Becton, Dickinson and Company BDX

Competitive advantage analysis · healthcare

Medical Devices & Diagnostics
Overall moat score
63/100
Moderate

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. It operates through Medical Essentials, Connected Care, BioPharma Systems, Interventional and Life Sciences segments. It provides peripheral intravenous (IV) and advanced peripheral catheters, central lines, acute dialysis catheters, … Full BDX analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Strong FCF Generation FCF margin quality is top-tier vs peers (score 0.75). High FCF conversion confirms strong earnings quality.
  • Strong Operating Margin vs Peers Operating margin level is strong vs peers (score 0.72). SG&A discipline is converting gross margin into operating profit efficiently.

Key risks

  • Below-Peer Gross Margins Gross margin quality lags peers (score 0.38). May indicate commodity-like product mix or distributor margin drag.
  • Elevated Leverage Leverage is elevated vs peers (score 0.20). High net debt/EBITDA limits the balance sheet's acquisition firepower.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Pricing Power & Consumable Moat

Moderate
57

Where BDX ranks in Medical Instruments & Supplies

Becton, Dickinson and Company ranks #17 of 62 scored companies in Medical Instruments & Supplies by moat score — the top 27%. The widest moat in the group is Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG) at 86/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near BDX in Medical Instruments & Supplies
# Company Moat score Rating
13 AptarGroup, Inc. ATR 66/100 Moderate
14 Pro-Dex, Inc. PDEX 65/100 Moderate
15 Haemonetics Corporation HAE 64/100 Moderate
16 West Pharmaceutical Services, I WST 64/100 Moderate
17 Becton, Dickinson and Company BDX 63/100 Moderate
18 Stevanato Group S.p.A. STVN 63/100 Moderate
19 Meihua International Medical Te MHUA 62/100 Moderate
20 Nephros, Inc. NEPH 62/100 Moderate
21 Bausch + Lomb Corporation BLCO 61/100 Moderate

See every Medical Devices & Diagnostics company ranked by moat score →

How BDX scores on the Medical Devices & Diagnostics defenses

Pricing Power & Consumable Moat

Score 57 · 25% of the moat score

In MedTech, pricing power is rarely about the machine — it is about what the machine consumes.

R&D Pipeline & Capital Returns

Score 82 · 20% of the moat score

Research spending is how a device company keeps its installed base current, but spending alone proves nothing.

FCF Quality & Cash Conversion

Score 61 · 20% of the moat score

MedTech companies grow by acquisition, and the resulting intangible amortisation depresses reported earnings without consuming any cash.

Commercial Execution

Score 61 · 15% of the moat score

Devices are sold into hospitals and labs through committees, tenders and long qualification cycles, which makes the sales organisation expensive and hard to replicate.

Capital Structure & Resilience

Score 44 · 12% of the moat score

Serial acquirers carry debt, and the question is whether the cash flows underneath it are dependable enough to service it through a downturn.

Growth Durability

Score 68 · 8% of the moat score

Growth durability separates an expanding installed base from a good product cycle.

How each Medical Devices & Diagnostics defense is measured, in full →

Understanding BDX's moat

What is Becton, Dickinson and Company's moat score?

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) scores 63 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #17 of 62 scored companies in Medical Instruments & Supplies, the top 27%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 61 companies in Medical Instruments & Supplies. Its strongest defense is R&D Pipeline & Capital Returns (82/100) and its weakest is Capital Structure & Resilience (44/100).

How does Becton, Dickinson and Company compare with other Medical Instruments & Supplies companies?

Becton, Dickinson and Company ranks #17 of 62 scored companies in Medical Instruments & Supplies by moat score. The widest moat in Medical Instruments & Supplies is Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG) at 86/100. The companies ranked closest are West Pharmaceutical Services, I (WST) at 64 just above it and Stevanato Group S.p.A. (STVN) at 63 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Medical Devices & Diagnostics in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 61 companies in Medical Instruments & Supplies. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Becton, Dickinson and Company scored with the Medical Devices & Diagnostics template?

Medical device and diagnostics companies place an instrument once and then sell the consumables, reagents and service that instrument needs for the next decade. The economics are a razor-and-blade model wrapped in regulatory approval and clinician habit, so the MedTech template scores the durability of that installed base rather than the size of any single product launch.

Which competitive defenses are measured for Becton, Dickinson and Company?

The Medical Devices & Diagnostics template measures 6 defenses, and BDX scores: Pricing Power & Consumable Moat (57), R&D Pipeline & Capital Returns (82), FCF Quality & Cash Conversion (61), Commercial Execution (61), Capital Structure & Resilience (44), Growth Durability (68). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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