CVS vs. SYK: CVS Health vs. Stryker Stock Comparison

August 16, 2026

How do CVS Health (CVS) and Stryker (SYK) 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 Stryker (SYK) both fall under the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group, but CVS is classified in Health Care Providers & Services while SYK is classified in Health Care Equipment & Supplies.

Company profile comparison for CVS Health (CVS) and Stryker (SYK)
Profile Item	CVS	SYK
Name	CVS Health Corporation	Stryker 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	124.26 billion USD	130.11 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	February 21, 1973	March 17, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CVS

SYK

GSPC

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Stryker (SYK), 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 Stryker (SYK). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Stryker (SYK)
Metric	CVS	SYK
Total Return (1Y)	50.22%	-9.47%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	13.59%	7.04%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	6.33%	6.31%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CVS

SYK

GSPC

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Stryker (SYK), 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 Stryker (SYK). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Stryker (SYK)
Metric	CVS	SYK
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	30.97%	27.55%
Beta (5Y)	0.58	0.77
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-56.79%	-31.68%
Avg. Volume (3M)	8.19M	2.64M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CVS and SYK 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 Stryker (SYK)
Metric	CVS	SYK
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.49	-0.49
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.08	-0.68

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Stryker (SYK) at 16.51% sits in the top ROE quartile, while CVS Health (CVS) at 6.21% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for SYK.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

6.21%

Max: 53.65%
Q3: 14.15%
CVS: 6.21%
Median: 3.77%
Q1: -14.37%
Min: -56.60%

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

16.51%

Max: 53.65%
SYK: 16.51%
Q3: 14.15%
Median: 3.77%
Q1: -14.37%
Min: -56.60%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Stryker (SYK) at 14.43% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of CVS Health (CVS) at 1.19%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.19%

Max: 30.40%
Q3: 9.21%
Median: 1.85%
CVS: 1.19%
Q1: -9.04%
Min: -35.69%

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

14.43%

Max: 30.40%
SYK: 14.43%
Q3: 9.21%
Median: 1.85%
Q1: -9.04%
Min: -35.69%

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Stryker (SYK): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Stryker (SYK) at 27.02% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of CVS Health (CVS) at 3.86%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.86%

Max: 37.54%
Q3: 13.85%
Median: 6.05%
CVS: 3.86%
Q1: -3.20%
Min: -25.23%

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

27.02%

Max: 37.54%
SYK: 27.02%
Q3: 13.85%
Median: 6.05%
Q1: -3.20%
Min: -25.23%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Stryker (SYK)
Metric	CVS	SYK
ROE (TTM)	6.21%	16.51%
ROA (TTM)	2.97%	8.16%
Net Margin (TTM)	1.19%	14.43%
Operating Margin (TTM)	3.86%	27.02%
Gross Margin (TTM)	13.65%	65.59%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 7.85% and Stryker (SYK) at 11.16% 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. Stryker (SYK): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Stryker (SYK) at 8.25% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while CVS Health (CVS) at -62.02% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Stryker (SYK): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Stryker (SYK)
Metric	CVS	SYK
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.85%	11.16%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.63%	10.83%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-62.02%	8.25%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-24.73%	10.83%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Stryker (SYK) at 2.16 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while CVS Health (CVS) at 0.87 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for CVS.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.87

Max: 8.18
Q3: 4.16
Median: 1.97
Q1: 1.34
CVS: 0.87
Min: 0.15

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.16

Max: 8.18
Q3: 4.16
SYK: 2.16
Median: 1.97
Q1: 1.34
Min: 0.15

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Stryker (SYK): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 0.96 and Stryker (SYK) at 0.64 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.96

Max: 2.02
Q3: 0.99
CVS: 0.96
Median: 0.63
Q1: 0.15
Min: 0.00

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.64

Max: 2.02
Q3: 0.99
SYK: 0.64
Median: 0.63
Q1: 0.15
Min: 0.00

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Stryker (SYK): 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 Stryker (SYK)
Metric	CVS	SYK
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.87	2.16
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.96	0.64
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.74	1.62

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 2.80% and Stryker (SYK) at 1.02% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.80%

CVS: 2.80%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.02%

SYK: 1.02%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Stryker (SYK): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 70.18% and Stryker (SYK) at 36.06% pay out more of their earnings than any of their industry peers — the thinnest cover in their groups, so dividend headroom deserves attention.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

70.18%

CVS: 70.18%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

36.06%

SYK: 36.06%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Stryker (SYK)
Metric	CVS	SYK
Dividend Yield (TTM)	2.80%	1.02%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	70.18%	36.06%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 25.64 and Stryker (SYK) at 35.22 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.64

Max: 71.85
Q3: 43.35
Median: 28.42
CVS: 25.64
Q1: 20.77
Min: 1.60

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

35.22

Max: 71.85
Q3: 43.35
SYK: 35.22
Median: 28.42
Q1: 20.77
Min: 1.60

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

CVS Health (CVS) at 0.30 looks cheap on sales in the lower P/S ratio quartile, while Stryker (SYK) at 5.04 looks rich in the upper quartile — a clear gap in price per dollar of revenue.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.30

Max: 10.25
Q3: 4.87
Median: 2.28
Q1: 1.15
CVS: 0.30
Min: 0.04

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

5.04

Max: 10.25
SYK: 5.04
Q3: 4.87
Median: 2.28
Q1: 1.15
Min: 0.04

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

CVS Health (CVS) at 1.56 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile against book while Stryker (SYK) at 5.66 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

1.56

Max: 12.57
Q3: 6.39
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.75
CVS: 1.56
Min: -2.30

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

5.66

Max: 12.57
Q3: 6.39
SYK: 5.66
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.75
Min: -2.30

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Stryker (SYK): 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 Stryker (SYK)
Metric	CVS	SYK
P/E Ratio (TTM)	25.64	35.22
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.30	5.04
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.56	5.66
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	6.50%	3.16%