Sifting through countless of stocks in the Health Care Equipment & Supplies 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 DexCom, Inc. or Medtronic plc 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 DexCom, Inc. and Medtronic plc compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About DexCom, Inc. and Medtronic plc

DexCom, Inc., a medical device company, focuses on the design, development, and commercialization of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems for the management of diabetes and metabolic health in the United States and internationally. The company offers Dexcom G7 and G7 15 Day, an integrated continuous glucose monitoring system; Dexcom G6, a CGM system; Dexcom ONE+ to replace fingerstick blood glucose testing for diabetes treatment decisions; Stelo, a biosensor designed for adults with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes who do not use insulin; Dexcom Share, a remote monitoring system; and Dexcom Follow application. It markets its products directly to endocrinologists, physicians, and diabetes educators. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Medtronic plc develops, manufactures, and sells device-based medical therapies to healthcare systems, physicians, clinicians, and patients in the United States, Ireland, and internationally. It operates through three segments: The Cardiovascular Portfolio, Neuroscience Portfolio, and Medical Surgical Portfolio. The Cardiovascular Portfolio segment offers implantable cardiac pacemakers, cardioverter defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices; cardiac ablation products; insertable cardiac monitor systems; TYRX products; and remote monitoring and patient-centered software. It also provides aortic valves, surgical valve replacement and repair products, endovascular stent grafts and accessories, and transcatheter pulmonary valves, left atrial appendage exclusion systems, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) systems and percutaneous coronary intervention products, percutaneous angioplasty balloons, and endovenous products. The Neuroscience Portfolio segment offers medical devices and implants, biologic solutions, spinal cord stimulation and brain modulation systems, implantable drug infusion systems, and interventional products, as well as nerve ablation system under the Accurian name. This segment offers its products for spinal surgeons, neurosurgeons, neurologists, pain management specialists, anesthesiologists, orthopedic surgeons, urologists, urogynecologists, and interventional radiologists, as well as ear, nose, and throat specialists, and energy surgical instruments. The Medical Surgical Portfolio segment offers surgical stapling devices, vessel sealing instruments, wound closure and electrosurgery products, AI-powered surgical video and analytics platform, robotic-assisted surgery products, hernia mechanical devices, mesh implants, gynecology products, gastrointestinal and hepatologic diagnostics and therapies, and therapies to treat diseases and conditions, and patient monitoring and airway management products, as well as insulin pumps and consumables, continuous glucose monitoring systems, and sensors. Medtronic plc was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Galway, Ireland.

Latest Health Care Equipment & Supplies and DexCom, Inc., Medtronic plc Stock News

As of September 4, 2026, DexCom, Inc. had a $33.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Health Care Equipment & Supplies median of $423.0 million. DexCom, Inc.’s stock is up 32.4% in 2026, down 3.2% in the previous five trading days and up 8.84% in the past year.

Currently, DexCom, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 34.7. DexCom, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $5.0 billion with a 20.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 13.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.662 per share for the current fiscal year. DexCom, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of September 4, 2026, Medtronic plc had a $120.5 billion market cap, putting it in the 97th percentile of all stocks. Medtronic plc’s stock is down 2% in 2026, up 3.2% in the previous five trading days and up 1.42% in the past year.

Currently, Medtronic plc’s price-earnings ratio is 23.2. Medtronic plc’s trailing 12-month revenue is $37.5 billion with a 13.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 13.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.972 per share for the current fiscal year. Medtronic plc currently has a 3.1% dividend yield.

How We Compare DexCom, Inc. and Medtronic plc 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 DexCom, Inc. and Medtronic plc’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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DexCom, Inc. and Medtronic plc Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
DexCom, Inc.	DXCM	F
Medtronic plc	MDT	D

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 Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

DexCom, Inc. has a Value Score of 17, which is Ultra Expensive. Medtronic plc has a Value Score of 33, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither DexCom, Inc. or Medtronic plc has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if DexCom, Inc. or Medtronic plc is the better investment when it comes to value.

DexCom, Inc. and Medtronic plc’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
DexCom, Inc.	DXCM	A
Medtronic plc	MDT	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks 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 the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

DexCom, Inc. has a Quality Score of 99, which is Very Strong. Medtronic plc has a Quality Score of 90, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both DexCom, Inc. and Medtronic plc have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

DexCom, Inc. and Medtronic plc’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
DexCom, Inc.	DXCM	B
Medtronic plc	MDT	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.

DexCom, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 63, which is Positive. Medtronic plc has a Earnings Estimate Score of 63, which is Positive.

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

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both DexCom, Inc. and Medtronic plc 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 DexCom, Inc. or Medtronic plc is a better fit.

Other DexCom, Inc. and Medtronic plc Grades

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

Momentum grades help 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.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

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 DexCom, Inc. and Medtronic plc pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, DexCom, Inc. or Medtronic plc Stock?

Overall, DexCom, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 17, Estimate Revisions Score of 63 and Quality Score of 99.

Medtronic plc stock has a Value Score of 33, Estimate Revisions Score of 63 and Quality Score of 90.

Comparing DexCom, Inc. and Medtronic plc’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.