
P/E
52.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.51B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
6 wins
STE STERIS plc
$228.50 +9.4% 1M -5.2% 1Y
Market cap
$22.40B
P/E
27.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.04B
Div. yield
0.01%
Medical Devices Healthcare
1 win
SYK Stryker Corp
$301.50 +10.7% 1M -21.4% 1Y
Market cap
$116.78B
P/E
31.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.84B
Div. yield
–
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, Stryker 4, Steris 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionEWSTESYKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $52.76B $22.40B $116.78B SYK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 52.5x 27.8x 31.3x STE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.1x 19.8x 19.0x SYK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.6% +8.4% +8.5% EW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.4% 13.3% 14.4% EW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.0% 9.3% 10.5% SYK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.3x 0.9x 1.7x EW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.4% -5.2% -21.4% EW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.9%/yr -0.4%/yr +2.4%/yr SYK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.7% 26.2% 30.6% EW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 78/100 75/100 69/100 EW

Percentile Scorecard

EWSTESYK

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

AxisEWSTESYK
Valuation 64 #83 of 227 83 #39 of 227 66 #77 of 227
Growth 55 #100 of 219 72 #63 of 219 66 #75 of 219
Profitability 95 #12 of 206 87 #28 of 206 89 #23 of 206
Financial Health 87 #31 of 238 62 #91 of 238 49 #123 of 238
Shareholder Returns 88 #17 of 134 73 #37 of 134 77 #32 of 134
Overall 78 75 69
  • EW ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • STE ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • SYK 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

PeriodEWSTESYKSPY
1 month +5.2%+9.4%+10.7% -0.2%
3 months +8.5%-0.8%-13.0% +3.9%
6 months +10.4%+4.0%-6.2% +8.2%
Year to date +6.5%-9.9%-14.2% +12.9%
1 year +12.4%-5.2%-21.4% +12.3%
3 years +47.2%+9.1%+15.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year +13.8%+3.0%+4.8% +23.3%
5 years -22.1%-1.9%+12.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year -4.9%-0.4%+2.4% +10.9%
10 years +195.5%+241.5%+174.8% +261.1%
10 years, per year +11.4%+13.1%+10.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureEWSTESYKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.7%26.2%30.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.5%25.6%31.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.580.400.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.50-0.20-0.70 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.3%-36.5%-33.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.6%-14.9%-22.2% -1.2%
52-week high $95.17$268.65$387.46 $779.14
52-week low $75.87$199.40$269.88 $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.

MultipleEWSTESYK
P/E now vs peer median 52.1xmedian 29.6x 27.7xmedian 29.6x 31.0xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 8.0xmedian 2.9x 3.7xmedian 2.9x 4.5xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 30.2xmedian 17.4x 14.5xmedian 17.4x 18.8xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 36.5xmedian 22.3x 24.1xmedian 22.3x 24.6xmedian 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.3x 3.1xmedian 2.3x 4.8xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -6.07median 1.04 0.31median 1.04 2.81median 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 monthsEWSTESYK
Revenue $6.51B $6.04B $25.84B
Gross profit $5.07B $2.68B $16.79B
Operating income $1.45B $1.14B $5.53B
Net income $1.00B $808.10M $3.73B
Free cash flow $1.43B $925.60M $4.70B
R&D $1.09B $115.10M $1.66B
EPS (diluted) $1.74 $8.22 $9.66
Cash & equivalents $2.91B $482.30M $3.39B
Total debt $598.70M $1.89B $14.94B
Shares (diluted) 577.60M 97.90M 386.00M
Enterprise value $36.77B $20.73B $102.89B

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
MetricEWSTESYK
P/E 52.1x 27.7x 31.0x
P/FCF 36.5x 24.1x 24.6x
P/Operating cash flow 30.4x 17.3x 20.9x
P/S 8.0x 3.7x 4.5x
P/B 4.9x 3.1x 4.8x
P/Tangible book 5.6x 3.9x 6.3x
EV/EBITDA 30.2x 14.5x 18.8x
EV/EBIT 33.6x 20.8x 23.0x
EV/Revenue 7.5x 3.9x 4.9x
EV/FCF 34.0x 25.6x 27.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 28.3x 18.4x 23.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.07 0.31 2.81

