MDLN vs WST vs BDX Stock Comparison

Medline, West Pharmaceutical Services and Becton Dickinson Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MDLN Medline Inc.
$32.00 -8.5% 1M
Market cap
$27.54B
P/E
32.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.57B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
1 win
BDX Becton Dickinson & Co
$198.32 +8.9% 1M +9.3% 1Y
Market cap
$54.28B
P/E
57.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$23.25B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

West Pharmaceutical Services leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (West Pharmaceutical Services 7, Becton Dickinson 3, Medline 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMDLNWSTBDXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $27.54B $29.11B $54.28B BDX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.9x 45.6x 57.7x MDLN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.2x 43.5x 15.3x BDX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +12.6% +17.4% BDX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.9% 18.8% 4.0% WST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.4% 19.3% 5.3% WST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x -0.3x 3.2x WST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months — +45.9% +9.3% WST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — -0.7%/yr -3.7%/yr WST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.4% 31.3% 31.8% WST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 70/100 68/100 WST

Percentile Scorecard

MDLNWSTBDX

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

AxisMDLNWSTBDX
Valuation 85 #36 of 227 50 #115 of 227 90 #23 of 227
Growth – 49 #112 of 218 48 #114 of 218
Profitability 74 #54 of 202 94 #14 of 202 80 #42 of 202
Financial Health 41 #137 of 233 78 #52 of 233 28 #168 of 233
Shareholder Returns 72 #37 of 130 79 #28 of 130 95 #8 of 130
Overall 68 70 68
  • MDLN ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • WST ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • BDX 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

PeriodMDLNWSTBDXSPY
1 month -8.5%+10.4%+8.9% +0.7%
3 months -18.2%+22.5%+19.8% +3.7%
6 months -28.0%+39.7%+33.1% +7.1%
Year to date -23.8%+51.1%+2.2% +12.8%
1 year —+45.9%+9.3% +11.9%
3 years —+30.0%-21.0% +85.2%
3 years, per year —+9.1%-7.6% +22.8%
5 years —-3.3%-17.2% +67.6%
5 years, per year —-0.7%-3.7% +10.9%
10 years —+467.2%+18.2% +262.0%
10 years, per year —+19.0%+1.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMDLNWSTBDXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.4%31.3%31.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.3%30.9%33.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.610.620.33 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y —1.470.29 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.7%-59.6%-50.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.0%0.0%-5.6% -1.2%
52-week high $49.99$415.75$210.02 $779.14
52-week low $31.64$230.95$140.71 $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.

MultipleMDLNWSTBDX
P/E now vs peer median 32.8xmedian 28.7x 45.8xmedian 28.7x 57.9xmedian 28.7x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 3.0x 8.5xmedian 3.0x 2.3xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.8xmedian 17.8x 29.8xmedian 17.8x 14.1xmedian 17.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.4xmedian 26.4x 64.0xmedian 26.4x 16.9xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 2.4x 9.8xmedian 2.4x 2.2xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.99 6.84median 0.99 -3.97median 0.99

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 monthsMDLNWSTBDX
Revenue $28.57B $3.40B $23.25B
Gross profit $7.79B $1.28B $10.91B
Operating income $2.03B $780.20M $2.48B
Net income $1.03B $638.90M $941.00M
Free cash flow $1.59B $453.40M $3.20B
R&D – $75.60M $1.37B
EPS (diluted) $0.97 $9.02 $3.42
Cash & equivalents $2.33B $464.10M $708.00M
Total debt $12.58B $202.90M $72.81B
Shares (diluted) 861.00M 70.80M 275.16M
Enterprise value $20.49B $26.90B $51.43B

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
MetricMDLNWSTBDX
P/E 32.8x 45.8x 57.9x
P/FCF 26.4x 64.0x 16.9x
P/Operating cash flow 21.0x 44.3x 13.7x
P/S 1.5x 8.5x 2.3x
P/B 2.2x 9.8x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 7.6x 9.8x 2.3x
EV/EBITDA 16.8x 29.8x 14.1x
EV/EBIT 25.6x 36.9x 28.3x
EV/Revenue 1.8x 8.5x 3.0x
EV/FCF 32.7x 63.4x 21.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.9x 43.9x 17.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 6.84 -3.97

