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Side-by-side financial comparison of Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc. (ASO) and Steris (STE). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Steris is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.5B vs $1.4B, roughly 1.1× Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc.). Steris runs the higher net margin — 12.9% vs 5.2%, a 7.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Steris posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (9.2% vs 3.0%). Steris produced more free cash flow last quarter ($199.5M vs $-13.6M). Over the past eight quarters, Steris's revenue compounded faster (15.8% CAGR vs -12.2%).

Academy Sports + Outdoors is an American sporting-goods store chain with corporate offices in the Katy Distribution Center in unincorporated western Harris County, Texas, United States, near Katy and west of Houston. For 74 years, it was a privately held company owned by the Gochman family, until its May 2011 acquisition by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. In October 2020, it was listed on NASDAQ.

Steris plc is an American-Irish-based medical equipment company specializing in sterilization and surgical products for the US healthcare system. Steris is operationally headquartered in Mentor, Ohio, and has been legally registered in Dublin, Ireland, for tax purposes since 2018. Previously the company was registered in the United Kingdom from 2014 to 2018.

ASO vs STE — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
STE
STE
1.1× larger
STE
$1.5B
$1.4B
ASO
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
STE
STE
+6.2% gap
STE
9.2%
3.0%
ASO
Higher net margin
STE
STE
7.7% more per $
STE
12.9%
5.2%
ASO
More free cash flow
STE
STE
$213.1M more FCF
STE
$199.5M
$-13.6M
ASO
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
STE
STE
Annualised
STE
15.8%
-12.2%
ASO

Income Statement — Q3 FY2026 vs Q3 FY2026

Metric
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Revenue
$1.4B
$1.5B
Net Profit
$71.6M
$192.9M
Gross Margin
35.7%
43.8%
Operating Margin
7.3%
18.3%
Net Margin
5.2%
12.9%
Revenue YoY
3.0%
9.2%
Net Profit YoY
8.8%
11.2%
EPS (diluted)
$1.05
$1.96

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
$1.4B
$1.5B
Q3 25
$1.6B
$1.5B
Q2 25
$1.4B
$1.4B
Q1 25
$1.7B
$1.5B
Q4 24
$1.3B
$1.4B
Q3 24
$1.5B
$1.3B
Q2 24
$1.4B
$1.3B
Q1 24
$1.8B
$1.1B
Net Profit
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
$71.6M
$192.9M
Q3 25
$125.4M
$191.9M
Q2 25
$46.1M
$177.4M
Q1 25
$133.6M
$145.7M
Q4 24
$65.8M
$173.5M
Q3 24
$142.6M
$150.0M
Q2 24
$76.5M
$145.4M
Q1 24
$168.2M
$-1.4M
Gross Margin
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
35.7%
43.8%
Q3 25
36.0%
44.2%
Q2 25
34.0%
45.1%
Q1 25
32.2%
43.3%
Q4 24
34.0%
44.5%
Q3 24
36.1%
43.6%
Q2 24
33.4%
44.7%
Q1 24
33.3%
40.2%
Operating Margin
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
7.3%
18.3%
Q3 25
10.8%
18.2%
Q2 25
5.1%
17.7%
Q1 25
9.2%
14.6%
Q4 24
6.8%
17.9%
Q3 24
12.3%
16.5%
Q2 24
7.5%
14.5%
Q1 24
11.4%
22.0%
Net Margin
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
5.2%
12.9%
Q3 25
7.8%
13.1%
Q2 25
3.4%
12.8%
Q1 25
8.0%
9.8%
Q4 24
4.9%
12.7%
Q3 24
9.2%
11.3%
Q2 24
5.6%
11.4%
Q1 24
9.4%
-0.1%
EPS (diluted)
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
$1.05
$1.96
Q3 25
$1.85
$1.94
Q2 25
$0.68
$1.79
Q1 25
$1.85
$1.48
Q4 24
$0.92
$1.75
Q3 24
$1.95
$1.51
Q2 24
$1.01
$1.46
Q1 24
$2.19
$-0.02

