Sotera Health Co vs TENET HEALTHCARE CORP, two Medical Care stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Tenet earns 39.5% on equity, Sotera 18.9%, both geared (1.97 and 3.46 turns), and the honest comparison, return on assets, reads 8.5% against 3.6%, hospitals currently out-earning the sterilization monopoly per dollar of what they own. The market prices them in reverse: 42.4 times earnings for Sotera's moat, 9.8 for Tenet's margins, a four-fold spread against the current-earnings evidence. Tenet's 20.4% free-cash yield is ten times Sotera's 1.9%. Two levered health-services names, one priced as irreplaceable, one as unsustainable; the returns tables suggest the labels arrived before the arithmetic.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | SHC | THC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $17.38 | $187.50 |
| Market cap | $5.0B | $16.4B |
| Sector | Medical Care | Medical Care |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +15.4% | — |
| P/E | 42.4 | 9.8 |
| P/B | 8.03 | 2.45 |
| P/S | 4.20 | 0.77 |
| EV/EBITDA | 271.2 | 5.6 |
| Revenue growth | +7.5% | +4.5% |
| Gross margin | 52.5% | — |
| Operating margin | — | 24.1% |
| Net margin | 9.9% | 12.4% |
| Return on equity | 18.9% | 39.5% |
| Return on assets | 3.6% | 8.5% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 15.5% |
| FCF yield | 1.9% | 20.4% |
| Debt / equity | 3.46 | 1.97 |
| Current ratio | 2.82 | 1.36 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.44 | 1.58 |
| 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.