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMDLNWSTBDX
Revenue growth (1Y) – 12.6% 17.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 5.1% 6.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 18.9% 23.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 4.7% 8.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 32.7% 13.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 6.6% 3.3%
Net income growth (1Y) – 29.9% -40.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 4.5% -17.3%
EPS growth (1Y) – 33.2% -38.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 6.7% -14.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – -5.7% 43.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -5.2% 14.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 19.6% 54.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 2.6% 22.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMDLNWSTBDX
Gross margin 27.3% 37.6% 46.9%
EBITDA margin 10.8% 28.4% 21.4%
Operating margin 7.1% 23.0% 10.7%
Pretax margin 4.3% 23.2% 8.4%
Net margin 2.9% 18.8% 4.0%
FCF margin 5.6% 13.3% 13.8%
Operating cash flow margin 7.0% 19.3% 17.0%
Return on equity 5.4% 20.9% 3.9%
Return on assets 2.6% 15.3% 1.9%
Return on invested capital 5.4% 19.3% 5.3%
Return on capital employed 5.6% 22.8% 6.0%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 1.0x 4.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.8% 1.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMDLNWSTBDX
Debt / assets 32.0% 5.0% 33.1%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.1x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x -0.3x 3.2x
Debt / FCF 7.9x 0.4x 5.2x
Liabilities / assets 51.5% 26.9% 51.9%
Equity / assets 48.5% 73.1% 48.1%
Interest coverage – 96.3x 4.2x
Current ratio 4.3x 2.8x 0.9x
Quick ratio 2.3x 1.9x 0.3x
Cash ratio 1.0x 0.7x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.42 19.42 2.30

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMDLNWSTBDX
Dividend yield – 0.2% 2.1%
Net buyback yield 0.0% 2.3% 4.6%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.5% 6.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 9.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 13.9% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 3.7% –

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.

ConsensusMDLNWSTBDX
Forward P/E 22.2xFY2026 43.5xFY2026 15.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.44FY2026 $9.56FY2026 $12.99FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.7%FY2026 +31.1%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.9% +10.6% -2.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $32.52BFY2026 $3.24BFY2026 $18.11BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.4%FY2026 +5.6%FY2026 -17.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% +16.8% +11.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMDLNWSTBDX
Held by institutions 85.5% 99.5% 96.1%
Institutions holding 408 834 1,443
Change in shares held, QoQ +17.9% -0.9% +0.6%
Institutions buying 322 449 688
Institutions selling 69 261 544
Buyers to sellers 4.67 1.72 1.26

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.

MDLNWSTBDX
MDLN 1.00 0.08 0.31
WST 0.08 1.00 0.26
BDX 0.31 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MDLN, WST and BDX?

Becton Dickinson (BDX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Medline (MDLN) $27.54B, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) $29.11B, Becton Dickinson (BDX) $54.28B.

Which stock is cheaper, MDLN, WST and BDX?

Medline (MDLN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Medline (MDLN) 32.9x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 45.6x, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 57.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Becton Dickinson (BDX) is cheapest (Medline (MDLN) 22.2x, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 43.5x, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 15.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Becton Dickinson (BDX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) +12.6%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) +17.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) has the highest net margin (Medline (MDLN) 2.9%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 18.8%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 4.0%). On return on invested capital, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) leads (Medline (MDLN) 5.4%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 19.3%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 5.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) returned the most: West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) +45.9%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) +9.3%. Over five years, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) compounded fastest (West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) -0.7%/yr, Becton Dickinson (BDX) -3.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Medline (MDLN) 0.00%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 0.00%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 0.00%. Medline (MDLN) and Becton Dickinson (BDX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) has been the steadiest (Medline (MDLN) 44.4%, West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) 31.3%, Becton Dickinson (BDX) 31.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MDLN, WST and BDX?

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