OPTION CARE HEALTH, INC. vs Sotera Health Co, two Medical Care stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Growth is the claim both multiples make and neither page proves: Sotera at 42.4 times earnings needs its sterilization niche to keep compounding through 3.46 turns of debt, Option Care at 17 needs home infusion to keep taking share with 0.86. The economics are a wash on margins, thin at both in different ways, but not on cash: Option Care converts 6.2% of its price into free cash, more than triple Sotera's 1.9%. Returns on equity favor Sotera, 18.9% against 15.3%, with the leverage doing much of that work. Twenty-five turns of premium for the moat with the mortgage over the trend with the cash; the pair prices defensibility against direction, expensively.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | OPCH | SHC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $21.76 | $17.38 |
| Market cap | $3.4B | $5.0B |
| Sector | Medical Care | Medical Care |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -4.3% | +15.4% |
| P/E | 17.0 | 42.4 |
| P/B | 2.55 | 8.03 |
| P/S | 0.61 | 4.20 |
| EV/EBITDA | 11.1 | 271.2 |
| Revenue growth | +9.4% | +7.5% |
| Gross margin | 19.4% | 52.5% |
| Operating margin | 5.4% | — |
| Net margin | 3.6% | 9.9% |
| Return on equity | 15.3% | 18.9% |
| Return on assets | 6.1% | 3.6% |
| Return on invested capital | 9.8% | — |
| FCF yield | 6.2% | 1.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.86 | 3.46 |
| Current ratio | 1.64 | 2.82 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 3.31 | 1.44 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 4 / 9 | 4 / 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.