MDT vs STE vs ALC Stock Comparison

Medtronic, Steris and Alcon Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MDT Medtronic plc
$94.78 +6.9% 1M +1.2% 1Y
Market cap
$120.80B
P/E
23.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$37.54B
Div. yield
0.03%
Medical Devices Healthcare
8 wins
STE STERIS plc
$230.10 +10.1% 1M -4.4% 1Y
Market cap
$22.33B
P/E
27.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.04B
Div. yield
0.01%
Medical Devices Healthcare
4 wins
ALC Alcon Inc
$70.00 +8.6% 1M -8.0% 1Y
Market cap
$34.24B
P/E
53.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.80B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Medtronic leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Medtronic 8, Steris 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMDTSTEALCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $120.80B $22.33B $34.24B MDT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.1x 27.7x 53.2x MDT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.0x 19.9x 21.7x MDT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.8% +8.4% +8.5% MDT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.9% 13.3% 6.0% MDT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.9% 9.3% 3.6% STE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.0x 0.9x — STE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.01% 0.00% MDT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.2% -4.4% -8.0% MDT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.0%/yr -0.2%/yr -3.0%/yr STE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.8% 26.3% 28.7% MDT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 76/100 68/100 STE

Percentile Scorecard

MDTSTEALC

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

AxisMDTSTEALC
Valuation 84 #37 of 228 84 #38 of 228 79 #48 of 228
Growth 50 #111 of 221 71 #64 of 221 47 #118 of 221
Profitability 87 #28 of 208 87 #27 of 208 76 #50 of 208
Financial Health 49 #123 of 239 63 #89 of 239 61 #95 of 239
Shareholder Returns 58 #58 of 137 73 #38 of 137 75 #35 of 137
Overall 66 76 68
  • MDT ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • STE ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ALC 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

PeriodMDTSTEALCSPY
1 month +6.9%+10.1%+8.6% -0.8%
3 months +12.6%+5.3%+4.1% +3.5%
6 months +14.3%+3.6%-7.9% +7.0%
Year to date -1.3%-9.2%-11.2% +12.2%
1 year +1.2%-4.4%-8.0% +13.0%
3 years +36.5%+9.9%0.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +10.9%+3.2%0.0% +23.1%
5 years -22.6%-0.9%-14.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year -5.0%-0.2%-3.0% +11.0%
10 years +16.8%+238.8%— +258.0%
10 years, per year +1.6%+13.0%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureMDTSTEALCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.8%26.3%28.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.0%25.7%28.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.110.400.38 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.05-0.17-0.28 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -43.6%-36.5%-38.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.0%-14.3%-19.7% -1.8%
52-week high $105.35$268.65$87.18 $779.14
52-week low $73.75$199.40$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.

MultipleMDTSTEALC
P/E now vs peer median 23.2xmedian 30.6x 27.9xmedian 30.6x 53.7xmedian 30.6x
P/S now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 3.0x 3.7xmedian 3.0x 3.2xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.5xmedian 17.5x 14.6xmedian 17.5x —median 17.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.8xmedian 23.3x 24.2xmedian 23.3x 19.6xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 2.4x 3.1xmedian 2.4x 1.6xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.60median 0.87 0.31median 0.87 2.56median 0.87

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 monthsMDTSTEALC
Revenue $37.54B $6.04B $10.80B
Gross profit $24.41B $2.68B $6.17B
Operating income $6.79B $1.14B $948.00M
Net income $5.27B $808.10M $643.00M
Free cash flow $6.13B $925.60M $1.74B
R&D $2.92B $115.10M $1.43B
EPS (diluted) $4.07 $8.22 $1.30
Cash & equivalents $1.69B $482.30M $1.36B
Total debt $113.29B $1.89B $4.72B
Shares (diluted) 1.29B 97.90M 496.20M
Enterprise value $86.05B $20.67B $25.20B

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
MetricMDTSTEALC
P/E 23.2x 27.9x 53.7x
P/FCF 19.8x 24.2x 19.6x
P/Operating cash flow 15.1x 17.4x 14.8x
P/S 3.2x 3.7x 3.2x
P/B 2.4x 3.1x 1.6x
P/Tangible book 3.0x 4.0x 2.6x
EV/EBITDA 14.5x 14.6x –
EV/EBIT 20.7x 20.9x 38.7x
EV/Revenue 3.7x 3.9x 3.4x
EV/FCF 22.9x 25.8x 21.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.5x 18.5x 15.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.60 0.31 2.56

