MDLN vs ISRG vs ACU Stock Comparison

Medline, Intuitive Surgical and Acme United Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MDLN Medline Inc.
$40.35 +12.7% 1M
Market cap
$53.10B
P/E
61.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.68B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
ISRG Intuitive Surgical Inc
$482.10 +18.6% 1M -10.5% 1Y
Market cap
$167.10B
P/E
56.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.58B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
4 wins
ACU Acme United Corp
$70.92 +11.2% 1M +88.2% 1Y
Market cap
$271.89M
P/E
27.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$211.60M
Div. yield
0.90%
Medical Supplies Healthcare
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Acme United leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Acme United 7, Intuitive Surgical 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMDLNISRGACULeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $53.10B $167.10B $271.89M ISRG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 61.3x 56.9x 27.6x ACU
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.0x 42.0x 25.8x ACU
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +20.5% +9.0% ISRG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.9% 25.5% 4.6% ISRG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.3% — 7.3% ACU
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x — 1.1x ACU
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 0.90% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months — -10.5% +88.2% ACU
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +5.7%/yr +14.7%/yr ACU
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.9% 35.9% 30.8% ACU
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 80/100 71/100 ISRG

Percentile Scorecard

MDLNISRGACU

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

AxisMDLNISRGACU
Valuation 79 #48 of 229 50 #115 of 229 94 #14 of 229
Growth – 82 #41 of 221 59 #92 of 221
Profitability 72 #59 of 209 98 #6 of 209 81 #41 of 209
Financial Health 43 #137 of 240 80 #49 of 240 57 #104 of 240
Shareholder Returns 15 #125 of 146 92 #12 of 146 62 #56 of 146
Overall 52 80 71
  • MDLN ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ISRG ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ACU 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

PeriodMDLNISRGACUSPY
1 month +12.7%+18.6%+11.2% -1.0%
3 months +10.0%+28.5%+26.6% -0.4%
6 months -4.0%+6.7%+68.0% +4.5%
Year to date -3.9%-14.9%+75.9% +12.4%
1 year —-10.5%+88.2% +13.6%
3 years —+73.1%+114.3% +76.4%
3 years, per year —+20.1%+29.0% +20.8%
5 years —+32.1%+98.1% +63.7%
5 years, per year —+5.7%+14.7% +10.4%
10 years —+546.2%+231.4% +267.7%
10 years, per year —+20.5%+12.7% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureMDLNISRGACUSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.9%35.9%30.8% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.3%38.0%24.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.750.980.24 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y —-0.292.87 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.7%-49.9%-41.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.3%-18.7%0.0% -1.6%
52-week high $49.99$592.85$70.92 $779.14
52-week low $31.64$332.02$35.50 $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.

MultipleMDLNISRGACU
P/E now vs peer median 61.3xmedian 28.5x 56.9xmedian 28.5x 27.6xmedian 28.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 2.9x 14.4xmedian 2.9x 1.3xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.0xmedian 18.5x 39.9xmedian 18.5x 12.1xmedian 18.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.0xmedian 26.7x 46.4xmedian 26.7x 17.6xmedian 26.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 2.3x 10.4xmedian 2.3x 2.2xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.93 2.21median 0.93 0.93median 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 monthsMDLNISRGACU
Revenue $30.68B $11.58B $211.60M
Gross profit $7.90B $7.78B $84.82M
Operating income $1.74B $3.28B $14.48M
Net income $889.00M $2.97B $9.82M
Free cash flow $1.90B $3.60B $15.48M
R&D – $1.49B –
EPS (diluted) $0.44 $8.41 $2.37
Cash & equivalents $2.32B $2.98B $5.04M
Total debt $12.58B – $32.33M
Shares (diluted) 1.32B 351.60M 4.14M
Enterprise value $50.23B $147.52B $253.92M

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
MetricMDLNISRGACU
P/E 61.3x 56.9x 27.6x
P/FCF 28.0x 46.4x 17.6x
P/Operating cash flow 22.3x 40.9x 10.4x
P/S 1.7x 14.4x 1.3x
P/B 2.7x 10.4x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 8.8x 11.2x 3.1x
EV/EBITDA 22.0x 39.9x 12.1x
EV/EBIT 35.6x 49.6x 20.7x
EV/Revenue 2.0x 14.1x 1.4x
EV/FCF 32.8x 45.3x 19.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.1x 39.9x 11.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 2.21 0.93

