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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

DaVita vs STERIS: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

DaVita holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across profitability and valuation. STERIS still has the edge on growth, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. On the market side, DaVita is in better shape — its trend is intact while STERIS's trend has broken down. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — DaVita's lead looks more confirmed than conflicted.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The clearest score difference appears in profitability. The overall score gap is 8 points in favour of DaVita Inc..

Trajectory Similarity
0.66
Moderately similar
Peer-set rank: #5
within STERIS plc's functional peer set

These two companies are linked by measured long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

This level of similarity points to a meaningful structural match, though not a tight one.

Most of the shared profile comes through revenue stability and capital structure.

Similarity drivers
revenue stabilitycapital structure
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
DVA
DaVita Inc.
60
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
STE
STERIS plc
52
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: DVA vs STE Profitability 46 25 Stability 51 59 Valuation 80 61 Growth 59 71 DVA STE
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +21
#2 Valuation +19
#3 Growth +12
#4 Stability +8
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for DVA and STE Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer DVASTE Relative valuation Structural strength

Structure stays fairly close here, while current pricing still looks more supportive for DaVita Inc..

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where DVA and STE each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY DVA Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 61 pct gap STE Neutral · below norm 0th 50th 100th 99th 38th
Today STE sits in the lower-middle of its own 5-year history (38th percentile), while DVA sits higher in its own history (99th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, STE is at a historically more favourable entry position than DVA. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Profitability
DaVita Inc. holds the stronger peer position on profitability.
Valuation
Both rank well on valuation, but DaVita Inc. still holds a clear edge.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
DVA
46
STE
25
Gap+21in favour of DVA

Capital efficiency adds support, with a 4.9-point ROIC advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Growth still leans toward STERIS plc, so the lead is real without reading as one-way.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both profitability and valuation — though growth still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the DVA vs STE comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Similar profitability-and-valuation comparisons

Explore how DVA and STE 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.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

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.