ABT vs. EW: Abbott Laboratories vs. Edwards Lifesciences Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) are both classified in the Health Care Equipment sub-industry within the broader Health Care Equipment & Supplies industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Profile Item	ABT	EW
Name	Abbott Laboratories	Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Health Care Equipment & Services	Health Care Equipment & Services
GICS Industry	Health Care Equipment & Supplies	Health Care Equipment & Supplies
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Equipment	Health Care Equipment
Market Capitalization	190.39 billion USD	58.73 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	March 17, 1980	March 27, 2000
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ABT

GSPC

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	ABT	EW
Total Return (1Y)	-10.78%	25.08%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	7.79%	17.28%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-0.79%	-2.77%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ABT

GSPC

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	ABT	EW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	28.48%	25.58%
Beta (5Y)	0.53	0.78
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-39.64%	-54.32%
Avg. Volume (3M)	8.74M	3.69M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ABT and EW are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	ABT	EW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.53	0.81
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.76	1.23

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 9.14% and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 9.33% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.14%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
ABT: 9.14%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.33%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
EW: 9.33%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 9.75% and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 15.30% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.75%

Max: 29.35%
ABT: 9.75%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.30%

Max: 29.35%
EW: 15.30%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 30.15% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 11.66%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

11.66%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
ABT: 11.66%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

30.15%

Max: 35.43%
EW: 30.15%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	ABT	EW
ROE (TTM)	9.14%	9.33%
ROA (TTM)	4.90%	8.77%
Net Margin (TTM)	9.75%	15.30%
Operating Margin (TTM)	11.66%	30.15%
Gross Margin (TTM)	57.17%	78.02%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 5.67% and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 11.55% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at -51.31% and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at -73.74% post bottom-quartile EPS growth versus peers, pointing to weaker earnings momentum than typical rivals.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	ABT	EW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	5.67%	11.55%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	0.51%	10.77%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-51.31%	-73.74%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-1.65%	-9.14%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 1.46 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 4.60 sits above its industry’s typical mid-range — comfortable liquidity, though possibly with more idle current assets relative to peers.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.46

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
ABT: 1.46
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

4.60

Max: 7.59
EW: 4.60
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 0.06 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 0.61 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.61

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
ABT: 0.61
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.06

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
EW: 0.06
Min: 0.00

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	ABT	EW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.46	4.60
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.61	0.06
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.37	-1.88

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Abbott Laboratories (ABT) reports a yield of 2.22%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.22%

ABT: 2.22%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

EW: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Abbott Laboratories (ABT) reports a payout of 92.54%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

92.54%

ABT: 92.54%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

EW: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	ABT	EW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	2.22%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	92.54%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 41.02 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 59.38 sits in the richer quartile — EW needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

41.02

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
ABT: 41.02
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

59.38

Max: 80.41
EW: 59.38
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 3.95 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 8.80 sits in the pricier quartile — EW costs more per dollar of sales.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.95

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
ABT: 3.95
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

8.80

EW: 8.80
Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Abbott Laboratories (ABT) at 3.73 and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 5.41 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

ABT

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.73

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
ABT: 3.73
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

EW

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

5.41

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
EW: 5.41
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	ABT	EW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	41.02	59.38
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.95	8.80
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.73	5.41
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.19%	1.95%