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what it is
Becton, Dickinson makes medical devices and diagnostics that hospitals, labs, and surgeons use every day.
how it gets paid
Last year Son made $21.8B in revenue. Medical was the main engine at $11.3B, or 52% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 8.2% last year. Yahoo's last-earnings snapshot shows $2.91 actual versus $2.80 expected.
what just happened
BDX beat by $0.11 a share, while revenue landed at $5.3B.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
95/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
14.1x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
2.1% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
11.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 73/100 — average
What they do
Becton, Dickinson makes medical devices and diagnostics that hospitals, labs, and surgeons use every day.
Hospitals buy BDX gear because retraining your staff costs more than staying put. The company splits sales across 52%, 24%, and 24% segments, so one weak line does not break the machine. Earnings predictability is 95, and that tells you the checks arrive with less drama.
How they make money
$21.8B
annual revenue · their business grew +8.2% last year
Medical
$11.3B
Life Sciences
$5.2B
Interventional
$5.2B
The products that matter
medical technology portfolio
Medical Devices and Diagnostics
$21.8B revenue · +8.2% growth
the source feed is portfolio-level rather than segment-level, so the honest read is simple: this is a $21.8B medical-technology business with 19.4% net margins, not a clean single-product story.
entire business
Key numbers
$21.8B
annual revenue
You are buying a $21.8B machine that grew 8.2% vs. prior year.
11.8%
operating margin
Every $100 of sales leaves $11.80 before interest and taxes.
2.1%
dividend yield
You get $2.10 a year for every $100 invested, so income matters but growth still drives the story.
$17.6B
long debt
That debt is 23% of capital, so higher rates hit the income statement before they hit the headlines.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 90 / 100
- long-term debt $17.6B (23% of capital)
- net profit margin 20.4% — keeps 20 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 16% — $0.16 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in BDX 3 years ago → it's now worth $8,610.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
BDX beat by $0.11 a share, while revenue landed at $5.3B.
Yahoo's last-earnings snapshot shows $2.91 actual versus $2.80 expected, a 3.93% beat. EDGAR shows the latest quarter at $5.3B in revenue, up 2% vs. prior year.
$5.3B
revenue
$2.91
eps
3.9%
beat
the number that mattered
The 3.93% beat matters because this business is supposed to be boring, and boring usually does not surprise upward.
source: company earnings report and Yahoo Finance snapshot, 2026
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What could go wrong
the top risk is hospital budget pressure on BD's everyday device pricing.
med
hospital pricing pressure
BDX sells into health systems that are always trying to squeeze suppliers. When your investment case leans on reliability, even small price concessions matter.
pressure on pricing would hit a $21.8B revenue base and chip away at the 19.4% net margin that makes this stock look cheap.
med
product and regulatory timing
Medical-device companies do not get to run on vibes. New products still have to clear regulators and make it through hospital purchasing cycles, which can stretch longer than investors want.
when a business grew 8.2% last year, delays do not just slow momentum — they can make the growth story look fully ex-growth.
med
execution with $17.6B in debt
The balance sheet is above average, not bulletproof. Long-term debt at $17.6B and 23% of capital is manageable today, but it also means there is less room for operational drift than the word defensive implies.
if revenue softens while debt stays fixed, the market can keep this at a low-teens multiple for longer than you want.
Put together, these risks matter because they all hit the same equation: a $21.8B business currently earning 19.4 cents on each revenue dollar.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
revenue growth versus the 8.2% baseline
Last year set an 8.2% growth mark. If BDX starts living closer to the latest quarter's 2% pace, the "cheap quality" argument gets thinner fast.
trend
net margin holding near 19.4%
This business does not need explosive growth if margins stay healthy. If that 19.4% net margin slips, the low multiple stops looking like an opportunity and starts looking accurate.
calendar
next quarter versus $5.3B revenue and $1.34 eps
Those are the latest reported markers. Beating them matters less than the explanation for how BDX gets there — price, volume, or cost discipline.
risk
debt staying boring at $17.6B
The ideal debt story here is no story. If balance-sheet commentary starts getting louder, the defensive profile is getting weaker.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
top 20%
momentum score 2 — in human-speak, analysts think BDX can beat most stocks over the next 12 months.
risk profile
safer than most
stability score 2 — historically less fragile than roughly 80% of stocks.
chart momentum
below average
technical score 4 — the business is stable, the chart has been less convincing.
earnings predictability
95 / 100
management's numbers tend to land where expected. That lowers surprise risk, but it also limits the drama.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
703 buyers vs. 694 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.3B shares.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$166
$272
$203
current price
$219
target midpoint · +8% from current · 3-5yr high: $360 (+75% · 17% ann'l return)
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