Becton Dickinson vs Medtronic
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Becton Dickinson and Medtronic side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Medtronic is the larger business, with $36.4B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $21.8B for Becton Dickinson, about 1.7 times as much.
- Medtronic kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (17.8% operating margin, against 11.8%).
- Medtronic turned more of its sales into free cash flow (14.9% FCF margin, against 12.2%).
- Medtronic earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (7.7%, against 5.5%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Becton Dickinson’s earnings: a P/E of 59.2x against 23.3x for Medtronic.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Becton Dickinson
BDX
2/11
5-year growthShare count change
Medtronic
MDT
9/11
Revenue growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | BDX FY25 | MDT FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $54.0B | $121.8B |
| Revenue | $21.8B | $36.4B |
| Free cash flow | $2.7B | $5.4B |
| Net income | $1.7B | $4.8B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 8.2% | 8.4% |
| 5-year growth | 6.3% | 3.8% |
| Share count change | −0.9% | −0.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 45.4% | 65.0% |
| Operating margin | 11.8% | 17.8% |
| Net margin | 7.7% | 13.2% |
| FCF margin | 12.2% | 14.9% |
| Return on capital | 5.5% | 7.7% |
| Return on equity | 6.5% | 9.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $17.0B | $17.0B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.4x | 1.8x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $2.2B | $4.7B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 59.2x | 23.3x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 7 |
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.