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Side-by-side financial comparison of Pool Corporation (POOL) 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 $1.1B, roughly 1.3× Pool Corporation). Steris runs the higher net margin — 12.9% vs 4.7%, a 8.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Steris posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (9.2% vs 6.2%). Over the past eight quarters, Steris's revenue compounded faster (15.8% CAGR vs -19.8%).

Pool Corporation, doing business as POOLCORP, is the largest distributor of supplies, equipment, and machinery for swimming pools worldwide. The company is organized in Delaware and headquartered in Covington, Louisiana. It serves approximately 125,000 customers and operates 439 sales centers in North America, Europe and Australia. The company receives over half of its revenue from the California, Texas, Florida, and Arizona markets and has benefited from population shifts to warmer climates....

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.

POOL vs STE — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
STE
STE
1.3× larger
STE
$1.5B
$1.1B
POOL
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
STE
STE
+3.0% gap
STE
9.2%
6.2%
POOL
Higher net margin
STE
STE
8.2% more per $
STE
12.9%
4.7%
POOL
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
STE
STE
Annualised
STE
15.8%
-19.8%
POOL

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q3 FY2026

Metric
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Revenue
$1.1B
$1.5B
Net Profit
$53.2M
$192.9M
Gross Margin
29.0%
43.8%
Operating Margin
7.3%
18.3%
Net Margin
4.7%
12.9%
Revenue YoY
6.2%
9.2%
Net Profit YoY
-0.6%
11.2%
EPS (diluted)
$1.45
$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
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
$1.1B
Q4 25
$982.2M
$1.5B
Q3 25
$1.5B
$1.5B
Q2 25
$1.8B
$1.4B
Q1 25
$1.1B
$1.5B
Q4 24
$987.5M
$1.4B
Q3 24
$1.4B
$1.3B
Q2 24
$1.8B
$1.3B
Net Profit
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
$53.2M
Q4 25
$31.6M
$192.9M
Q3 25
$127.0M
$191.9M
Q2 25
$194.3M
$177.4M
Q1 25
$53.5M
$145.7M
Q4 24
$37.3M
$173.5M
Q3 24
$125.7M
$150.0M
Q2 24
$192.4M
$145.4M
Gross Margin
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
29.0%
Q4 25
30.1%
43.8%
Q3 25
29.6%
44.2%
Q2 25
30.0%
45.1%
Q1 25
29.2%
43.3%
Q4 24
29.4%
44.5%
Q3 24
29.1%
43.6%
Q2 24
30.0%
44.7%
Operating Margin
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
7.3%
Q4 25
5.3%
18.3%
Q3 25
12.3%
18.2%
Q2 25
15.3%
17.7%
Q1 25
7.2%
14.6%
Q4 24
6.1%
17.9%
Q3 24
12.3%
16.5%
Q2 24
15.3%
14.5%
Net Margin
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
4.7%
Q4 25
3.2%
12.9%
Q3 25
8.8%
13.1%
Q2 25
10.9%
12.8%
Q1 25
5.0%
9.8%
Q4 24
3.8%
12.7%
Q3 24
8.8%
11.3%
Q2 24
10.9%
11.4%
EPS (diluted)
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
$1.45
Q4 25
$0.86
$1.96
Q3 25
$3.40
$1.94
Q2 25
$5.17
$1.79
Q1 25
$1.42
$1.48
Q4 24
$1.00
$1.75
Q3 24
$3.27
$1.51
Q2 24
$4.99
$1.46

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$64.5M
$423.7M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.9B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$7.2B
Total Assets
$4.0B
$10.6B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.27×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
$64.5M
Q4 25
$423.7M
Q3 25
$319.2M
Q2 25
$279.7M
Q1 25
$171.7M
Q4 24
$155.2M
Q3 24
$172.2M
Q2 24
$198.3M
Total Debt
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.9B
Q3 25
$1.0B
$1.9B
Q2 25
$1.2B
$1.9B
Q1 25
$968.0M
$1.9B
Q4 24
$2.0B
Q3 24
$879.1M
$2.2B
Q2 24
$1.1B
$2.2B
Stockholders' Equity
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.2B
$7.2B
Q3 25
$1.4B
$7.0B
Q2 25
$1.3B
$7.0B
Q1 25
$1.2B
$6.6B
Q4 24
$1.3B
$6.4B
Q3 24
$1.4B
$6.6B
Q2 24
$1.4B
$6.4B
Total Assets
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
$4.0B
Q4 25
$3.6B
$10.6B
Q3 25
$3.5B
$10.4B
Q2 25
$3.7B
$10.4B
Q1 25
$3.7B
$10.1B
Q4 24
$3.4B
$10.0B
Q3 24
$3.4B
$10.2B
Q2 24
$3.6B
$10.1B
Debt / Equity
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.27×
Q3 25
0.76×
0.27×
Q2 25
0.93×
0.27×
Q1 25
0.78×
0.29×
Q4 24
0.32×
Q3 24
0.61×
0.33×
Q2 24
0.75×
0.35×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$25.7M
$298.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$199.5M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
13.3%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
6.6%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.48×
1.55×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$917.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
$25.7M
Q4 25
$80.1M
$298.2M
Q3 25
$287.3M
$287.8M
Q2 25
$-28.8M
$420.0M
Q1 25
$27.2M
$260.8M
Q4 24
$170.6M
$332.8M
Q3 24
$316.5M
$250.7M
Q2 24
$26.7M
$303.7M
Free Cash Flow
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
Q4 25
$71.9M
$199.5M
Q3 25
$266.6M
$201.3M
Q2 25
$-42.9M
$326.4M
Q1 25
$13.9M
$189.9M
Q4 24
$157.0M
$243.6M
Q3 24
$305.5M
$148.8M
Q2 24
$8.8M
$195.7M
FCF Margin
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
Q4 25
7.3%
13.3%
Q3 25
18.4%
13.8%
Q2 25
-2.4%
23.5%
Q1 25
1.3%
12.8%
Q4 24
15.9%
17.8%
Q3 24
21.3%
11.2%
Q2 24
0.5%
15.3%
Capex Intensity
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.8%
6.6%
Q3 25
1.4%
5.9%
Q2 25
0.8%
6.7%
Q1 25
1.2%
4.8%
Q4 24
1.4%
6.5%
Q3 24
0.8%
7.7%
Q2 24
1.0%
8.4%
Cash Conversion
POOL
POOL
STE
STE
Q1 26
0.48×
Q4 25
2.54×
1.55×
Q3 25
2.26×
1.50×
Q2 25
-0.15×
2.37×
Q1 25
0.51×
1.79×
Q4 24
4.57×
1.92×
Q3 24
2.52×
1.67×
Q2 24
0.14×
2.09×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

POOL
POOL

Segment breakdown not available.

STE
STE

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

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