PACS Group, Inc. vs Sotera Health Co, two Medical Care stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
7.22 against 1.94: the free-cash yields of PACS and Sotera, the skilled-nursing consolidator handing back nearly four times as much of its price as the sterilization monopolist, whose cash mostly services 3.46 turns of buyout debt. Sotera's frat-house balance sheet sits under franchise economics, a 52.5% gross margin in a niche with no substitutes; PACS runs 0.24 turns under thin care-services margins, 8.5% operating. The market pays 42.4 times for the moat and 27 for the machine. Returns on equity favor PACS honestly, 23.4% against a leverage-assisted 18.9%. The pair prices what cannot be replaced against what keeps arriving; the cash points one way, the moat the other.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | PACS | SHC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $41.88 | $17.38 |
| Market cap | $6.8B | $5.0B |
| Sector | Medical Care | Medical Care |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +7.9% | +15.4% |
| P/E | 27.0 | 42.4 |
| P/B | 6.51 | 8.03 |
| P/S | 1.25 | 4.20 |
| EV/EBITDA | 17.8 | 271.2 |
| Revenue growth | +23.6% | +7.5% |
| Gross margin | — | 52.5% |
| Operating margin | 8.4% | — |
| Net margin | 4.5% | 9.9% |
| Return on equity | 23.4% | 18.9% |
| Return on assets | 4.3% | 3.6% |
| Return on invested capital | 21.0% | — |
| FCF yield | 7.2% | 1.9% |
| Dividend yield | 0.5% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.24 | 3.46 |
| Current ratio | 0.99 | 2.82 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.01 | 1.44 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 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.