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

July 2, 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	131.99 billion USD	120.70 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

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Stryker (SYK): 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.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Stryker (SYK)
Metric	CVS	SYK
Total Return (1Y)	55.46%	-19.61%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CVS

SYK

CVS Health (CVS) vs. Stryker (SYK): Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for CVS Health (CVS) and Stryker (SYK)
Metric	CVS	SYK
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	31.21%	24.12%
Beta (5Y)	0.61	0.77
Avg. Volume (3M)	8.28M	2.58M

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.

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Stryker (SYK) at 15.20% sits in the top ROE quartile, while CVS Health (CVS) at 3.75% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for SYK.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.75%

Max: 53.65%
Q3: 13.38%
CVS: 3.75%
Median: 3.66%
Q1: -17.06%
Min: -59.21%

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.20%

Max: 53.65%
SYK: 15.20%
Q3: 13.38%
Median: 3.66%
Q1: -17.06%
Min: -59.21%

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 13.21% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of CVS Health (CVS) at 0.72%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.72%

Max: 30.40%
Q3: 8.04%
Median: 1.52%
CVS: 0.72%
Q1: -9.42%
Min: -34.34%

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

13.21%

Max: 30.40%
SYK: 13.21%
Q3: 8.04%
Median: 1.52%
Q1: -9.42%
Min: -34.34%

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 17.82% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of CVS Health (CVS) at 4.12%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

4.12%

Max: 37.54%
Q3: 12.56%
Median: 5.48%
CVS: 4.12%
Q1: -4.26%
Min: -25.61%

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

17.82%

Max: 37.54%
SYK: 17.82%
Q3: 12.56%
Median: 5.48%
Q1: -4.26%
Min: -25.61%

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)	3.75%	15.20%
ROA (TTM)	2.67%	7.72%
Net Margin (TTM)	0.72%	13.21%
Operating Margin (TTM)	4.12%	17.82%
Gross Margin (TTM)	13.39%	64.70%

Growth

Revenue Growth

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

Revenue Growth Metrics

Revenue 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

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

EPS Growth Metrics

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

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Stryker (SYK) at 2.11 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: 7.79
Q3: 4.28
Median: 1.99
Q1: 1.34
CVS: 0.87
Min: 0.04

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.11

Max: 7.79
Q3: 4.28
SYK: 2.11
Median: 1.99
Q1: 1.34
Min: 0.04

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 1.01 and Stryker (SYK) at 0.66 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.01

Max: 2.02
CVS: 1.01
Q3: 1.01
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.15
Min: 0.00

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.66

Max: 2.02
Q3: 1.01
SYK: 0.66
Median: 0.60
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	2.11
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.01	0.66
Net Debt / EBITDA	4.32	1.77

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 2.57% and Stryker (SYK) at 1.04% 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

2.57%

CVS: 2.57%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.04%

SYK: 1.04%
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)

CVS Health (CVS) reports payout ratio above 100% at 116.67%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile Stryker (SYK) reports 39.81%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

116.67%

CVS: 116.67%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

39.81%

SYK: 39.81%
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)	2.57%	1.04%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	116.67%	39.81%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both CVS Health (CVS) at 45.37 and Stryker (SYK) at 36.48 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

45.37

Max: 78.82
Q3: 46.69
CVS: 45.37
Median: 28.91
Q1: 18.90
Min: 0.97

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

36.48

Max: 78.82
Q3: 46.69
SYK: 36.48
Median: 28.91
Q1: 18.90
Min: 0.97

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 0.33 looks cheap on sales in the lower P/S ratio quartile, while Stryker (SYK) at 4.78 looks rich in the upper quartile — a clear gap in price per dollar of revenue.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.33

Max: 9.34
Q3: 4.44
Median: 1.99
Q1: 1.09
CVS: 0.33
Min: 0.04

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

4.78

Max: 9.34
SYK: 4.78
Q3: 4.44
Median: 1.99
Q1: 1.09
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)

On P/B ratio, both CVS Health (CVS) at 1.70 and Stryker (SYK) at 5.25 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.70

Max: 12.16
Q3: 5.75
Median: 2.87
CVS: 1.70
Q1: 1.48
Min: -2.40

SYK

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

5.25

Max: 12.16
Q3: 5.75
SYK: 5.25
Median: 2.87
Q1: 1.48
Min: -2.40

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)	45.37	36.48
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.33	4.78
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.70	5.25
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.94%	3.61%