▌Top Stocks · HEALTHCARE·Updated September 9, 2026
The Best Healthcare Stocks Right Now (Updated September 2026)
A seven-stock healthcare countdown spans telehealth, devices, life-science tools, diagnostics, distribution, and managed care, with HIMS, BDX, TMO, DHR, and ABT in focus.
Healthcare remains a classic defensive-growth arena as investors weigh regulation and reimbursement pressure against durable demand. Aging populations, chronic disease, and recurring medical utilization can support relatively resilient revenue, while scale, pricing, and technology adoption offer paths to earnings compounding. The opportunity is not uniform: a managed-care company faces a very different set of drivers from a diagnostics supplier or a consumer telehealth platform. That makes business-model selection especially important as the sector enters September 2026.
The main healthcare subsectors include managed care and payers, pharmaceuticals and biopharma, medical devices, healthcare services, life-science tools, and health IT. Investors are also focusing more closely on operational leverage: AI, analytics, and workflow systems that improve care delivery or reduce administrative costs may matter as much as simple volume growth. Alignment Healthcare’s July 31, 2026 second-quarter update offered a timely example, with the company saying its AI-powered stratification model improved hospitalization prediction and supported a raised 2026 outlook.
This seven-stock countdown moves from #7 to #1. It covers a consumer-first health platform, medical-device and diagnostics leaders, life-science suppliers, a healthcare distributor, and an integrated managed-care business. Each section combines the company’s healthcare exposure with profitability, growth, valuation, earnings execution, and analyst sentiment so readers can distinguish durable operating strength from a more speculative growth profile.
The screen is limited to U.S.-listed companies with market capitalizations above $500 million. We first emphasized depth of exposure to healthcare, then used business fundamentals to order the candidates: revenue and earnings growth, margins, valuation, balance-sheet signals, recent earnings performance, and analyst consensus. The result is a countdown rather than a flat watchlist, with the strongest overall selection reserved for #1 at the end. Figures reflect our September 2026 data snapshot and are intended as a starting point for further research, not a substitute for assessing regulation, execution, or portfolio fit.
What they do. The company operates a consumer-first platform connecting customers with licensed healthcare professionals through websites and a mobile application. It sells prescription and non-prescription products, personalized treatments, laboratory testing, consultations, and follow-up services across areas including weight loss, hormone health, dermatology, sexual wellness, and mental health. Its direct-to-consumer model and retail partnerships give it broad access to healthcare demand, but the business is more exposed to customer acquisition, regulation, and execution than the established device and services companies higher in this list.
Why it fits. Hims & Hers has direct exposure to digital healthcare delivery and the shift toward convenient, personalized access. Its combination of telehealth consultations, lab testing, branded wellness products, and chronic-condition treatments gives it exposure to several consumer-facing healthcare categories, while the platform format aligns with the sector’s growing interest in technology-enabled care.
Numbers that matter. Revenue grew 38.2% year over year to $2.578 billion, and gross margin was 69.5%, showing the appeal of a platform and product mix that can generate substantial gross profit. However, the company remained unprofitable, with a -12.75% operating margin, -5.51% net margin, -32.03% ROE, and negative EBITDA of $10.177 million. The forward P/E of 72.4638 also leaves little room for execution setbacks, while earnings growth was -17.4% year over year.
Recent momentum. The latest reported quarter on August 10, 2026 produced EPS of -$0.10 versus an estimate of -$0.07, a -42.9% surprise; the May quarter also missed by 246.2%. The company has beaten estimates in four of the last seven reported quarters, but the consensus breakdown is cautious at one Buy, six Holds, and one Sell. That combination of strong revenue growth and uneven profitability explains why HIMS ranks as the list’s most speculative exposure.
What they do. The company develops and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostics to hospitals, physicians, laboratories, researchers, and pharmaceutical companies. Its portfolio spans Medical Essentials, Connected Care, BioPharma Systems, Interventional, and Life Sciences, including vascular access products, infusion systems, medication-management technology, diagnostic instruments, surgical products, and drug-delivery systems. That breadth gives BDX a diversified healthcare revenue base rather than dependence on a single product category.
Why it fits.BDX sits directly in the medical-device, diagnostics, and healthcare-workflow segments highlighted by the theme. Its medication safety, pharmacy automation, informatics, and analytics offerings also connect with the sector’s operational-leverage story, while vascular access, infusion, laboratory, and surgical products address recurring needs across care settings.
Numbers that matter. Revenue was $22.484 billion, with 5.4% year-over-year growth, a 46.9% gross margin, and a 15.73% operating margin. Net margin was thinner at 4.19%, while ROE was 6.61% and ROA was 4.34%, reflecting a business with meaningful scale but modest bottom-line conversion. The trailing P/E was 30.9862 versus a forward P/E of 13.8889; earnings growth was -31.4% year over year, so the lower forward multiple depends on a substantial improvement in expected profitability.