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMDLNISRGACU
Revenue growth (1Y) – 20.5% 9.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 19.1% 3.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 21.9% 11.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 19.5% 8.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 16.6% 3.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 24.8% 20.1%
Net income growth (1Y) – 7.5% -5.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 24.4% 36.0%
EPS growth (1Y) – 10.8% -5.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 25.7% 29.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 38.1% 43.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 26.4% 12.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 58.4% 26.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 42.0% 1.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMDLNISRGACU
Gross margin 25.7% 67.2% 40.1%
EBITDA margin 9.2% 35.3% 11.7%
Operating margin 5.7% 28.4% 6.8%
Pretax margin 3.6% 31.3% 5.9%
Net margin 1.9% 25.5% 4.6%
FCF margin 6.2% 31.1% 7.3%
Operating cash flow margin 7.8% 35.3% 12.3%
Return on equity 4.6% 17.3% 8.2%
Return on assets 2.2% 14.8% 5.0%
Return on invested capital 4.3% – 7.3%
Return on capital employed 4.8% 18.7% 8.9%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.6x 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.7x 1.4x 2.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 7.2% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMDLNISRGACU
Debt / assets 31.3% – 16.1%
Debt / equity 0.6x – 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x – 1.1x
Debt / FCF 6.6x – 2.1x
Liabilities / assets 51.7% 16.7% 39.5%
Equity / assets 48.3% 83.3% 60.5%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 4.0x 3.3x 3.2x
Quick ratio 2.4x 2.3x 1.3x
Cash ratio 1.2x 1.6x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.74 32.88 4.56

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMDLNISRGACU
Dividend yield – – 0.9%
Net buyback yield -13.3% 2.5% -0.2%
Shareholder yield -13.3% 2.5% 0.7%
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.

ConsensusMDLNISRGACU
Forward P/E 28.0xFY2026 42.0xFY2026 25.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.44FY2026 $11.47FY2026 $2.75FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.7%FY2026 +28.4%FY2026 +10.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.9% +4.5% +4.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $32.52BFY2026 $11.60BFY2026 $217.65MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.4%FY2026 +15.3%FY2026 +10.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% +11.3% +0.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMDLNISRGACU
Held by institutions 57.1% 86.2% 73.5%
Institutions holding 409 2,240 84
Change in shares held, QoQ +17.9% +4.6% +1.3%
Institutions buying 322 1,073 47
Institutions selling 69 878 21
Buyers to sellers 4.67 1.22 2.24

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.

MDLNISRGACU
MDLN 1.00 0.31 0.26
ISRG 0.31 1.00 0.10
ACU 0.26 0.10 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MDLN, ISRG and ACU?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Medline (MDLN) $53.10B, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) $167.10B, Acme United (ACU) $271.89M.

Which stock is cheaper, MDLN, ISRG and ACU?

Acme United (ACU) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Medline (MDLN) 61.3x, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 56.9x, Acme United (ACU) 27.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Acme United (ACU) is cheapest (Medline (MDLN) 28.0x, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 42.0x, Acme United (ACU) 25.8x). 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%, Acme United (ACU) +9.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) has the highest net margin (Medline (MDLN) 1.9%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 25.5%, Acme United (ACU) 4.6%). On return on invested capital, Acme United (ACU) leads (Medline (MDLN) 4.3%, Acme United (ACU) 7.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Acme United (ACU) returned the most: Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) -10.5%, Acme United (ACU) +88.2%. Over five years, Acme United (ACU) compounded fastest (Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) +5.7%/yr, Acme United (ACU) +14.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Acme United (ACU) 0.90%. Medline (MDLN) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Acme United (ACU) has been the steadiest (Medline (MDLN) 47.9%, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) 35.9%, Acme United (ACU) 30.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MDLN, ISRG and ACU?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Acme United (ACU) leads on 7. 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.