Align Technology holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across growth and profitability. Carl Zeiss Meditec still leads on valuation and stability, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. Both sides have seen trend damage — neither carries a clear market edge right now. With both trends damaged, the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.
The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Peer scores are normalised within each company's primary universe (AFX.DE: HDAX, ALGN: S&P 500).
The lead is spread across growth and profitability, rather than sitting in one isolated gap. The overall score gap is 13 points in favour of Align Technology, Inc..
Both operate in: Medical Instruments & Supplies
This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. AFX.DE and ALGN share the same industry classification.
For a similarity-based comparison, see how Carl Zeiss Meditec and Align Technology each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.
Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.
The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.
Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.
Align Technology, Inc. occupies the cheaper side of the setup map, although Carl Zeiss Meditec AG still holds the stronger structural profile.
Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.
Where AFX.DE and ALGN each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.
Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.
One company is still expanding while the other is contracting, which creates a very wide growth split.
Valuation still leans toward Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, so the lead is real without reading as one-way.
The lead is built on both growth and profitability — though valuation still provides a counterweight.
Break down the AFX.DE vs ALGN comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.
Explore how AFX.DE and ALGN each compare against other companies in their peer groups.
Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.
AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.
Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.
Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.
Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.