ISRG vs MDLN vs SYK Stock Comparison

Intuitive Surgical, Medline and Stryker Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ISRG Intuitive Surgical Inc
$444.18 +7.1% 1M -18.6% 1Y
Market cap
$156.90B
P/E
53.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.58B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
6 wins
MDLN Medline Inc.
$32.37 -7.7% 1M
Market cap
$27.50B
P/E
32.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.57B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
SYK Stryker Corp
$304.34 +10.5% 1M -19.0% 1Y
Market cap
$118.92B
P/E
31.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.84B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionISRGMDLNSYKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $156.90B $27.50B $118.92B ISRG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 53.1x 32.9x 31.9x SYK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 38.7x 22.5x 19.1x SYK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.5% — +8.5% ISRG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 25.5% 2.9% 14.4% ISRG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 5.4% 10.5% SYK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 3.2x 1.7x SYK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -18.6% — -19.0% ISRG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.2%/yr — +2.7%/yr ISRG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 34.6% 44.5% 30.6% SYK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 80/100 68/100 70/100 ISRG

Percentile Scorecard

ISRGMDLNSYK

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

AxisISRGMDLNSYK
Valuation 53 #107 of 227 85 #35 of 227 67 #76 of 227
Growth 80 #44 of 219 – 67 #74 of 219
Profitability 98 #6 of 205 74 #55 of 205 90 #22 of 205
Financial Health 78 #54 of 237 42 #137 of 237 49 #121 of 237
Shareholder Returns 91 #13 of 135 71 #40 of 135 77 #32 of 135
Overall 80 68 70
  • ISRG ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • MDLN 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

PeriodISRGMDLNSYKSPY
1 month +7.1%-7.7%+10.5% +0.9%
3 months +25.8%-19.3%-13.6% +5.9%
6 months -2.1%-25.4%-3.4% +8.5%
Year to date -21.6%-22.9%-13.4% +13.3%
1 year -18.6%—-19.0% +12.4%
3 years +71.5%—+16.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +19.7%—+5.1% +23.5%
5 years +23.0%—+14.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year +4.2%—+2.7% +11.0%
10 years +499.8%—+166.3% +263.4%
10 years, per year +19.6%—+10.3% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureISRGMDLNSYKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 34.6%44.5%30.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.4%48.5%31.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.890.610.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.54—-0.62 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.9%-36.7%-33.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.1%-35.2%-21.5% -0.9%
52-week high $592.85$49.99$387.46 $779.14
52-week low $332.02$31.64$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.

MultipleISRGMDLNSYK
P/E now vs peer median 52.4xmedian 28.8x 33.1xmedian 28.8x 31.3xmedian 28.8x
P/S now vs peer median 13.3xmedian 3.0x 1.5xmedian 3.0x 4.5xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 36.6xmedian 17.4x 17.0xmedian 17.4x 19.0xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.8xmedian 25.7x 26.7xmedian 25.7x 24.8xmedian 25.7x
P/B now vs peer median 9.6xmedian 2.4x 2.2xmedian 2.4x 4.9xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 2.04median 1.03 —median 1.03 2.84median 1.03

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 monthsISRGMDLNSYK
Revenue $11.58B $28.57B $25.84B
Gross profit $7.78B $7.79B $16.79B
Operating income $3.28B $2.03B $5.53B
Net income $2.97B $1.03B $3.73B
Free cash flow $3.60B $1.59B $4.70B
R&D $1.49B – $1.66B
EPS (diluted) $8.41 $0.97 $9.66
Cash & equivalents $2.98B $2.33B $3.39B
Total debt – $12.58B $14.94B
Shares (diluted) 351.60M 861.00M 386.00M
Enterprise value $137.19B $20.45B $105.03B

