CAI vs CSTL vs DGX Stock Comparison

Caris Life Sciences, Castle Biosciences and Quest Diagnostics Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CSTL Castle Biosciences Inc
$34.51 -3.6% 1M +44.0% 1Y
Market cap
$1.12B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$357.28M
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
1 win
DGX Quest Diagnostics Inc
$242.55 +2.7% 1M +34.6% 1Y
Market cap
$27.11B
P/E
24.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.84B
Div. yield
0.01%
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Quest Diagnostics leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Quest Diagnostics 5, Caris Life Sciences 5, Castle Biosciences 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCAICSTLDGXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.16B $1.12B $27.11B DGX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 96.7x -57.9x 24.0x DGX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 306.1x — 22.1x DGX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +85.4% +3.2% +9.1% CAI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.6% -5.4% 9.5% CAI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.6% -6.7% 9.9% CAI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.2x 15.5x 2.1x CAI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.3% +44.0% +34.6% CSTL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — -11.6%/yr +10.7%/yr DGX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 69.5% 58.3% 23.7% DGX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 50/100 64/100 CAI

Percentile Scorecard

CAICSTLDGX

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCAICSTLDGX
Valuation 23 #71 of 92 47 #49 of 92 69 #29 of 92
Growth 99 #2 of 87 52 #42 of 87 40 #53 of 87
Profitability 89 #10 of 86 39 #53 of 86 79 #19 of 86
Financial Health 81 #19 of 97 92 #9 of 97 55 #44 of 97
Shareholder Returns 56 #25 of 56 20 #45 of 56 76 #14 of 56
Overall 70 50 64
  • CAI ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • CSTL ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • DGX ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCAICSTLDGXSPY
1 month +5.3%-3.6%+2.7% -0.2%
3 months +116.0%+44.5%+2.8% +3.9%
6 months +82.6%+39.8%+24.4% +8.2%
Year to date +24.8%-11.3%+39.8% +12.9%
1 year +11.3%+44.0%+34.6% +12.3%
3 years —+164.2%+90.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year —+38.3%+23.9% +23.3%
5 years —-46.0%+66.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year —-11.6%+10.7% +10.9%
10 years ——+203.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year ——+11.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCAICSTLDGXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 69.5%58.3%23.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 69.3%61.4%18.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.390.96-0.09 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.160.761.46 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -63.0%-82.1%-30.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-19.8%-2.0% -1.2%
52-week high $33.67$43.04$247.47 $779.14
52-week low $14.55$18.15$173.49 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCAICSTLDGX
P/E now vs peer median 90.6xmedian 24.6x -54.0xmedian 24.6x 23.6xmedian 24.6x
P/S now vs peer median 9.6xmedian 1.6x 2.9xmedian 1.6x 2.3xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 50.6xmedian 14.6x -48.2xmedian 14.6x 13.6xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 76.8xmedian 21.6x -2,153xmedian 21.6x 19.4xmedian 21.6x
P/B now vs peer median 16.1xmedian 3.2x 2.2xmedian 3.2x 3.4xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.66 -1.28median 0.66 1.62median 0.66

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCAICSTLDGX
Revenue $989.61M $357.28M $11.84B
Gross profit $689.36M $276.03M $3.92B
Operating income $153.26M -$32.11M $1.72B
Net income $105.14M -$19.42M $1.18B
Free cash flow $123.96M -$489.00K $1.38B
R&D $117.14M $55.45M –
EPS (diluted) $0.37 $-0.64 $10.08
Cash & equivalents $690.92M $62.12M $797.00M
Total debt $393.15M $10.08M $5.55B
Shares (diluted) 282.89M 30.40M 112.00M
Enterprise value $6.99B $9.27M $24.88B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCAICSTLDGX
P/E 90.6x -54.0x 23.6x
P/FCF 76.8x -2,153x 19.4x
P/Operating cash flow 56.4x 24.7x 13.7x
P/S 9.6x 2.9x 2.3x
P/B 16.1x 2.2x 3.4x
P/Tangible book 16.1x 2.2x 4.2x
EV/EBITDA 50.6x -48.2x 13.6x
EV/EBIT 59.5x -24.8x 18.2x
EV/Revenue 9.2x 2.2x 2.7x
EV/FCF 73.5x -1,628x 22.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 54.1x 18.7x 16.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – -1.28 1.62

