Idexx Laboratories vs Steris
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The short version
- Steris is the larger business, with $5.9B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $4.3B for Idexx Laboratories.
- Idexx Laboratories grew revenue faster (10.4%, against 8.7%).
- Idexx Laboratories kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (31.6% operating margin, against 18.6%).
- Idexx Laboratories turned more of its sales into free cash flow (24.6% FCF margin, against 16.4%).
- Idexx Laboratories earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (57.3%, against 9.6%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Idexx Laboratories’s earnings: a P/E of 39.4x against 28.4x for Steris.
| Latest fiscal year | IDXX · FY25 | STE · FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $44.4B | $22.7B |
| Revenue | $4.3B | $5.9B |
| Free cash flow | $1.1B | $972M |
| Net income | $1.1B | $782M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 10.4% | 8.7% |
| 5-year growth | 9.7% | 13.8% |
| Share count change | −2.7% | −0.4% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 61.8% | 44.3% |
| Operating margin | 31.6% | 18.6% |
| Net margin | 24.6% | 13.2% |
| FCF margin | 24.6% | 16.4% |
| Return on capital | 57.3% | 9.6% |
| Return on equity | 66.2% | 11.4% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $270M | $1.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.2x | 0.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.2B | $477M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 39.4x | 28.4x |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 9 |
FY17
IDXX $2.0B
STE $2.6B
FY18
IDXX $2.2B
STE $2.6B
FY19
IDXX $2.4B
STE $2.8B
FY20
IDXX $2.7B
STE $3.0B
FY21
IDXX $3.2B
STE $3.1B
FY22
IDXX $3.4B
STE $4.2B
FY23
IDXX $3.7B
STE $4.5B
FY24
IDXX $3.9B
STE $5.1B
FY25
IDXX $4.3B
STE $5.5B
FY26
IDXX —
STE $5.9B
IDXX
STE
FY17
IDXX 21.0%
STE 8.7%
FY18
IDXX 22.2%
STE 15.3%
FY19
IDXX 23.0%
STE 14.8%
FY20
IDXX 25.7%
STE 17.7%
FY21
IDXX 29.0%
STE 17.7%
FY22
IDXX 26.7%
STE 11.3%
FY23
IDXX 30.0%
STE 17.4%
FY24
IDXX 29.0%
STE 16.3%
FY25
IDXX 31.6%
STE 15.9%
FY26
IDXX —
STE 18.6%
IDXX
STE
FY17
IDXX $299M
STE $251M
FY18
IDXX $284M
STE $292M
FY19
IDXX $304M
STE $350M
FY20
IDXX $541M
STE $376M
FY21
IDXX $636M
STE $450M
FY22
IDXX $394M
STE $397M
FY23
IDXX $773M
STE $395M
FY24
IDXX $808M
STE $613M
FY25
IDXX $1.1B
STE $778M
FY26
IDXX —
STE $972M
IDXX
STE
FY17
IDXX —
STE —
FY18
IDXX 147.3%
STE —
FY19
IDXX 72.1%
STE 8.0%
FY20
IDXX 62.8%
STE 10.5%
FY21
IDXX 60.2%
STE 8.8%
FY22
IDXX 53.3%
STE 5.1%
FY23
IDXX 58.4%
STE 7.1%
FY24
IDXX 49.4%
STE 7.2%
FY25
IDXX 57.3%
STE 7.5%
FY26
IDXX —
STE 9.6%
IDXX
STE
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.