STE vs ABT vs MDT Stock Comparison

Steris, Abbott Laboratories and Medtronic Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
STE STERIS plc
$228.50 +9.4% 1M -5.2% 1Y
Market cap
$22.24B
P/E
27.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.04B
Div. yield
0.01%
Medical Devices Healthcare
4 wins
ABT Abbott Laboratories
$103.13 +1.8% 1M -18.9% 1Y
Market cap
$179.35B
P/E
38.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$48.23B
Div. yield
–
Medical Devices Healthcare
2 wins
MDT Medtronic plc
$93.93 +6.0% 1M -0.2% 1Y
Market cap
$121.34B
P/E
23.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$37.54B
Div. yield
0.03%
Medical Devices Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Medtronic leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Medtronic 6, Steris 4, Abbott Laboratories 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSTEABTMDTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $22.24B $179.35B $121.34B ABT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.6x 38.2x 23.2x MDT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.8x 18.1x 16.9x MDT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.4% +10.0% +9.8% ABT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.3% — 13.9% MDT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.3% — 6.9% STE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.9x — 2.0x STE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.03% MDT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -5.2% -18.9% -0.2% MDT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -0.4%/yr -4.2%/yr -5.0%/yr STE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.2% 27.4% 24.7% MDT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 75/100 60/100 66/100 STE

Percentile Scorecard

STEABTMDT

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

AxisSTEABTMDT
Valuation 83 #39 of 227 74 #60 of 227 85 #36 of 227
Growth 72 #63 of 219 17 #181 of 219 51 #107 of 219
Profitability 87 #28 of 206 – 86 #29 of 206
Financial Health 62 #91 of 238 – 50 #120 of 238
Shareholder Returns 73 #37 of 134 90 #15 of 134 59 #56 of 134
Overall 75 60 66
  • STE ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ABT ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • MDT 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

PeriodSTEABTMDTSPY
1 month +9.4%+1.8%+6.0% -0.2%
3 months -0.8%-3.9%+8.1% +3.9%
6 months +4.0%+9.9%+14.7% +8.2%
Year to date -9.9%-17.7%-2.2% +12.9%
1 year -5.2%-18.9%-0.2% +12.3%
3 years +9.1%+11.1%+35.3% +87.4%
3 years, per year +3.0%+3.6%+10.6% +23.3%
5 years -1.9%-19.2%-22.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year -0.4%-4.2%-5.0% +10.9%
10 years +241.5%+156.0%+15.8% +261.1%
10 years, per year +13.1%+9.9%+1.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSTEABTMDTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.2%27.4%24.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.6%27.5%22.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.40-0.010.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.20-0.69-0.01 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.5%-41.6%-43.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.9%-21.0%-10.8% -1.2%
52-week high $268.65$130.59$105.35 $779.14
52-week low $199.40$82.56$73.75 $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.

MultipleSTEABTMDT
P/E now vs peer median 27.7xmedian 29.6x 38.2xmedian 29.6x 23.0xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 2.9x 3.7xmedian 2.9x 3.2xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.5xmedian 17.4x —median 17.4x 14.4xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.1xmedian 22.3x 22.3xmedian 22.3x 19.6xmedian 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.3x —median 2.3x 2.4xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.31median 1.04 -12.85median 1.04 1.59median 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 monthsSTEABTMDT
Revenue $6.04B $48.23B $37.54B
Gross profit $2.68B – $24.41B
Operating income $1.14B $6.65B $6.79B
Net income $808.10M – $5.27B
Free cash flow $925.60M – $6.13B
R&D $115.10M $3.31B $2.92B
EPS (diluted) $8.22 $2.70 $4.07
Cash & equivalents $482.30M – $1.69B
Total debt $1.89B – $113.29B
Shares (diluted) 97.90M 1.74B 1.29B
Enterprise value $20.58B $179.35B $86.59B

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
MetricSTEABTMDT
P/E 27.7x 38.2x 23.0x
P/FCF 24.1x 22.3x 19.6x
P/Operating cash flow 17.3x – 15.0x
P/S 3.7x 3.7x 3.2x
P/B 3.1x – 2.4x
P/Tangible book 3.9x – 3.0x
EV/EBITDA 14.5x – 14.4x
EV/EBIT 20.8x – 20.6x
EV/Revenue 3.9x 3.7x 3.7x
EV/FCF 25.6x – 22.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.4x – 17.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.31 -12.85 1.59

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSTEABTMDT
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.4% 10.0% 9.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 6.5% 6.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.1% – 9.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.6% – 5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 23.1% -13.8% 10.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.2% 3.5% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 24.6% – 12.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 89.1% – 13.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 25.7% -66.2% 12.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 89.8% -3.0% 14.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1.9% – 12.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.9% – 11.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1.8% – 15.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.3% – 11.3%

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSTEABTMDT
Debt / assets 17.6% – 30.2%
Debt / equity 0.3x – 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.9x – 2.0x
Debt / FCF 2.0x – 4.6x
Liabilities / assets 32.7% – 45.5%
Equity / assets 67.3% – 54.5%
Interest coverage 18.8x – 9.4x
Current ratio 1.9x – 2.1x
Quick ratio 1.2x – 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.4x – 0.7x
Altman Z-score 5.26 – 3.00

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSTEABTMDT
Dividend yield 1.1% 2.4% 3.0%
Net buyback yield 1.5% – 0.2%
Shareholder yield 2.7% 2.4% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 30.6% – 69.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) 26.7% – 59.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) 9.9% – 1.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.7% – 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.

ConsensusSTEABTMDT
Forward P/E 19.8xFY2026 18.1xFY2026 16.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.56FY2026 $5.69FY2026 $5.57FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +13.7%FY2026 +10.5%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.2% +10.4% +7.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.62BFY2026 $53.00BFY2026 $39.92BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.5%FY2026 +19.5%FY2026 +9.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.3% -2.2% -4.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSTEABTMDT
Held by institutions 97.1% 79.2% 85.1%
Institutions holding 829 2,979 2,124
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.1% +0.3% -0.2%
Institutions buying 405 1,259 1,013
Institutions selling 300 1,377 913
Buyers to sellers 1.35 0.91 1.11

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.

STEABTMDT
STE 1.00 0.45 0.54
ABT 0.45 1.00 0.53
MDT 0.54 0.53 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, STE, ABT and MDT?

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Steris (STE) $22.24B, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $179.35B, Medtronic (MDT) $121.34B.

Which stock is cheaper, STE, ABT and MDT?

Medtronic (MDT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Steris (STE) 27.6x, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 38.2x, Medtronic (MDT) 23.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Medtronic (MDT) is cheapest (Steris (STE) 19.8x, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 18.1x, Medtronic (MDT) 16.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Steris (STE) +8.4%, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) +10.0%, Medtronic (MDT) +9.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Medtronic (MDT) returned the most: Steris (STE) -5.2%, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -18.9%, Medtronic (MDT) -0.2%. Over five years, Steris (STE) compounded fastest (Steris (STE) -0.4%/yr, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) -4.2%/yr, Medtronic (MDT) -5.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Medtronic (MDT) has been the steadiest (Steris (STE) 26.2%, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) 27.4%, Medtronic (MDT) 24.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, STE, ABT and MDT?

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 6. 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.