QGEN vs DHR vs STE Stock Comparison

Qiagen, Danaher and Steris Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
QGEN Qiagen N.V.
$50.18 +13.6% 1M -1.5% 1Y
Market cap
$10.89B
P/E
26.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.10B
Div. yield
5.26%
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
3 wins
DHR Danaher Corp /De/
$232.08 +3.3% 1M +5.0% 1Y
Market cap
$163.13B
P/E
40.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.11B
Div. yield
0.65%
Life Sciences Tools Healthcare
2 wins
STE STERIS plc
$228.50 +9.4% 1M -5.2% 1Y
Market cap
$22.28B
P/E
27.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.04B
Div. yield
1.13%
Medical Devices Healthcare
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Steris leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Steris 7, Qiagen 3, Danaher 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionQGENDHRSTELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.89B $163.13B $22.28B DHR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.6x 40.9x 27.7x QGEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.4x 25.5x 19.8x STE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.0% +4.6% +8.4% STE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.5% 15.9% 13.3% QGEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.9% 5.7% 9.3% STE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 2.9x 0.9x STE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 5.26% 0.65% 1.13% QGEN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -1.5% +5.0% -5.2% DHR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.8%/yr -5.3%/yr -0.4%/yr STE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.8% 30.6% 26.2% STE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 59/100 75/100 STE

Percentile Scorecard

QGENDHRSTE

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

AxisQGENDHRSTE
Valuation 76 #56 of 227 67 #76 of 227 83 #39 of 227
Growth 31 #151 of 219 21 #174 of 219 72 #63 of 219
Profitability 93 #16 of 206 88 #25 of 206 87 #28 of 206
Financial Health 63 #89 of 238 46 #129 of 238 62 #91 of 238
Shareholder Returns 94 #9 of 134 75 #34 of 134 73 #37 of 134
Overall 71 59 75
  • QGEN ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • DHR ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • STE 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

PeriodQGENDHRSTESPY
1 month +13.6%+3.3%+9.4% -0.2%
3 months +18.8%+16.6%-0.8% +3.9%
6 months +47.5%+29.7%+4.0% +8.2%
Year to date +6.0%+1.4%-9.9% +12.9%
1 year -1.5%+5.0%-5.2% +12.3%
3 years +24.5%+23.5%+9.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year +7.6%+7.3%+3.0% +23.3%
5 years -17.4%-23.8%-1.9% +67.9%
5 years, per year -3.8%-5.3%-0.4% +10.9%
10 years +74.3%+196.3%+241.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +5.7%+11.5%+13.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureQGENDHRSTESPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.8%30.6%26.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.4%31.6%25.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.470.450.40 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.040.16-0.20 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -48.2%-50.8%-36.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.8%-4.1%-14.9% -1.2%
52-week high $55.66$242.05$268.65 $779.14
52-week low $32.63$161.91$199.40 $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.

MultipleQGENDHRSTE
P/E now vs peer median 26.6xmedian 29.6x 40.9xmedian 29.6x 27.7xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 5.2xmedian 2.9x 6.5xmedian 2.9x 3.7xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.0xmedian 17.4x 24.2xmedian 17.4x 14.5xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.0xmedian 22.3x 29.8xmedian 22.3x 24.1xmedian 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 2.3x 3.1xmedian 2.3x 3.1xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 3.60median 1.04 -3.26median 1.04 0.31median 1.04

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 monthsQGENDHRSTE
Revenue $2.10B $25.11B $6.04B
Gross profit $1.31B $14.69B $2.68B
Operating income $445.43M $5.13B $1.14B
Net income $409.32M $4.00B $808.10M
Free cash flow $991.33M $5.47B $925.60M
R&D $194.67M $1.62B $115.10M
EPS (diluted) $1.87 $5.66 $8.22
Cash & equivalents $768.50M $4.35B $482.30M
Total debt $6.86B $26.56B $1.89B
Shares (diluted) 218.88M 707.60M 97.90M
Enterprise value $6.66B $146.95B $20.63B

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
MetricQGENDHRSTE
P/E 26.6x 40.9x 27.7x
P/FCF 11.0x 29.8x 24.1x
P/Operating cash flow 16.6x 24.6x 17.3x
P/S 5.2x 6.5x 3.7x
P/B 3.2x 3.1x 3.1x
P/Tangible book 3.6x 5.2x 3.9x
EV/EBITDA 18.0x 24.2x 14.5x
EV/EBIT 26.3x 36.1x 20.8x
EV/Revenue 5.6x 7.4x 3.9x
EV/FCF 11.8x 33.9x 25.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.9x 27.9x 18.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.60 -3.26 0.31

