ILMN vs A vs QGEN Stock Comparison

Illumina, Agilent Technologies and Qiagen Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
3 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
5 wins
QGEN Qiagen N.V.
$50.38 +15.3% 1M -3.0% 1Y
Market cap
$10.94B
P/E
26.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.10B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Agilent Technologies leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Agilent Technologies 5, Qiagen 3, Illumina 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionILMNAQGENLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $40.91B $49.59B $10.94B A
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 49.6x 34.4x 26.7x QGEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 53.9x 26.5x 21.4x QGEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.9% +8.6% +3.0% A
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 18.4% 19.5% 19.5% A
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.1% 13.1% 7.9% ILMN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 1.1x 1.3x ILMN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +169.5% +17.4% -3.0% ILMN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.5%/yr +1.8%/yr -3.5%/yr A
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 50.3% 32.3% 35.8% A
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 62/100 71/100 QGEN

Percentile Scorecard

ILMNAQGEN

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

AxisILMNAQGEN
Valuation 52 #111 of 228 57 #98 of 228 76 #56 of 228
Growth 43 #126 of 222 36 #143 of 222 29 #158 of 222
Profitability 97 #7 of 210 91 #20 of 210 93 #16 of 210
Financial Health 51 #118 of 241 55 #108 of 241 63 #90 of 241
Shareholder Returns 84 #23 of 138 69 #43 of 138 93 #10 of 138
Overall 65 62 71
  • ILMN ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • A ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • QGEN 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

PeriodILMNAQGENSPY
1 month +5.5%+4.7%+15.3% -1.0%
3 months +38.8%+24.9%+21.7% +2.9%
6 months +110.7%+49.8%+31.2% +6.4%
Year to date +105.4%+27.2%+6.4% +11.4%
1 year +169.5%+17.4%-3.0% +13.1%
3 years +138.6%+63.8%+20.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +33.6%+17.9%+6.5% +21.5%
5 years -32.3%+9.5%-16.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year -7.5%+1.8%-3.5% +10.9%
10 years +95.3%+279.7%+68.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +6.9%+14.3%+5.4% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureILMNAQGENSPY
Volatility, 1Y 50.3%32.3%35.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.1%27.5%30.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.800.860.45 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 3.370.54-0.08 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.9%-39.6%-48.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.3%-2.6%-9.5% -2.5%
52-week high $293.69$177.72$55.66 $779.14
52-week low $95.03$110.24$32.63 $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.

MultipleILMNAQGEN
P/E now vs peer median 49.3xmedian 30.7x 33.9xmedian 30.7x 26.7xmedian 30.7x
P/S now vs peer median 9.1xmedian 3.0x 6.6xmedian 3.0x 5.2xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 36.0xmedian 17.7x 26.7xmedian 17.7x 18.1xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 43.7xmedian 23.7x 38.5xmedian 23.7x 11.0xmedian 23.7x
P/B now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 2.4x 6.6xmedian 2.4x 3.3xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.64median 0.96 3.45median 0.96 3.62median 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 monthsILMNAQGEN
Revenue $4.49B $7.37B $2.10B
Gross profit $2.98B $3.97B $1.31B
Operating income $882.00M $1.64B $445.43M
Net income $825.00M $1.44B $409.32M
Free cash flow $931.00M $1.27B $991.33M
R&D $960.00M $485.00M $194.67M
EPS (diluted) $5.39 $5.09 $1.87
Cash & equivalents $1.04B $1.76B $768.50M
Total debt $6.97B $3.95B $6.86B
Shares (diluted) 153.00M 283.00M 218.88M
Enterprise value $35.68B $42.48B $6.71B

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
MetricILMNAQGEN
P/E 49.3x 33.9x 26.7x
P/FCF 43.7x 38.5x 11.0x
P/Operating cash flow 37.2x 30.3x 16.7x
P/S 9.1x 6.6x 5.2x
P/B 14.3x 6.6x 3.3x
P/Tangible book 16.8x 7.6x 3.6x
EV/EBITDA 36.0x 26.7x 18.1x
EV/EBIT 47.1x 31.1x 26.4x
EV/Revenue 9.2x 6.9x 5.6x
EV/FCF 44.6x 40.2x 11.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 37.9x 31.7x 18.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.64 3.45 3.62

