SNN vs. ZBH: Smith & Nephew vs. Zimmer Biomet Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) 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

Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) 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.

Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) trades as ordinary local shares, while Smith & Nephew (SNN) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Company profile comparison for Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH)
Profile Item	SNN	ZBH
Name	Smith & Nephew plc Sponsored ADR	Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc.
Country/Region	United Kingdom	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	13.04 billion USD	19.98 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	November 16, 1999	July 25, 2001
Security Type	ADR	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

SNN

ZBH

GSPC

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH), 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 Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH)
Metric	SNN	ZBH
Total Return (1Y)	-4.20%	24.04%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	11.34%	2.38%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-0.34%	-2.74%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

SNN

ZBH

GSPC

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH), 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 Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH)
Metric	SNN	ZBH
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	27.31%	32.39%
Beta (5Y)	0.49	0.42
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-38.80%	-43.94%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.49M	2.09M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

SNN and ZBH 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 Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH)
Metric	SNN	ZBH
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.31	0.61
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.46	0.93

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Smith & Nephew (SNN) at 11.85% and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) at 6.03% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

SNN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

11.85%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
SNN: 11.85%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

ZBH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

6.03%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
ZBH: 6.03%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Smith & Nephew (SNN) at 10.08% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) at 8.95%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

SNN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

10.08%

Max: 29.35%
SNN: 10.08%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

ZBH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

8.95%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
ZBH: 8.95%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Smith & Nephew (SNN) at 14.47% and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) at 17.35% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

SNN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

14.47%

Max: 35.43%
SNN: 14.47%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

ZBH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

17.35%

Max: 35.43%
ZBH: 17.35%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH)
Metric	SNN	ZBH
ROE (TTM)	11.85%	6.03%
ROA (TTM)	5.16%	3.81%
Net Margin (TTM)	10.08%	8.95%
Operating Margin (TTM)	14.47%	17.35%
Gross Margin (TTM)	68.44%	69.33%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Smith & Nephew (SNN) at 6.09% and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) at 7.20% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Smith & Nephew (SNN) at 52.34% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) at -19.86% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for SNN.

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH)
Metric	SNN	ZBH
Revenue Growth (YoY)	6.09%	7.20%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.73%	5.85%
EPS Growth (YoY)	52.34%	-19.86%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	42.01%	47.78%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Smith & Nephew (SNN) at 2.14 and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) at 1.46 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

SNN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.14

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
SNN: 2.14
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

ZBH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.46

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

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Smith & Nephew (SNN) at 0.73 and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) at 0.60 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

SNN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.73

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
SNN: 0.73
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

ZBH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.60

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
ZBH: 0.60
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH)
Metric	SNN	ZBH
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.14	1.46
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.73	0.60
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.19	2.85

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Smith & Nephew (SNN) at 1.24% and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) at 0.90% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

SNN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.24%

SNN: 1.24%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ZBH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.90%

ZBH: 0.90%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Smith & Nephew (SNN) at 53.20% and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) at 24.24% pay out more of their earnings than any of their industry peers — the thinnest cover in their groups, so dividend headroom deserves attention.

SNN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

53.20%

SNN: 53.20%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ZBH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

24.24%

ZBH: 24.24%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH)
Metric	SNN	ZBH
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.24%	0.90%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	53.20%	24.24%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Smith & Nephew (SNN) at 21.19 and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) at 26.66 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

SNN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

21.19

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
SNN: 21.19
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

ZBH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

26.66

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
ZBH: 26.66
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Smith & Nephew (SNN) at 2.07 and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) at 2.33 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

SNN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.07

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
SNN: 2.07
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

ZBH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.33

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
ZBH: 2.33
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) at 1.58 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile relative to book while Smith & Nephew (SNN) at 12.80 prices above its industry range — a wide valuation gap against assets.

SNN

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

12.80

SNN: 12.80
Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

ZBH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.58

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
ZBH: 1.58
Min: -1.31

Smith & Nephew (SNN) vs. Zimmer Biomet (ZBH): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Zimmer Biomet (ZBH)
Metric	SNN	ZBH
P/E Ratio (TTM)	21.19	26.66
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.07	2.33
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	12.80	1.58
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	8.12%	7.22%