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 Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services 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 Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.
About Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc.
Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company offers generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, hypertriglyceridemia, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon. It also provides laboratory and transfusion medicine systems in the areas of immunoassay, clinical chemistry, hematology, and transfusion serology testing; molecular diagnostics polymerase chain reaction instrument systems that automate the extraction, purification, and preparation of DNA and RNA from patient samples, and detect and measure infectious agents; point of care systems; cartridges for testing blood gas, chemistry, electrolytes, coagulation, and immunoassay; rapid diagnostics lateral flow testing products; molecular point-of-care testing for HIV, SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B, RSV, and strep A; cardiometabolic test systems; and drug and alcohol test. In addition, the company offers pediatric and adult nutritional products and infant formula; rhythm management, electrophysiology, heart failure, vascular, and structural heart devices for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases; diabetes care products, such as glucose and blood glucose monitoring systems; and neuromodulation devices. The company was formerly known as Abbott Alkaloidal Company and changed its name to Abbott Laboratories in 1915. Abbott Laboratories was founded in 1888 and is based in Abbott Park, Illinois.
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. The Proprietary Products segment offers stoppers and seals for injectable packaging systems; syringe and cartridge components, including custom solutions for the needs of injectable drug applications, as well as administration systems that enhance the safe delivery of drugs through advanced reconstitution, mixing, and transfer technologies; and films, coatings, washing, and vision inspection and sterilization processes and services to enhance the quality of packaging products. This segment also provides drug containment solutions in the form of vials, syringes, and cartridges; and self-injection devices; and a range of integrated solutions, including analytical lab services, pre-approval primary packaging support and engineering development, regulatory expertise, and after-sales technical support. This segment serves biologic, generic, and pharmaceutical drug companies. The Contract-Manufactured Products segment is involved in the design, manufacture, and automated assembly of devices used in surgical, diagnostic, ophthalmic, injectable, and other drug delivery systems, as well as consumer products. This segment primarily serves pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device companies. It sells and distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, contract sales agents, and regional distributors. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.
Latest Health Care Equipment & Supplies and Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. Stock News
As of May 15, 2026, Abbott Laboratories had a $147.1 billion market capitalization, compared to the Health Care Equipment & Supplies median of $322.5 million. Abbott Laboratories’s stock is down 32.6% in 2026, up 0.2% in the previous five trading days and down 34.3% in the past year.
Currently, Abbott Laboratories’s price-earnings ratio is 23.7. Abbott Laboratories’s trailing 12-month revenue is $45.1 billion with a 13.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 7.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.483 per share for the current fiscal year. Abbott Laboratories currently has a 3.0% dividend yield.
As of May 15, 2026, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. had a $21.4 billion market cap, putting it in the 87th percentile of all stocks. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.’s stock is up 10.1% in 2026, down 7.1% in the previous five trading days and up 46.54% in the past year.
Currently, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 40.5. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.2 billion with a 16.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 21.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $8.620 per share for the current fiscal year. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. currently has a 0.3% dividend yield.
How We Compare Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services 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 Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.
Learn more about A+ Investor here!
Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions
Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc. Stock Value Grades
| Company | Ticker | Value |
| Abbott Laboratories | ABT | D |
| West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. | WST | F |
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.
Abbott Laboratories has a Value Score of 27, which is Expensive.
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a Value Score of 13, which is Ultra Expensive.
The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner
Neither Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services or Inc. 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 Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.
Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc. Growth Grades
| Company | Ticker | Growth |
| Abbott Laboratories | ABT | B |
| West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. | WST | A |
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.
Abbott Laboratories has a Growth Score of 73, which is Strong.
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong.
The Growth Grade Winner: West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.
As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Abbott Laboratories. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, West Pharmaceutical Services, 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.
Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc.’s Quality Grades
| Company | Ticker | Quality |
| Abbott Laboratories | ABT | B |
| West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. | WST | 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.
Abbott Laboratories has a Quality Score of 61, which is Strong.
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a Quality Score of 92, which is Very Strong.
The Quality Grade Winner: West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.
As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Abbott Laboratories. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.
Don’t Forget Your Free Special Report on How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Investment Decisions
Other Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc. Grades
In addition to Growth, Value and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Estimate Revisions.
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.
Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).
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 Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.
So, Which Is the Better Investment, Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services or Inc. Stock?
Overall, Abbott Laboratories stock has a Value Score of 27, Growth Score of 73 and Quality Score of 61.
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 13, Growth Score of 95 and Quality Score of 92.
Comparing Abbott Laboratories, West Pharmaceutical Services 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.
Included With AAII Platinum
at only 6.9%
Since Inception. Data as of 12/31/2024.
769.3% Stock Superstars Portfolio Total Return Since Inception
U.S. Index ETF (IYY)
SSR Group 3 O'Shaughnessy portfolio has a 411.2% gain since inception performance compared to IYY at only 119.1%% Performance as of 11/29/24.
FREE REPORT
BECOME A MEMBER FOR ONLY $2
Get access to powerful investment discovery tools and a wealth of investment education to help you achieve your financial goals.