Recent momentum.BDX reported August 6, 2026 EPS of $3.23 against a $3.14 estimate, a 2.9% beat, and has exceeded expectations in all eight of the latest reported quarters. Analysts are more reserved than that record might suggest: the breakdown is one Buy and nine Holds, with no reported Sell count, and the average target is $195.67. Consistent execution is a strength, but leverage and the gap between current and expected earnings remain important considerations.
What they do. The company supplies life-science solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, laboratory products, and biopharma services internationally. Its four segments cover research reagents and instruments, analytical systems, clinical diagnostics, laboratory products, and pharmaceutical and clinical research services. This integrated product and service model makes Thermo Fisher a broad infrastructure provider for research, drug development, manufacturing, and disease diagnosis.
Why it fits.TMO offers unusually deep exposure to the life-science-tools side of healthcare. Its products support biological research, vaccine and drug production, clinical laboratories, infection testing, and biopharma services, giving investors participation in both current healthcare utilization and the long-term innovation cycle behind new therapies and diagnostics.
Numbers that matter. Revenue reached $46.336 billion and grew 10.5% year over year, while earnings growth was 9.4%. Thermo Fisher posted a 41.0% gross margin, 18.75% operating margin, 15.04% net margin, 13.52% ROE, and 5.13% ROA, a stronger profitability profile than the lower-ranked device and consumer-platform names. Valuation remains a trade-off: the trailing P/E was 32.9989 and forward P/E was 22.4719.
Recent momentum. In the July 23, 2026 quarter, EPS was $6.03 versus a $5.71 estimate, a 5.6% beat. Thermo Fisher has beaten estimates in all seven latest reported quarters, with the preceding quarters also showing positive surprises of 3.8% and 1.9%. Analyst sentiment is constructive but not unanimous, with seven Buys and six Holds; the 4.39/5 consensus and $638.11 average target reflect confidence in the operating model despite its premium valuation.
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What they do. The company designs and sells professional, medical, research, and industrial products through Biotechnology, Life Sciences, and Diagnostics segments. Its offerings include bioprocessing technologies, cell-culture and filtration products, mass spectrometers, genomics and laboratory-automation systems, flow cytometry, and clinical diagnostic instruments, consumables, software, and services. The portfolio gives Danaher exposure across the development, manufacture, and diagnosis of therapies.
Why it fits. Danaher is closely aligned with healthcare’s innovation and efficiency themes because its tools sit inside biopharma manufacturing, laboratory research, genomic medicine, and clinical decision-making. The combination of biotechnology and diagnostics also spreads exposure across multiple stages of the healthcare value chain, rather than concentrating the investment case in one therapeutic product.
Numbers that matter. Revenue was $25.107 billion, up 5.5% year over year, while earnings growth reached 59.7%. Gross margin was 58.8%, operating margin was 19.78%, and net margin was 15.95%; ROE was 7.61% and ROA was 3.95%. The trailing P/E of 37.016 is demanding, although the forward P/E of 22.7273 is more moderate if the earnings recovery continues.
Recent momentum. Danaher reported July 21, 2026 EPS of $1.94 against an estimate of $1.84, a 5.4% beat, and has beaten estimates in six of the last seven reported quarters. The only miss in that period was a 0.9% shortfall in January 2025. Analysts show a favorable four-Buy, three-Hold split, producing a 4.60/5 consensus and a $229.09 average target.
What they do. The company develops and sells healthcare products through Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostics, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. Its portfolio includes laboratory and molecular diagnostics, point-of-care testing, nutritional products and infant formula, diabetes-care systems, and cardiovascular, electrophysiology, rhythm-management, and neuromodulation devices. That diversification gives Abbott several revenue engines spanning everyday care, chronic disease management, and hospital procedures.
Why it fits. Abbott provides direct exposure to the medical-device and diagnostics segments, while its diabetes-care products connect with the rising burden of chronic disease. Its testing, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, and cardiovascular offerings also give the company a broad defensive footprint across healthcare settings and patient needs.
Numbers that matter. Revenue was $46.585 billion, up 13.0% year over year, although earnings growth was -47.5%. Abbott’s gross margin was 56.8%, operating margin 14.71%, and net margin 11.65%, with ROE of 10.58% and ROA of 5.33%. The trailing P/E was 34.1489 compared with a forward P/E of 17.8891, so the valuation assumes a meaningful earnings normalization.
Recent momentum. The July 16, 2026 quarter produced EPS of $1.31 versus an estimate of $1.28, a 2.3% beat. Abbott has beaten in three of the last seven reported quarters; several other periods matched estimates exactly, including the April 2026 quarter. Analysts remain positive but measured, with four Buys and seven Holds, a 4.33/5 consensus, and an average target of $120.21.
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This monthly screen starts with U.S.-listed healthcare companies above $500 million in market capitalization, then ranks candidates by the depth of their exposure to the healthcare theme. Business fundamentals determine the ordering within that opportunity set, including revenue and earnings growth, gross and operating margins, return metrics, valuation, earnings surprises, and analyst consensus. The list is presented in countdown order from #7 to #1 so the leading selection appears last. The September 2026 refresh uses the latest available company descriptions, financial metrics, earnings history, and consensus data in our composite research set; figures can change as companies report new results or market conditions shift.
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