Growth

14 metrics
MetricQGENDHRSTE
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.0% 4.6% 8.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.0% -0.5% 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 1.7% 2.6% 9.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.3% -0.9% 9.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -4.9% 16.1% 23.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.3% -7.1% 11.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 143.9% 17.3% 24.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.7% -14.3% 89.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.5% 19.2% 25.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.4% -12.5% 89.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -3.0% 7.6% 1.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.0% -7.6% 16.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 2.3% 12.4% 1.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.5% -9.0% 23.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricQGENDHRSTE
Gross margin 62.2% 58.5% 44.4%
EBITDA margin 31.0% 30.5% 27.0%
Operating margin 21.2% 20.4% 18.9%
Pretax margin 22.0% 19.0% 18.0%
Net margin 19.5% 15.9% 13.3%
FCF margin 47.2% 21.8% 15.3%
Operating cash flow margin 31.2% 26.4% 21.3%
Return on equity 12.2% 7.6% 11.2%
Return on assets 7.0% 4.5% 7.5%
Return on invested capital 7.9% 5.7% 9.3%
Return on capital employed 8.5% 6.4% 12.1%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.3x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.7x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 2.1% 1.2% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricQGENDHRSTE
Debt / assets 27.9% 28.8% 17.6%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.5x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 2.9x 0.9x
Debt / FCF 1.7x 4.9x 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 43.0% 43.1% 32.7%
Equity / assets 57.0% 56.9% 67.3%
Interest coverage 11.3x 17.6x 18.8x
Current ratio 2.8x 1.7x 1.9x
Quick ratio 2.0x 1.0x 1.2x
Cash ratio 1.4x 0.5x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 4.07 3.72 5.26

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricQGENDHRSTE
Dividend yield 5.3% 0.7% 1.1%
Net buyback yield 0.6% 1.8% 1.5%
Shareholder yield 5.8% 2.4% 2.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 30.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 26.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 9.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 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.

ConsensusQGENDHRSTE
Forward P/E 21.4xFY2026 25.5xFY2026 19.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.35FY2026 $9.11FY2026 $11.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -1.3%FY2026 +16.8%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.4% +8.0% +13.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.25BFY2026 $27.01BFY2026 $6.62BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.8%FY2026 +9.9%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.8% -1.9% -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersQGENDHRSTE
Held by institutions 0.0% 81.9% 97.1%
Institutions holding 1 2,116 829
Change in shares held, QoQ – +1.1% +1.1%
Institutions buying 0 838 405
Institutions selling 0 1,015 300
Buyers to sellers – 0.83 1.35

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.

QGENDHRSTE
QGEN 1.00 0.38 0.22
DHR 0.38 1.00 0.37
STE 0.22 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, QGEN, DHR and STE?

Danaher (DHR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Qiagen (QGEN) $10.89B, Danaher (DHR) $163.13B, Steris (STE) $22.28B.

Which stock is cheaper, QGEN, DHR and STE?

Qiagen (QGEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Qiagen (QGEN) 26.6x, Danaher (DHR) 40.9x, Steris (STE) 27.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Steris (STE) is cheapest (Qiagen (QGEN) 21.4x, Danaher (DHR) 25.5x, Steris (STE) 19.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Steris (STE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Qiagen (QGEN) +3.0%, Danaher (DHR) +4.6%, Steris (STE) +8.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Qiagen (QGEN) has the highest net margin (Qiagen (QGEN) 19.5%, Danaher (DHR) 15.9%, Steris (STE) 13.3%). On return on invested capital, Steris (STE) leads (Qiagen (QGEN) 7.9%, Danaher (DHR) 5.7%, Steris (STE) 9.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Danaher (DHR) returned the most: Qiagen (QGEN) -1.5%, Danaher (DHR) +5.0%, Steris (STE) -5.2%. Over five years, Steris (STE) compounded fastest (Qiagen (QGEN) -3.8%/yr, Danaher (DHR) -5.3%/yr, Steris (STE) -0.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Qiagen (QGEN) has the highest dividend yield: Qiagen (QGEN) 5.26%, Danaher (DHR) 0.65%, Steris (STE) 1.13%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Steris (STE) has been the steadiest (Qiagen (QGEN) 35.8%, Danaher (DHR) 30.6%, Steris (STE) 26.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, QGEN, DHR and STE?

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