Align Technology vs West Pharmaceutical Services
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Align Technology and West Pharmaceutical Services side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Align Technology is the larger business, with $4.0B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $3.1B for West Pharmaceutical Services.
- West Pharmaceutical Services grew revenue faster (6.3%, against 0.9%).
- West Pharmaceutical Services kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (19.0% operating margin, against 13.5%).
- West Pharmaceutical Services turned more of its sales into free cash flow (15.3% FCF margin, against 12.2%).
- West Pharmaceutical Services earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (18.7%, against 13.3%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of West Pharmaceutical Services’s earnings: a P/E of 50.5x against 26.5x for Align Technology.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Align Technology
ALGN
4/11
5-year growthGross marginNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
West Pharmaceutical Services
WST
7/11
Revenue growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-score
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | ALGN FY25 | WST FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $10.9B | $28.1B |
| Revenue | $4.0B | $3.1B |
| Free cash flow | $491M | $469M |
| Net income | $410M | $494M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 0.9% | 6.3% |
| 5-year growth | 10.3% | 7.4% |
| Share count change | −3.2% | −1.4% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 67.2% | 35.9% |
| Operating margin | 13.5% | 19.0% |
| Net margin | 10.2% | 16.1% |
| FCF margin | 12.2% | 15.3% |
| Return on capital | 13.3% | 18.7% |
| Return on equity | 10.4% | 16.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$1.1B | −$583M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −1.4x | −0.8x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $466M | $195M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 26.5x | 50.5x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 9 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
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.