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMDTSTEALC
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.8% 8.4% 8.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.0% 9.0% 5.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.3% 9.1% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 9.6% 7.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.9% 23.1% -34.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 11.2% 7.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.4% 24.6% -40.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 89.1% 21.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.4% 25.7% -40.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.5% 89.8% 21.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 12.4% 1.9% 10.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.3% 16.9% 25.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 15.6% 1.8% 7.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.3% 23.3% 48.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMDTSTEALC
Gross margin 65.0% 44.4% 57.2%
EBITDA margin 25.9% 27.0% –
Operating margin 18.1% 18.9% 8.8%
Pretax margin 17.6% 18.0% 6.9%
Net margin 13.9% 13.3% 6.0%
FCF margin 16.3% 15.3% 16.1%
Operating cash flow margin 21.4% 21.3% 21.4%
Return on equity 10.4% 11.2% 2.9%
Return on assets 5.7% 7.5% 2.1%
Return on invested capital 6.9% 9.3% 3.6%
Return on capital employed 8.3% 12.1% 3.4%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.6x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.6x 3.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% 1.0% 1.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMDTSTEALC
Debt / assets 30.2% 17.6% 15.2%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.3x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.0x 0.9x –
Debt / FCF 4.6x 2.0x 2.7x
Liabilities / assets 45.5% 32.7% 30.6%
Equity / assets 54.5% 67.3% 69.4%
Interest coverage 9.4x 18.8x 9.2x
Current ratio 2.1x 1.9x 2.1x
Quick ratio 1.3x 1.2x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.4x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 3.02 5.28 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMDTSTEALC
Dividend yield 3.0% 1.1% 0.4%
Net buyback yield 0.2% 1.5% 2.7%
Shareholder yield 3.2% 2.6% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 69.3% 30.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 59.5% 26.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.4% 9.9% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.2% 9.7% –

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.

ConsensusMDTSTEALC
Forward P/E 17.0xFY2026 19.9xFY2026 21.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.57FY2026 $11.56FY2026 $3.22FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +0.7%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026 +7.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.2% +13.2% +15.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $39.92BFY2026 $6.62BFY2026 $10.50BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.8%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026 +4.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.7% -0.3% +8.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMDTSTEALC
Held by institutions 85.1% 97.1% 48.8%
Institutions holding 2,124 829 629
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.2% +1.1% +5.3%
Institutions buying 1,013 405 225
Institutions selling 913 300 274
Buyers to sellers 1.11 1.35 0.82

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.

MDTSTEALC
MDT 1.00 0.54 0.47
STE 0.54 1.00 0.54
ALC 0.47 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MDT, STE and ALC?

Medtronic (MDT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Medtronic (MDT) $120.80B, Steris (STE) $22.33B, Alcon (ALC) $34.24B.

Which stock is cheaper, MDT, STE and ALC?

Medtronic (MDT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Medtronic (MDT) 23.1x, Steris (STE) 27.7x, Alcon (ALC) 53.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Medtronic (MDT) is cheapest (Medtronic (MDT) 17.0x, Steris (STE) 19.9x, Alcon (ALC) 21.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Medtronic (MDT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Medtronic (MDT) +9.8%, Steris (STE) +8.4%, Alcon (ALC) +8.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Medtronic (MDT) has the highest net margin (Medtronic (MDT) 13.9%, Steris (STE) 13.3%, Alcon (ALC) 6.0%). On return on invested capital, Steris (STE) leads (Medtronic (MDT) 6.9%, Steris (STE) 9.3%, Alcon (ALC) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Medtronic (MDT) returned the most: Medtronic (MDT) +1.2%, Steris (STE) -4.4%, Alcon (ALC) -8.0%. Over five years, Steris (STE) compounded fastest (Medtronic (MDT) -5.0%/yr, Steris (STE) -0.2%/yr, Alcon (ALC) -3.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Medtronic (MDT) has the highest dividend yield: Medtronic (MDT) 0.03%, Steris (STE) 0.01%, Alcon (ALC) 0.00%. Alcon (ALC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Medtronic (MDT) has been the steadiest (Medtronic (MDT) 24.8%, Steris (STE) 26.3%, Alcon (ALC) 28.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MDT, STE 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, Medtronic (MDT) leads on 8. 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.