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
MetricISRGMDLNSYK
P/E 52.4x 33.1x 31.3x
P/FCF 42.8x 26.7x 24.8x
P/Operating cash flow 37.6x 21.2x 21.1x
P/S 13.3x 1.5x 4.5x
P/B 9.6x 2.2x 4.9x
P/Tangible book 10.3x 7.7x 6.4x
EV/EBITDA 36.6x 17.0x 19.0x
EV/EBIT 45.6x 25.8x 23.2x
EV/Revenue 12.9x 1.8x 5.0x
EV/FCF 41.7x 33.0x 27.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 36.7x 26.2x 23.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.04 – 2.84

Growth

14 metrics
MetricISRGMDLNSYK
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.5% – 8.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 19.1% – 9.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 21.9% – 9.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 19.5% – 11.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.6% – 53.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 24.8% – 18.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 7.5% – 27.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 24.4% – 11.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 10.8% – 27.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 25.7% – 11.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 38.1% – 15.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.4% – 22.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 58.4% – 16.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 42.0% – 24.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricISRGMDLNSYK
Gross margin 67.2% 27.3% 65.0%
EBITDA margin 35.3% 10.8% 26.1%
Operating margin 28.4% 7.1% 21.4%
Pretax margin 31.3% 4.3% 19.9%
Net margin 25.5% 2.9% 14.4%
FCF margin 31.1% 5.6% 18.2%
Operating cash flow margin 35.3% 7.0% 21.4%
Return on equity 17.3% 5.4% -3.9%
Return on assets 14.8% 2.6% -1.9%
Return on invested capital – 5.4% 10.5%
Return on capital employed 18.7% 5.6% 13.7%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.7x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 2.0x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 7.2% 0.3% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricISRGMDLNSYK
Debt / assets – 32.0% 31.2%
Debt / equity – 0.7x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – 3.2x 1.7x
Debt / FCF – 7.9x 3.2x
Liabilities / assets 16.7% 51.5% 50.0%
Equity / assets 83.3% 48.5% 50.0%
Interest coverage – – 9.5x
Current ratio 3.3x 4.3x 2.2x
Quick ratio 2.3x 2.3x 1.1x
Cash ratio 1.6x 1.0x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 30.44 2.44 4.68

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricISRGMDLNSYK
Dividend yield – – 1.2%
Net buyback yield 2.8% 0.0% –
Shareholder yield 2.8% 0.0% 1.2%
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.

ConsensusISRGMDLNSYK
Forward P/E 38.7xFY2026 22.5xFY2026 19.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.47FY2026 $1.44FY2026 $15.91FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +28.4%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026 +16.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +4.5% +13.9% +2.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.60BFY2026 $32.52BFY2026 $26.14BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.3%FY2026 +14.4%FY2026 +4.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.3% +8.0% +18.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersISRGMDLNSYK
Held by institutions 86.2% 85.5% 80.3%
Institutions holding 2,236 407 2,264
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.6% +17.9% +3.2%
Institutions buying 1,071 322 1,102
Institutions selling 877 68 852
Buyers to sellers 1.22 4.74 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.

ISRGMDLNSYK
ISRG 1.00 0.23 0.53
MDLN 0.23 1.00 0.29
SYK 0.53 0.29 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ISRG, MDLN and SYK?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) $156.90B, Medline (MDLN) $27.50B, Stryker (SYK) $118.92B.

Which stock is cheaper, ISRG, MDLN and SYK?

Stryker (SYK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 53.1x, Medline (MDLN) 32.9x, Stryker (SYK) 31.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Stryker (SYK) is cheapest (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 38.7x, Medline (MDLN) 22.5x, Stryker (SYK) 19.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +20.5%, Stryker (SYK) +8.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) has the highest net margin (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 25.5%, Medline (MDLN) 2.9%, Stryker (SYK) 14.4%). On return on invested capital, Stryker (SYK) leads (Medline (MDLN) 5.4%, Stryker (SYK) 10.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) returned the most: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) -18.6%, Stryker (SYK) -19.0%. Over five years, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) compounded fastest (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +4.2%/yr, Stryker (SYK) +2.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Stryker (SYK) has been the steadiest (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 34.6%, Medline (MDLN) 44.5%, Stryker (SYK) 30.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ISRG, MDLN 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, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 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.