GE HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGIES INC. vs Smith & Nephew plc, two Medical Devices stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
The margin ladder splits this pair at the first rung: Smith & Nephew's 68% gross margin against GE HealthCare's 38.5%, surgical implants against imaging hardware, and yet the operating lines nearly meet, 12.9% against 10%, both companies leaking their gross advantage into cost structures the market distrusts. The multiples diverge oddly from there: 41.6 times for Smith & Nephew's repair story, 15.8 for GE HealthCare's industrial steadiness. GEHC carries the real leverage, 0.95 turns, and currently runs free-cash negative; Smith & Nephew is debt-free yielding 4.9%. Twenty-six turns of premium for the turnaround over the toolmaker; the gross margins explain the hope, the operating margins question it.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | GEHC | SNN |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $65.69 | $30.02 |
| Market cap | $30.0B | $26.0B |
| Sector | Medical Devices | Medical Devices |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +6.5% | — |
| P/E | 15.8 | 41.6 |
| P/B | 2.81 | 4.92 |
| P/S | 1.43 | 4.22 |
| EV/EBITDA | 13.9 | 32.1 |
| Revenue growth | +5.9% | +4.3% |
| Gross margin | 38.5% | 68.0% |
| Operating margin | 10.0% | 12.9% |
| Net margin | 9.1% | 10.1% |
| Return on equity | 17.9% | 11.8% |
| Return on assets | 5.1% | 6.0% |
| Return on invested capital | 10.4% | 12.0% |
| FCF yield | -0.4% | 4.9% |
| Dividend yield | 0.2% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.95 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 1.22 | 2.57 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.57 | 4.86 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 4 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.