CAI vs DGX vs IDXX Stock Comparison

Caris Life Sciences, Quest Diagnostics and Idexx Laboratories Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DGX Quest Diagnostics Inc
$253.03 +9.1% 1M +44.8% 1Y
Market cap
$27.68B
P/E
24.5x
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, Idexx Laboratories 4, Caris Life Sciences 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCAIDGXIDXXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.72B $27.68B $43.52B IDXX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 92.5x 24.5x 38.2x DGX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 328.5x 23.1x 36.9x DGX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +85.4% +9.1% +12.8% CAI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.6% 9.5% 25.0% IDXX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.6% 9.9% 45.6% IDXX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.2x 2.1x 0.5x CAI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +22.8% +44.8% -8.2% DGX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +11.5%/yr -2.9%/yr DGX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 69.7% 23.8% 32.1% DGX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 64/100 77/100 IDXX

Percentile Scorecard

CAIDGXIDXX

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

AxisCAIDGXIDXX
Valuation 25 #69 of 92 68 #30 of 92 75 #155 of 624
Growth 99 #2 of 87 40 #53 of 87 76 #148 of 601
Profitability 89 #10 of 86 81 #17 of 86 97 #17 of 541
Financial Health 81 #19 of 97 54 #45 of 97 46 #350 of 647
Shareholder Returns 61 #22 of 55 78 #13 of 55 93 #26 of 359
Overall 71 64 77
  • CAI ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • DGX ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • IDXX ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCAIDGXIDXXSPY
1 month +14.5%+9.1%+8.0% +0.7%
3 months +124.6%+7.9%+3.1% +3.7%
6 months +90.2%+30.3%+2.7% +7.1%
Year to date +34.0%+45.8%-14.9% +12.8%
1 year +22.8%+44.8%-8.2% +11.9%
3 years —+95.5%+45.3% +85.2%
3 years, per year —+25.1%+13.3% +22.8%
5 years —+72.4%-13.5% +67.6%
5 years, per year —+11.5%-2.9% +10.9%
10 years —+214.6%+448.3% +262.0%
10 years, per year —+12.1%+18.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCAIDGXIDXXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 69.7%23.8%32.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 69.4%18.6%31.3% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.39-0.090.79 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.331.88-0.26 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -63.0%-30.3%-51.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%0.0%-24.9% -1.2%
52-week high $36.14$253.03$766.68 $779.14
52-week low $14.55$173.49$504.70 $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.

MultipleCAIDGXIDXX
P/E now vs peer median 97.2xmedian 26.0x 24.7xmedian 26.0x 39.9xmedian 17.8x
P/S now vs peer median 10.3xmedian 1.6x 2.4xmedian 1.6x 10.0xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 54.5xmedian 15.4x 14.1xmedian 15.4x 28.6xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 82.4xmedian 21.5x 20.2xmedian 21.5x 36.2xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 17.3xmedian 3.2x 3.5xmedian 3.2x 28.2xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.87 1.69median 0.87 2.64median 0.35

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 monthsCAIDGXIDXX
Revenue $989.61M $11.84B $4.55B
Gross profit $689.36M $3.92B $2.84B
Operating income $153.26M $1.72B $1.46B
Net income $105.14M $1.18B $1.14B
Free cash flow $123.96M $1.38B $1.25B
R&D $117.14M – $261.47M
EPS (diluted) $0.37 $10.08 $14.37
Cash & equivalents $690.92M $797.00M $196.93M
Total debt $393.15M $5.55B $968.86M
Shares (diluted) 282.89M 112.00M 79.31M
Enterprise value $6.55B $25.45B $42.73B

