Sifting through countless of stocks in the Life Sciences Tools & Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina and Inc.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Life Sciences and Diagnostics Markets, Agilent CrossLab, and Applied Markets. The Life Sciences and Diagnostics Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems. This segment is also involved in the genomics, contract development and manufacturing organization, pathology, companion diagnostics, and biomolecular analysis businesses. The Agilent CrossLab segment provides various services, including repairs, parts, maintenance, installations, training, compliance support, software as a service, asset management, consulting, and other custom services. This segment also offers consumables, including gas chromatography and liquid chromatography columns, sample preparation products, custom chemistries, and various laboratory supplies; software and informatics solutions comprising software for instrument control, data acquisition, data analysis, secure storage of results, and laboratory information and workflow management; and OpenLab laboratory software, an open software platform that enables customers to capture, analyze, and share scientific data throughout the lab and across the enterprise. In addition, it provides automated sample preparation solutions, such as liquid handling, plate management, consumables, and scheduling software. The Applied Markets segment offers products in the areas of gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, vacuum technology, and remarketed instruments. It markets its products through direct sales, distributors, resellers, manufacturer's representatives, and electronic commerce. Agilent Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Illumina, Inc. provides sequencing- and array-based solutions for genetic and genomic analysis in the Americas, Europe, Greater China, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers sequencing- and array-based instruments and consumables, which include reagents, flow cells, and library preparation; whole-genome sequencing kits, which sequence entire genomes of various size and complexity; and targeted resequencing kits, which sequence exomes, specific genes, and RNA or other genomic regions of interest. It also provides whole-genome sequencing, genotyping, noninvasive prenatal testing, and product support services. The company serves genomic research centers, academic institutions, government laboratories, and hospitals, as well as pharmaceutical, biotechnology, commercial molecular diagnostic laboratories, and consumer genomics companies. The company markets and distributes its products directly to customers, as well as through life-science distributors. The company has a collaboration with Labcorp Holdings Inc. for the development of oncology treatments through applications of sequencing solutions across the healthcare ecosystem; and strategic collaboration with Integrated DNA Technologies to enable a DRAGEN, secondary analysis pipeline for IDT xGena, FFPE and cfDNA next generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation with custom panels, delivering an integrated, end-to-end solution for somatic oncology research. It also has a data partnership with Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine to advance research in pediatric cancer and rare disease. Illumina, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Latest Life Sciences Tools & Services and Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina, Inc. Stock News

As of July 2, 2026, Agilent Technologies, Inc. had a $36.9 billion market capitalization, compared to the Life Sciences Tools & Services median of $2.1 million. Agilent Technologies, Inc.’s stock is down 4% in 2026, down 3.6% in the previous five trading days and up 8.5% in the past year.

Currently, Agilent Technologies, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 26.2. Agilent Technologies, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $7.2 billion with a 19.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.059 per share for the current fiscal year. Agilent Technologies, Inc. currently has a 0.8% dividend yield.

As of July 2, 2026, Illumina, Inc. had a $28.5 billion market cap, putting it in the 89th percentile of all stocks. Illumina, Inc.’s stock is up 43.9% in 2026, up 6.2% in the previous five trading days and up 92.22% in the past year.

Currently, Illumina, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 34.2. Illumina, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $4.4 billion with a 19.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.229 per share for the current fiscal year. Illumina, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Agilent Technologies, Inc.	A	C
Illumina, Inc.	ILMN	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a Growth Score of 56, which is Average. Illumina, Inc. has a Growth Score of 61, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Illumina, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Illumina, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Agilent Technologies, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Illumina, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Agilent Technologies, Inc.	A	C
Illumina, Inc.	ILMN	A

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 50, which is Average. Illumina, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 88, which is Very Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Illumina, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Illumina, Inc. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Agilent Technologies, Inc.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Illumina, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Agilent Technologies, Inc.	A	B
Illumina, Inc.	ILMN	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 61, which is Positive. Illumina, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 76, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina and Inc. have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina or Inc. is a better fit.

Other Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina and Inc. Grades

In addition to Momentum, Growth and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Quality.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Agilent Technologies, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 56, Momentum Score of 50 and Estimate Revisions Score of 61.

Illumina, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 61, Momentum Score of 88 and Estimate Revisions Score of 76.

Comparing Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.