MDT vs BSX vs ALC Stock Comparison

Medtronic, Boston Scientific and Alcon Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MDT Medtronic plc
$99.31 +15.0% 1M +9.5% 1Y
Market cap
$127.12B
P/E
24.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$37.54B
Div. yield
2.88%
Medical Devices Healthcare
5 wins
BSX Boston Scientific Corp
$44.33 +4.1% 1M -56.0% 1Y
Market cap
$64.24B
P/E
17.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$21.00B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
7 wins
ALC Alcon Inc
$73.60 +15.5% 1M -0.4% 1Y
Market cap
$35.87B
P/E
56.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.80B
Div. yield
0.38%
Medical Devices Healthcare

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Boston Scientific leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Boston Scientific 7, Medtronic 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMDTBSXALCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $127.12B $64.24B $35.87B MDT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.3x 17.7x 56.5x BSX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.8x 14.2x 22.9x BSX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.8% +13.5% +8.5% BSX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.9% 17.5% 6.0% BSX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.9% 10.5% 3.6% BSX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.0x 2.2x — MDT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.88% — 0.38% MDT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +9.5% -56.0% -0.4% MDT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.9%/yr +0.7%/yr -3.1%/yr BSX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.9% 40.8% 28.8% MDT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 70/100 68/100 BSX

Percentile Scorecard

MDTBSXALC

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

AxisMDTBSXALC
Valuation 81 #44 of 227 90 #24 of 227 77 #52 of 227
Growth 51 #108 of 220 85 #33 of 220 49 #113 of 220
Profitability 88 #27 of 209 92 #18 of 209 76 #51 of 209
Financial Health 50 #121 of 240 42 #140 of 240 61 #95 of 240
Shareholder Returns 56 #61 of 138 41 #82 of 138 76 #34 of 138
Overall 65 70 68
  • MDT ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • BSX ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ALC 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

PeriodMDTBSXALCSPY
1 month +15.0%+4.1%+15.5% -2.3%
3 months +14.5%-8.5%+4.8% -0.7%
6 months +26.8%-22.0%+0.2% +4.8%
Year to date +3.4%-53.5%-6.6% +10.3%
1 year +9.5%-56.0%-0.4% +10.3%
3 years +36.9%-15.6%-1.0% +73.0%
3 years, per year +11.0%-5.5%-0.3% +20.1%
5 years -18.0%+3.3%-14.7% +61.9%
5 years, per year -3.9%+0.7%-3.1% +10.1%
10 years +22.5%+105.2%— +258.6%
10 years, per year +2.0%+7.5%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureMDTBSXALCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.9%40.8%28.8% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.1%47.8%29.1% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.090.130.37 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.38-1.37-0.01 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -43.6%-61.6%-38.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.7%-57.8%-15.6% -3.5%
52-week high $105.35$104.98$87.18 $779.14
52-week low $73.75$41.57$62.02 $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.

MultipleMDTBSXALC
P/E now vs peer median 24.3xmedian 28.4x 17.7xmedian 28.4x 56.5xmedian 28.4x
P/S now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 3.0x 3.1xmedian 3.0x 3.3xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.1xmedian 18.0x 13.7xmedian 18.0x —median 18.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.7xmedian 25.0x 17.7xmedian 25.0x 20.6xmedian 25.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 2.3x 2.6xmedian 2.3x 1.7xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.68median 0.93 0.29median 0.93 2.69median 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 monthsMDTBSXALC
Revenue $37.54B $21.00B $10.80B
Gross profit $24.41B $14.68B $6.17B
Operating income $6.79B $4.15B $948.00M
Net income $5.27B $3.67B $643.00M
Free cash flow $6.13B $3.63B $1.74B
R&D $2.92B $2.15B $1.43B
EPS (diluted) $4.07 $2.49 $1.30
Cash & equivalents $1.69B $539.00M $1.36B
Total debt $28.15B $12.62B $4.72B
Shares (diluted) 1.29B 1.47B 496.20M
Enterprise value $92.99B $59.25B $26.84B

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
MetricMDTBSXALC
P/E 24.3x 17.7x 56.5x
P/FCF 20.7x 17.7x 20.6x
P/Operating cash flow 15.8x 14.2x 15.5x
P/S 3.4x 3.1x 3.3x
P/B 2.5x 2.6x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 3.1x 3.5x 2.7x
EV/EBITDA 15.1x 13.7x –
EV/EBIT 21.6x 18.4x 40.6x
EV/Revenue 3.9x 3.6x 3.6x
EV/FCF 23.9x 21.1x 22.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.2x 16.9x 16.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.68 0.29 2.69