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$289.5M
$423.7M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.9B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.1B
$7.2B
Total Assets
$5.4B
$10.6B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.27×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
$289.5M
$423.7M
Q3 25
$300.9M
$319.2M
Q2 25
$285.1M
$279.7M
Q1 25
$288.9M
$171.7M
Q4 24
$296.0M
$155.2M
Q3 24
$324.6M
$172.2M
Q2 24
$378.1M
$198.3M
Q1 24
$347.9M
$207.0M
Total Debt
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
$1.9B
Q3 25
$1.9B
Q2 25
$1.9B
Q1 25
$1.9B
Q4 24
$2.0B
Q3 24
$2.2B
Q2 24
$2.2B
Q1 24
$3.1B
Stockholders' Equity
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
$2.1B
$7.2B
Q3 25
$2.1B
$7.0B
Q2 25
$1.9B
$7.0B
Q1 25
$2.0B
$6.6B
Q4 24
$2.0B
$6.4B
Q3 24
$2.0B
$6.6B
Q2 24
$1.9B
$6.4B
Q1 24
$2.0B
$6.3B
Total Assets
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
$5.4B
$10.6B
Q3 25
$5.3B
$10.4B
Q2 25
$5.2B
$10.4B
Q1 25
$4.9B
$10.1B
Q4 24
$5.1B
$10.0B
Q3 24
$4.9B
$10.2B
Q2 24
$4.9B
$10.1B
Q1 24
$4.7B
$11.1B
Debt / Equity
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
0.27×
Q3 25
0.27×
Q2 25
0.27×
Q1 25
0.29×
Q4 24
0.32×
Q3 24
0.33×
Q2 24
0.35×
Q1 24
0.50×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$49.0M
$298.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-13.6M
$199.5M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-1.0%
13.3%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
4.5%
6.6%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.68×
1.55×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$191.4M
$917.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
$49.0M
$298.2M
Q3 25
$78.6M
$287.8M
Q2 25
$157.5M
$420.0M
Q1 25
$140.2M
$260.8M
Q4 24
$96.9M
$332.8M
Q3 24
$91.3M
$250.7M
Q2 24
$199.7M
$303.7M
Q1 24
$234.7M
$254.8M
Free Cash Flow
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
$-13.6M
$199.5M
Q3 25
$21.8M
$201.3M
Q2 25
$106.6M
$326.4M
Q1 25
$76.4M
$189.9M
Q4 24
$34.4M
$243.6M
Q3 24
$50.1M
$148.8M
Q2 24
$167.4M
$195.7M
Q1 24
$178.9M
$163.3M
FCF Margin
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
-1.0%
13.3%
Q3 25
1.4%
13.8%
Q2 25
7.9%
23.5%
Q1 25
4.6%
12.8%
Q4 24
2.6%
17.8%
Q3 24
3.2%
11.2%
Q2 24
12.3%
15.3%
Q1 24
10.0%
14.6%
Capex Intensity
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
4.5%
6.6%
Q3 25
3.5%
5.9%
Q2 25
3.8%
6.7%
Q1 25
3.8%
4.8%
Q4 24
4.6%
6.5%
Q3 24
2.7%
7.7%
Q2 24
2.4%
8.4%
Q1 24
3.1%
8.2%
Cash Conversion
ASO
ASO
STE
STE
Q4 25
0.68×
1.55×
Q3 25
0.63×
1.50×
Q2 25
3.42×
2.37×
Q1 25
1.05×
1.79×
Q4 24
1.47×
1.92×
Q3 24
0.64×
1.67×
Q2 24
2.61×
2.09×
Q1 24
1.40×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ASO
ASO

Outdoors$445.1M32%
Apparel$349.8M25%
Footwear$292.4M21%
Sports And Recreation$288.7M21%
Other$7.6M1%

STE
STE

Servicerevenues$404.7M27%
Consumablerevenues$387.1M26%
Applied Sterilization Technologies$286.6M19%
Capitalequipmentrevenues$272.1M18%
Life Science$145.8M10%

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