ILMN vs QGEN vs A Stock Comparison

Illumina, Qiagen and Agilent Technologies Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ILMN Illumina, Inc.
$226.58 -17.0% 1M +83.4% 1Y
Market cap
$34.21B
P/E
38.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.54B
Div. yield
–
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
5 wins
QGEN Qiagen N.V.
$50.33 +12.5% 1M +2.1% 1Y
Market cap
$10.92B
P/E
26.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.10B
Div. yield
5.25%
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
3 wins
A Agilent Technologies, Inc.
$172.02 +2.6% 1M +17.5% 1Y
Market cap
$48.50B
P/E
33.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.37B
Div. yield
0.60%
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Illumina leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Illumina 5, Agilent Technologies 4, Qiagen 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionILMNQGENALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $34.21B $10.92B $48.50B A
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 38.2x 26.7x 33.7x QGEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 45.4x 21.4x 26.3x QGEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.8% +3.0% +8.6% A
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.7% 19.5% 19.5% ILMN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.6% 7.9% 13.1% ILMN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.4x 1.3x 1.1x ILMN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 5.25% 0.60% QGEN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +83.4% +2.1% +17.5% ILMN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -11.1%/yr -4.0%/yr +1.7%/yr A
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 49.9% 35.6% 32.6% A
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 75/100 71/100 62/100 ILMN

Percentile Scorecard

ILMNQGENA

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

AxisILMNQGENA
Valuation 59 #94 of 227 74 #60 of 227 57 #98 of 227
Growth 73 #60 of 220 29 #156 of 220 36 #141 of 220
Profitability 99 #4 of 209 92 #17 of 209 91 #19 of 209
Financial Health 60 #96 of 240 63 #89 of 240 56 #107 of 240
Shareholder Returns 82 #26 of 138 94 #9 of 138 68 #45 of 138
Overall 75 71 62
  • ILMN ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • QGEN ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • A 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

PeriodILMNQGENASPY
1 month -17.0%+12.5%+2.6% -2.3%
3 months +14.3%+18.9%+23.0% -0.7%
6 months +62.6%+48.2%+53.3% +4.8%
Year to date +72.8%+6.3%+26.4% +10.3%
1 year +83.4%+2.1%+17.5% +10.3%
3 years +99.2%+15.0%+57.8% +73.0%
3 years, per year +25.8%+4.8%+16.4% +20.1%
5 years -44.5%-18.5%+8.7% +61.9%
5 years, per year -11.1%-4.0%+1.7% +10.1%
10 years +71.7%+81.4%+297.6% +258.6%
10 years, per year +5.6%+6.1%+14.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureILMNQGENASPY
Volatility, 1Y 49.9%35.6%32.6% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 49.1%30.3%27.9% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.060.450.91 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.670.060.54 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.9%-48.2%-39.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.9%-9.6%-5.2% -3.5%
52-week high $293.69$55.66$181.54 $779.14
52-week low $114.44$32.63$110.24 $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.

MultipleILMNQGENA
P/E now vs peer median 38.2xmedian 28.4x 26.7xmedian 28.4x 33.7xmedian 28.4x
P/S now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 3.0x 5.2xmedian 3.0x 6.6xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 28.0xmedian 18.0x 18.1xmedian 18.0x 26.5xmedian 18.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.4xmedian 25.0x 11.0xmedian 25.0x 38.3xmedian 25.0x
P/B now vs peer median 10.9xmedian 2.3x 3.3xmedian 2.3x 6.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.93median 0.93 6.54median 0.93 3.43median 0.93

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 monthsILMNQGENA
Revenue $4.54B $2.10B $7.37B
Gross profit $3.08B $1.31B $3.97B
Operating income $960.00M $445.43M $1.64B
Net income $895.00M $409.32M $1.44B
Free cash flow $1.06B $991.33M $1.27B
R&D $975.00M $194.67M $485.00M
EPS (diluted) $5.85 $1.87 $5.09
Cash & equivalents $1.29B $768.50M $1.76B
Total debt $1.79B $1.64B $3.95B
Shares (diluted) 153.00M 218.88M 283.00M
Enterprise value $28.92B $6.69B $41.39B

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
MetricILMNQGENA
P/E 38.2x 26.7x 33.7x
P/FCF 32.4x 11.0x 38.3x
P/Operating cash flow 27.8x 16.7x 30.1x
P/S 7.5x 5.2x 6.6x
P/B 10.9x 3.3x 6.6x
P/Tangible book 12.4x 3.6x 7.5x
EV/EBITDA 28.0x 18.1x 26.5x
EV/EBIT 36.1x 26.4x 30.9x
EV/Revenue 7.6x 5.6x 6.9x
EV/FCF 32.8x 11.9x 40.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 28.2x 18.0x 31.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.93 6.54 3.43

