CVS vs. EW: CVS Health vs. Edwards Lifesciences Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do CVS Health (CVS) 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

CVS Health (CVS) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) both fall under the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group, but CVS is classified in Health Care Providers & Services while EW is classified in Health Care Equipment & Supplies.

Company profile comparison for CVS Health (CVS) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Profile Item	CVS	EW
Name	CVS Health Corporation Common Stock	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 Providers & Services	Health Care Equipment & Supplies
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Services	Health Care Equipment
Market Capitalization	107.28 billion USD	58.73 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 21, 1973	March 27, 2000
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CVS

GSPC

CVS Health (CVS) 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

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for CVS Health (CVS) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	CVS	EW
Total Return (1Y)	11.41%	25.08%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	12.73%	17.28%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	1.70%	-2.77%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CVS

GSPC

CVS Health (CVS) 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

Loading price history…

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	CVS	EW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	34.14%	25.58%
Beta (5Y)	0.60	0.78
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-56.79%	-54.32%
Avg. Volume (3M)	8.60M	3.69M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CVS 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 CVS Health (CVS) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	CVS	EW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.21	0.81
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.28	1.23

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 14.36% 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.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

14.36%

Max: 47.61%
CVS: 14.36%
Q3: 14.36%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 15.30% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of CVS Health (CVS) at 2.64%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.64%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
CVS: 2.64%
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%

CVS Health (CVS) 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 CVS Health (CVS) at 2.72%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.72%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
CVS: 2.72%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	CVS	EW
ROE (TTM)	14.36%	9.33%
ROA (TTM)	3.11%	8.77%
Net Margin (TTM)	2.64%	15.30%
Operating Margin (TTM)	2.72%	30.15%
Gross Margin (TTM)	13.72%	78.02%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 7.85% 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.

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both CVS Health (CVS) at -62.02% and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at -73.74% post bottom-quartile EPS growth versus peers, pointing to weaker earnings momentum than typical rivals.

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Edwards Lifesciences (EW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	CVS	EW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.85%	11.55%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.63%	10.77%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-62.02%	-73.74%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-24.73%	-9.14%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 4.60 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while CVS Health (CVS) at 0.85 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.85

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
CVS: 0.85
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

CVS Health (CVS) 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 quartile, while CVS Health (CVS) at 0.93 sits in the higher-leverage quartile.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.93

Max: 1.88
CVS: 0.93
Q3: 0.91
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

CVS Health (CVS) 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 CVS Health (CVS) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	CVS	EW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.85	4.60
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.93	0.06
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.49	-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 CVS Health (CVS) reports a yield of 3.27%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.27%

CVS: 3.27%
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%

CVS Health (CVS) 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 CVS Health (CVS) reports a payout of 30.89%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

30.89%

CVS: 30.89%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	CVS	EW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	3.27%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	30.89%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

CVS Health (CVS) at 9.74 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 59.38 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.74

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
CVS: 9.74
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

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

CVS Health (CVS) at 0.26 looks cheap on sales in the lower P/S ratio quartile, while Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 8.80 looks rich in the upper quartile — a clear gap in price per dollar of revenue.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.26

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
CVS: 0.26
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

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

CVS Health (CVS) at 1.33 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile against book while Edwards Lifesciences (EW) at 5.41 is valued near its industry’s middle — CVS is cheaper on assets, though weigh it against ROE and asset quality.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.33

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
CVS: 1.33
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

CVS Health (CVS) 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 CVS Health (CVS) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW)
Metric	CVS	EW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	9.74	59.38
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.26	8.80
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.33	5.41
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	11.02%	1.95%