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMDTBSXALC
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.8% 13.5% 8.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.0% 16.1% 5.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.3% 16.3% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 16.4% 7.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.9% 31.9% -34.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 31.5% 7.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.4% 46.9% -40.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 59.0% 21.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.4% 48.6% -40.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.5% 61.5% 21.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 12.4% 5.7% 10.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.3% 28.7% 25.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 15.6% 4.0% 7.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.3% 33.9% 48.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMDTBSXALC
Gross margin 65.0% 69.9% 57.2%
EBITDA margin 25.9% 26.5% –
Operating margin 18.1% 19.8% 8.8%
Pretax margin 17.6% 18.4% 6.9%
Net margin 13.9% 17.5% 6.0%
FCF margin 16.3% 17.3% 16.1%
Operating cash flow margin 21.4% 21.6% 21.4%
Return on equity 10.4% 14.3% 2.9%
Return on assets 5.7% 8.2% 2.1%
Return on invested capital 6.9% 10.5% 3.6%
Return on capital employed 8.3% 10.8% 3.4%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.2x 3.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% 1.5% 1.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMDTBSXALC
Debt / assets 30.2% 27.9% 15.2%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.5x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.0x 2.2x –
Debt / FCF 4.6x 3.5x 2.7x
Liabilities / assets 45.5% 44.3% 30.6%
Equity / assets 54.5% 55.7% 69.4%
Interest coverage 9.4x 11.4x 9.2x
Current ratio 2.1x 1.2x 2.1x
Quick ratio 1.3x 0.6x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.1x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 3.10 2.97 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMDTBSXALC
Dividend yield 2.9% – 0.4%
Net buyback yield 0.2% -0.3% 2.5%
Shareholder yield 3.0% -0.3% 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 69.3% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 59.5% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.4% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.2% – –

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.

ConsensusMDTBSXALC
Forward P/E 17.8xFY2026 14.2xFY2026 22.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.57FY2026 $3.12FY2026 $3.22FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.7%FY2026 +2.0%FY2026 +7.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.2% +14.7% +15.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $39.92BFY2026 $20.67BFY2026 $10.50BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.8%FY2026 +3.0%FY2026 +4.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.7% +1.6% +8.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMDTBSXALC
Held by institutions 85.1% 90.5% 48.8%
Institutions holding 2,127 1,483 631
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.2% -0.7% +5.3%
Institutions buying 1,015 739 227
Institutions selling 914 611 274
Buyers to sellers 1.11 1.21 0.83

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.

MDTBSXALC
MDT 1.00 0.47 0.48
BSX 0.47 1.00 0.29
ALC 0.48 0.29 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MDT, BSX and ALC?

Medtronic (MDT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Medtronic (MDT) $127.12B, Boston Scientific (BSX) $64.24B, Alcon (ALC) $35.87B.

Which stock is cheaper, MDT, BSX and ALC?

Boston Scientific (BSX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Medtronic (MDT) 24.3x, Boston Scientific (BSX) 17.7x, Alcon (ALC) 56.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Boston Scientific (BSX) is cheapest (Medtronic (MDT) 17.8x, Boston Scientific (BSX) 14.2x, Alcon (ALC) 22.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Boston Scientific (BSX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Medtronic (MDT) +9.8%, Boston Scientific (BSX) +13.5%, Alcon (ALC) +8.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Boston Scientific (BSX) has the highest net margin (Medtronic (MDT) 13.9%, Boston Scientific (BSX) 17.5%, Alcon (ALC) 6.0%). On return on invested capital, Boston Scientific (BSX) leads (Medtronic (MDT) 6.9%, Boston Scientific (BSX) 10.5%, Alcon (ALC) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Medtronic (MDT) returned the most: Medtronic (MDT) +9.5%, Boston Scientific (BSX) -56.0%, Alcon (ALC) -0.4%. Over five years, Boston Scientific (BSX) compounded fastest (Medtronic (MDT) -3.9%/yr, Boston Scientific (BSX) +0.7%/yr, Alcon (ALC) -3.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Medtronic (MDT) has the highest dividend yield: Medtronic (MDT) 2.88%, Alcon (ALC) 0.38%. Boston Scientific (BSX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Medtronic (MDT) has been the steadiest (Medtronic (MDT) 24.9%, Boston Scientific (BSX) 40.8%, Alcon (ALC) 28.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MDT, BSX and ALC?

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