Growth

14 metrics
MetricILMNQGENA
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.8% 3.0% 8.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -0.7% 2.0% 1.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.5% 1.7% 11.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 1.3% 3.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 23.1% -4.9% 13.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 30.0% 3.3% 5.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 27.5% 143.9% 18.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 40.9% 6.7% 8.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 28.3% 6.6% 18.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 41.3% 4.1% 9.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.6% -3.0% 7.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 47.5% 8.0% -1.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 5.7% 2.3% 16.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 126.5% 10.5% -3.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricILMNQGENA
Gross margin 67.9% 62.2% 53.8%
EBITDA margin 27.3% 31.0% 25.9%
Operating margin 21.2% 21.2% 22.2%
Pretax margin 23.3% 22.0% 22.5%
Net margin 19.7% 19.5% 19.5%
FCF margin 23.3% 47.2% 17.2%
Operating cash flow margin 27.1% 31.2% 21.8%
Return on equity 29.9% 12.2% 19.9%
Return on assets 13.3% 7.0% 10.7%
Return on invested capital 16.6% 7.9% 13.1%
Return on capital employed 17.2% 8.5% 14.6%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.6x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 5.9% 2.1% 1.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricILMNQGENA
Debt / assets 26.3% 27.9% 28.3%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.5x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.4x 1.3x 1.1x
Debt / FCF 1.7x 1.7x 3.1x
Liabilities / assets 53.8% 43.0% 47.3%
Equity / assets 46.2% 57.0% 52.7%
Interest coverage 9.8x 11.3x 15.5x
Current ratio 2.6x 2.8x 2.1x
Quick ratio 1.8x 2.0x 1.4x
Cash ratio 1.2x 1.4x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 7.10 4.08 5.72

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricILMNQGENA
Dividend yield – 5.2% 0.6%
Net buyback yield 1.1% 0.6% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 1.1% 5.8% 1.2%
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.

ConsensusILMNQGENA
Forward P/E 45.4xFY2026 21.4xFY2026 26.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.99FY2026 $2.35FY2026 $6.54FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.1%FY2026 -1.3%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +25.7% +17.4% +0.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.52BFY2026 $2.25BFY2026 $7.87BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.1%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.0% -2.8% -5.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersILMNQGENA
Held by institutions 100.0% 67.3% 92.6%
Institutions holding 935 338 1,126
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.0% +16.5% +3.2%
Institutions buying 464 216 603
Institutions selling 331 86 350
Buyers to sellers 1.40 2.51 1.72

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.

ILMNQGENA
ILMN 1.00 0.38 0.50
QGEN 0.38 1.00 0.37
A 0.50 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ILMN, QGEN and A?

Agilent Technologies (A) is the largest by market capitalisation: Illumina (ILMN) $34.21B, Qiagen (QGEN) $10.92B, Agilent Technologies (A) $48.50B.

Which stock is cheaper, ILMN, QGEN and A?

Qiagen (QGEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Illumina (ILMN) 38.2x, Qiagen (QGEN) 26.7x, Agilent Technologies (A) 33.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Qiagen (QGEN) is cheapest (Illumina (ILMN) 45.4x, Qiagen (QGEN) 21.4x, Agilent Technologies (A) 26.3x). 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) +5.8%, Qiagen (QGEN) +3.0%, Agilent Technologies (A) +8.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Illumina (ILMN) has the highest net margin (Illumina (ILMN) 19.7%, Qiagen (QGEN) 19.5%, Agilent Technologies (A) 19.5%). On return on invested capital, Illumina (ILMN) leads (Illumina (ILMN) 16.6%, Qiagen (QGEN) 7.9%, Agilent Technologies (A) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Illumina (ILMN) returned the most: Illumina (ILMN) +83.4%, Qiagen (QGEN) +2.1%, Agilent Technologies (A) +17.5%. Over five years, Agilent Technologies (A) compounded fastest (Illumina (ILMN) -11.1%/yr, Qiagen (QGEN) -4.0%/yr, Agilent Technologies (A) +1.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Qiagen (QGEN) has the highest dividend yield: Qiagen (QGEN) 5.25%, Agilent Technologies (A) 0.60%. Illumina (ILMN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Agilent Technologies (A) has been the steadiest (Illumina (ILMN) 49.9%, Qiagen (QGEN) 35.6%, Agilent Technologies (A) 32.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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