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
MetricCAIDGXIDXX
P/E 97.2x 24.7x 39.9x
P/FCF 82.4x 20.2x 36.2x
P/Operating cash flow 60.6x 14.3x 33.1x
P/S 10.3x 2.4x 10.0x
P/B 17.3x 3.5x 28.2x
P/Tangible book 17.3x 4.4x 30.0x
EV/EBITDA 54.5x 14.1x 28.6x
EV/EBIT 64.0x 18.9x 31.7x
EV/Revenue 9.9x 2.8x 10.1x
EV/FCF 79.2x 23.7x 36.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 58.2x 16.7x 33.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 1.69 2.64

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAIDGXIDXX
Revenue growth (1Y) 85.4% 9.1% 12.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 8.4% 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 141.2% 8.5% 14.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 8.4% 10.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 188.2% 12.5% 16.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 15.1% 11.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 137.7% 15.0% 15.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 12.9% 12.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 103.0% 17.6% 18.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 14.6% 15.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 227.3% 3.5% 51.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 21.8% 22.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 188.2% -1.3% 59.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 32.1% 28.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCAIDGXIDXX
Gross margin 69.7% 33.1% 62.4%
EBITDA margin 18.2% 19.5% 35.4%
Operating margin 15.5% 14.6% 32.0%
Pretax margin 10.6% 12.6% 31.3%
Net margin 10.6% 9.5% 25.0%
FCF margin 12.5% 11.6% 27.5%
Operating cash flow margin 17.0% 16.5% 30.1%
Return on equity 17.7% 15.0% 71.9%
Return on assets 8.8% 6.9% 33.4%
Return on invested capital 15.6% 9.9% 45.6%
Return on capital employed 15.3% 11.3% 68.6%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.7x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.7x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 6.6% 0.7% 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAIDGXIDXX
Debt / assets 32.0% 32.2% 28.1%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.7x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.2x 2.1x 0.5x
Debt / FCF 3.2x 4.0x 0.8x
Liabilities / assets 51.9% 53.8% 53.2%
Equity / assets 48.1% 46.2% 46.8%
Interest coverage 3.3x 6.5x 38.6x
Current ratio 5.5x 1.7x 1.2x
Quick ratio 4.8x 1.4x 0.7x
Cash ratio 4.1x 0.4x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 8.76 3.77 20.55

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAIDGXIDXX
Dividend yield – 1.3% –
Net buyback yield 0.1% 1.2% 2.3%
Shareholder yield 0.1% 2.5% 2.3%
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.

ConsensusCAIDGXIDXX
Forward P/E 328.5xFY2026 23.1xFY2026 36.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.11FY2026 $10.96FY2026 $15.63FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +11.3%FY2026 +19.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +236.4% +6.8% +12.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.06BFY2026 $11.25BFY2026 $5.00BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +30.1%FY2026 +1.9%FY2026 +16.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +21.6% +7.7% +0.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAIDGXIDXX
Held by institutions 52.0% 94.4% 93.6%
Institutions holding 246 1,097 1,290
Change in shares held, QoQ -6.3% +2.7% +4.1%
Institutions buying 175 550 588
Institutions selling 47 341 496
Buyers to sellers 3.72 1.61 1.19

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.

CAIDGXIDXX
CAI 1.00 0.23 0.27
DGX 0.23 1.00 0.27
IDXX 0.27 0.27 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAI, DGX and IDXX?

Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caris Life Sciences (CAI) $9.72B, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) $27.68B, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) $43.52B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAI, DGX and IDXX?

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 92.5x, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 24.5x, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 38.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) is cheapest (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 328.5x, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 23.1x, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 36.9x). 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%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +9.1%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) +12.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) has the highest net margin (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 10.6%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 9.5%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 25.0%). On return on invested capital, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) leads (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 15.6%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 9.9%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 45.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Quest Diagnostics (DGX) returned the most: Caris Life Sciences (CAI) +22.8%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +44.8%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) -8.2%. Over five years, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) compounded fastest (Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +11.5%/yr, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) -2.9%/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%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 0.01%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 0.00%. Caris Life Sciences (CAI) and Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) has been the steadiest (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 69.7%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 23.8%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 32.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.