Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. DHR scored 39.0, ISRG scored 75.1 — ISRG leads.
Compare another set
DHR
Danaher Corporation
Diagnostics & Research · Quality-Growth
39
$219.81 · $154.5B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
36.1
ISRG leads
ISRG
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
Medical Instruments & Supplies · Quality-Growth
75.1
$423.96 · $149.8B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestDHR39.2x
Fastest growthISRG+20.5%
Strongest balance sheetISRG0.00
Highest qualityISRG85 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
DHR
stronger →← stronger
ISRG
61
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
85
48
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
90
20
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
55
ISRG is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
DHR
ISRG
$5.5bB+
FCF
$3.2bB
+2.9%C
Rev
+20.5%A-
0.53B
D/E
0.00A
39.2xC+
P/E
48.6xC
1.30B
PEG
1.93C+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
DHR
ISRG
63% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
215% above
~15%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~44%/yr
-38%
1-yr DCF upside
-73%
-39%
5-yr DCF upside
-68%
-40%
10-yr DCF upside
-59%
These two disagree on this pair: the Value pillar ranks cheapness against sector peers, while price-vs-fair-value is an absolute read. A name can be the better value in its sector and still the dearer one on cash flows.
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
DHR
Why this score
Raising its dividend
ISRG
No notable signals flagged.
The companies
DHRDanaher Corporation
Diagnostics & Research · $219.81 · beta 0.80
Why now
Diagnostics & Research · market cap $154.5b. 9% off the 52-week high of $242.80. 22 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $241.00 (implying +10% upside).
Moat
Net margin 16% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. FCF converts 137% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash. $154.5b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
Trailing P/E 39x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates. ROE 8% is below the long-run sustainable threshold of ~10% — capital efficiency would need to improve for the equity base to compound at the market rate.
ISRGIntuitive Surgical, Inc.
Medical Instruments & Supplies · $423.96 · beta 1.46
Why now
Medical Instruments & Supplies · market cap $149.8b. Down 30% from 52-week high of $603.88 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +21%, comfortably above the S&P median. 30 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $477.47 (implying +13% upside).
Moat
Net margin 28% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 17% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 103% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Beta 1.46 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return. Trailing P/E 49x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates. P/S 13.6x embeds aggressive forward growth — disappointing top-line guidance would compress the multiple hard.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where DHR and ISRG diverge
On the headline score the gap is 36.1 points in favor of ISRG. The widest single difference is Growth, where ISRG leads by 42.3 points.
GrowthDHR 47.8 · ISRG 90.1ISRG +42.3
ValueDHR 20.4 · ISRG 55.4ISRG +35.0
QualityDHR 61.0 · ISRG 84.9ISRG +23.9
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is ISRG or DHR the better stock?
ISRG scores higher: ISRG 75.1, DHR 39.0 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do ISRG and DHR differ most?
The widest gap is growth, where ISRG leads by 42 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. ISRG leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are ISRG and DHR scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.