Growth

14 metrics
MetricEWSTESYK
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.6% 8.4% 8.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.3% 9.0% 9.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.0% 9.1% 9.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.9% 9.6% 11.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -1.4% 23.1% 53.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 11.2% 18.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -75.8% 24.6% 27.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -10.2% 89.1% 11.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -75.3% 25.7% 27.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -8.6% 89.8% 11.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 116.4% 1.9% 15.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.3% 16.9% 22.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 143.9% 1.8% 16.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.9% 23.3% 24.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricEWSTESYK
Gross margin 77.8% 44.4% 65.0%
EBITDA margin 24.8% 27.0% 26.1%
Operating margin 22.3% 18.9% 21.4%
Pretax margin 21.8% 18.0% 19.9%
Net margin 15.4% 13.3% 14.4%
FCF margin 22.0% 15.3% 18.2%
Operating cash flow margin 26.4% 21.3% 21.4%
Return on equity 9.5% 11.2% -3.9%
Return on assets 7.4% 7.5% -1.9%
Return on invested capital 9.0% 9.3% 10.5%
Return on capital employed 12.0% 12.1% 13.7%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.6x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 2.6% 1.0% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricEWSTESYK
Debt / assets 4.3% 17.6% 31.2%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.3x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.3x 0.9x 1.7x
Debt / FCF 0.4x 2.0x 3.2x
Liabilities / assets 22.7% 32.7% 50.0%
Equity / assets 77.3% 67.3% 50.0%
Interest coverage – 18.8x 9.5x
Current ratio 4.5x 1.9x 2.2x
Quick ratio 3.5x 1.2x 1.1x
Cash ratio 2.8x 0.4x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 12.77 5.26 4.65

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricEWSTESYK
Dividend yield – 1.1% 1.2%
Net buyback yield 1.9% 1.5% –
Shareholder yield 1.9% 2.7% 1.2%
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.

ConsensusEWSTESYK
Forward P/E 32.1xFY2026 19.8xFY2026 19.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.83FY2026 $11.56FY2026 $15.91FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026 +16.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.7% +13.2% +2.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.24BFY2026 $6.62BFY2026 $26.14BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.2%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026 +4.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.6% -0.3% +18.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersEWSTESYK
Held by institutions 90.6% 97.1% 80.3%
Institutions holding 1,323 829 2,264
Change in shares held, QoQ +20.4% +1.1% +3.2%
Institutions buying 641 405 1,102
Institutions selling 453 300 852
Buyers to sellers 1.42 1.35 1.29

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.

EWSTESYK
EW 1.00 0.34 0.42
STE 0.34 1.00 0.54
SYK 0.42 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, EW, STE and SYK?

Stryker (SYK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Edwards Lifesciences (EW) $52.76B, Steris (STE) $22.40B, Stryker (SYK) $116.78B.

Which stock is cheaper, EW, STE and SYK?

Steris (STE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 52.5x, Steris (STE) 27.8x, Stryker (SYK) 31.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Stryker (SYK) is cheapest (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 32.1x, Steris (STE) 19.8x, Stryker (SYK) 19.0x). 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%, Steris (STE) +8.4%, Stryker (SYK) +8.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) has the highest net margin (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 15.4%, Steris (STE) 13.3%, Stryker (SYK) 14.4%). On return on invested capital, Stryker (SYK) leads (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) 9.0%, Steris (STE) 9.3%, Stryker (SYK) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Edwards Lifesciences (EW) returned the most: Edwards Lifesciences (EW) +12.4%, Steris (STE) -5.2%, Stryker (SYK) -21.4%. Over five years, Stryker (SYK) compounded fastest (Edwards Lifesciences (EW) -4.9%/yr, Steris (STE) -0.4%/yr, Stryker (SYK) +2.4%/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%, Steris (STE) 0.01%, Stryker (SYK) 0.00%. Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and Stryker (SYK) 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%, Steris (STE) 26.2%, Stryker (SYK) 30.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, EW, STE and SYK?

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.