Growth

14 metrics
MetricILMNAQGEN
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.9% 8.6% 3.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.0% 1.8% 2.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.6% 11.2% 1.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 3.7% 1.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -31.8% 13.5% -4.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 28.3% 5.1% 3.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -34.4% 18.0% 143.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 30.0% 8.3% 6.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -32.7% 18.9% 12.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 30.1% 9.8% 7.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -5.1% 7.6% -3.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 38.1% -1.9% 8.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -9.7% 16.5% 2.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 105.0% -3.7% 10.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricILMNAQGEN
Gross margin 66.4% 53.8% 62.2%
EBITDA margin 25.7% 25.9% 31.0%
Operating margin 19.6% 22.2% 21.2%
Pretax margin 22.6% 22.5% 22.0%
Net margin 18.4% 19.5% 19.5%
FCF margin 20.7% 17.2% 47.2%
Operating cash flow margin 24.4% 21.8% 31.2%
Return on equity 29.9% 19.9% 12.2%
Return on assets 12.5% 10.7% 7.0%
Return on invested capital 15.1% 13.1% 7.9%
Return on capital employed 17.5% 14.6% 8.5%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.5x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.1x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 5.9% 1.8% 2.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricILMNAQGEN
Debt / assets 29.9% 28.3% 27.9%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.5x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 1.1x 1.3x
Debt / FCF 2.1x 3.1x 1.7x
Liabilities / assets 57.3% 47.3% 43.0%
Equity / assets 42.7% 52.7% 57.0%
Interest coverage 8.9x 15.5x 11.3x
Current ratio 1.8x 2.1x 2.8x
Quick ratio 1.2x 1.4x 2.0x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.8x 1.4x
Altman Z-score 7.73 5.75 4.08

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricILMNAQGEN
Dividend yield – 0.6% 5.2%
Net buyback yield 1.2% 0.6% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 1.2% 1.2% 5.8%
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.

ConsensusILMNAQGEN
Forward P/E 53.9xFY2026 26.5xFY2026 21.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.00FY2026 $6.54FY2026 $2.35FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.3%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026 -1.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +25.4% +0.6% +17.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.52BFY2026 $7.87BFY2026 $2.25BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.1%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.0% -5.6% -2.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersILMNAQGEN
Held by institutions 100.0% 92.6% 67.3%
Institutions holding 933 1,122 337
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.0% +3.2% +16.5%
Institutions buying 463 599 215
Institutions selling 330 350 86
Buyers to sellers 1.40 1.71 2.50

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.

ILMNAQGEN
ILMN 1.00 0.48 0.39
A 0.48 1.00 0.38
QGEN 0.39 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ILMN, A and QGEN?

Agilent Technologies (A) is the largest by market capitalisation: Illumina (ILMN) $40.91B, Agilent Technologies (A) $49.59B, Qiagen (QGEN) $10.94B.

Which stock is cheaper, ILMN, A and QGEN?

Qiagen (QGEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Illumina (ILMN) 49.6x, Agilent Technologies (A) 34.4x, Qiagen (QGEN) 26.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Qiagen (QGEN) is cheapest (Illumina (ILMN) 53.9x, Agilent Technologies (A) 26.5x, Qiagen (QGEN) 21.4x). 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: Illumina (ILMN) +4.9%, Agilent Technologies (A) +8.6%, Qiagen (QGEN) +3.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Agilent Technologies (A) has the highest net margin (Illumina (ILMN) 18.4%, Agilent Technologies (A) 19.5%, Qiagen (QGEN) 19.5%). On return on invested capital, Illumina (ILMN) leads (Illumina (ILMN) 15.1%, Agilent Technologies (A) 13.1%, Qiagen (QGEN) 7.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Illumina (ILMN) returned the most: Illumina (ILMN) +169.5%, Agilent Technologies (A) +17.4%, Qiagen (QGEN) -3.0%. Over five years, Agilent Technologies (A) compounded fastest (Illumina (ILMN) -7.5%/yr, Agilent Technologies (A) +1.8%/yr, Qiagen (QGEN) -3.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Agilent Technologies (A) has been the steadiest (Illumina (ILMN) 50.3%, Agilent Technologies (A) 32.3%, Qiagen (QGEN) 35.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.