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAICSTLDGX
Revenue growth (1Y) 85.4% 3.2% 9.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 28.7% 8.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 141.2% -1.6% 8.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 29.2% 8.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 188.2% -39.3% 12.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 30.8% 15.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 137.7% -105.1% 15.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 39.8% 12.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 103.0% -99.3% 17.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 42.3% 14.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 227.3% -31.8% 3.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 45.1% 21.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 188.2% -101.4% -1.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 78.8% 32.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCAICSTLDGX
Gross margin 69.7% 77.3% 33.1%
EBITDA margin 18.2% -4.6% 19.5%
Operating margin 15.5% -9.0% 14.6%
Pretax margin 10.6% -5.4% 12.6%
Net margin 10.6% -5.4% 9.5%
FCF margin 12.5% -0.1% 11.6%
Operating cash flow margin 17.0% 11.9% 16.5%
Return on equity 17.7% -4.2% 15.0%
Return on assets 8.8% -3.5% 6.9%
Return on invested capital 15.6% -6.7% 9.9%
Return on capital employed 15.3% -6.4% 11.3%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.6x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x -2.2x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 6.6% 12.6% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAICSTLDGX
Debt / assets 32.0% 1.8% 32.2%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.0x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.2x 15.5x 2.1x
Debt / FCF 3.2x -20.6x 4.0x
Liabilities / assets 51.9% 16.2% 53.8%
Equity / assets 48.1% 83.8% 46.2%
Interest coverage 3.3x -85.6x 6.5x
Current ratio 5.5x 6.0x 1.7x
Quick ratio 4.8x 5.6x 1.4x
Cash ratio 4.1x 4.7x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 8.11 7.39 3.70

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAICSTLDGX
Dividend yield – – 1.4%
Net buyback yield 0.1% -0.5% 1.2%
Shareholder yield 0.1% -0.5% 2.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 31.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 26.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 6.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 6.1%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCAICSTLDGX
Forward P/E 306.1xFY2026 – 22.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.11FY2026 $-1.31FY2026 $10.96FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – – +11.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +236.4% – +6.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.06BFY2026 $385.85MFY2026 $11.25BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +30.1%FY2026 +12.1%FY2026 +1.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +21.6% +2.3% +7.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAICSTLDGX
Held by institutions 52.0% 89.6% 94.4%
Institutions holding 245 177 1,096
Change in shares held, QoQ -6.3% -1.0% +2.7%
Institutions buying 175 104 549
Institutions selling 47 55 341
Buyers to sellers 3.72 1.89 1.61

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CAICSTLDGX
CAI 1.00 0.33 0.22
CSTL 0.33 1.00 0.17
DGX 0.22 0.17 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAI, CSTL and DGX?

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caris Life Sciences (CAI) $10.16B, Castle Biosciences (CSTL) $1.12B, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) $27.11B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAI, CSTL and DGX?

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 96.7x, Castle Biosciences (CSTL) -57.9x, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 24.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) is cheapest (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 306.1x, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 22.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Caris Life Sciences (CAI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Caris Life Sciences (CAI) +85.4%, Castle Biosciences (CSTL) +3.2%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +9.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Caris Life Sciences (CAI) has the highest net margin (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 10.6%, Castle Biosciences (CSTL) -5.4%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 9.5%). On return on invested capital, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) leads (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 15.6%, Castle Biosciences (CSTL) -6.7%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 9.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Castle Biosciences (CSTL) returned the most: Caris Life Sciences (CAI) +11.3%, Castle Biosciences (CSTL) +44.0%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +34.6%. Over five years, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) compounded fastest (Castle Biosciences (CSTL) -11.6%/yr, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +10.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 0.00%, Castle Biosciences (CSTL) 0.00%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 0.01%. Caris Life Sciences (CAI) and Castle Biosciences (CSTL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) has been the steadiest (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 69.5%, Castle Biosciences (CSTL) 58.3%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 23.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAI, CSTL and DGX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.