CRL vs GH vs IQV Stock Comparison

Charles River Laboratories International, Guardant Health and Iqvia Holdings Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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GH Guardant Health, Inc.
$153.43 -10.1% 1M +61.4% 1Y
Market cap
$19.73B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.28B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
2 wins
IQV Iqvia Holdings Inc.
$264.86 +1.8% 1M +26.1% 1Y
Market cap
$44.41B
P/E
31.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.31B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
8 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Iqvia Holdings leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Iqvia Holdings 8, Guardant Health 2, Charles River Laboratories International 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCRLGHIQVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $15.90B $19.73B $44.41B IQV
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 395.7x -40.7x 31.9x IQV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.7x — 21.8x IQV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -1.2% +41.7% +8.8% GH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.0% -37.9% 8.1% IQV
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.0% — 8.2% IQV
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.1x — 3.9x IQV
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +86.7% +61.4% +26.1% CRL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.6%/yr +6.8%/yr +1.4%/yr GH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.0% 52.8% 40.7% IQV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 25/100 71/100 IQV

Percentile Scorecard

CRLGHIQV

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

AxisCRLGHIQV
Valuation 70 #4 of 11 16 #80 of 95 80 #3 of 11
Growth 20 #9 of 11 41 #52 of 88 80 #3 of 11
Profitability 70 #4 of 11 7 #81 of 87 90 #2 of 11
Financial Health 58 #6 of 13 50 #51 of 100 33 #9 of 13
Shareholder Returns – 12 #53 of 60 –
Overall 55 25 71
  • CRL ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • GH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • IQV ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCRLGHIQVSPY
1 month +2.6%-10.1%+1.8% -5.9%
3 months +17.9%-2.6%+14.0% -4.6%
6 months +72.4%+66.3%+48.3% +0.2%
Year to date +57.0%+50.2%+17.5% +7.5%
1 year +86.7%+61.4%+26.1% +8.2%
3 years +72.6%+453.1%+33.5% +68.3%
3 years, per year +20.0%+76.9%+10.1% +19.0%
5 years -16.5%+39.2%+7.1% +56.5%
5 years, per year -3.6%+6.8%+1.4% +9.4%
10 years +359.2%—+264.9% +251.5%
10 years, per year +16.5%—+13.8% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureCRLGHIQVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.0%52.8%40.7% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.9%51.2%40.2% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.221.300.67 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.851.160.64 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -74.7%-85.4%-51.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.7%-18.0%-5.2% -5.9%
52-week high $375.83$187.22$279.38 $779.14
52-week low $149.93$78.60$156.66 $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.

MultipleCRLGHIQV
P/E now vs peer median 372.5xmedian 34.8x -42.5xmedian 24.8x 31.3xmedian 34.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 2.5x 16.2xmedian 1.6x 2.5xmedian 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 38.8xmedian 28.8x -42.3xmedian 15.9x 16.6xmedian 28.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 37.5xmedian 21.0x -89.0xmedian 20.9x 21.0xmedian 21.0x
P/B now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 2.7x -74.9xmedian 3.3x 6.4xmedian 2.7x
PEG now vs peer median -6.75median 1.96 -73.30median 0.88 2.71median 1.96

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 monthsCRLGHIQV
Revenue $3.98B $1.28B $17.31B
Gross profit $1.33B $833.70M $5.72B
Operating income $158.98M -$504.04M $2.22B
Net income $39.65M -$485.07M $1.40B
Free cash flow $399.63M -$232.15M $2.08B
R&D – $386.67M –
EPS (diluted) $0.83 $-3.61 $8.35
Cash & equivalents $200.38M $1.03B $2.25B
Total debt $2.44B – $16.07B
Shares (diluted) 48.58M 134.42M 167.00M
Enterprise value $15.10B $15.35B $35.67B

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
MetricCRLGHIQV
P/E 372.5x -42.5x 31.3x
P/FCF 37.5x -89.0x 21.0x
P/Operating cash flow 24.1x -119.1x 16.0x
P/S 3.8x 16.2x 2.5x
P/B 4.6x -74.9x 6.4x
P/Tangible book 5.0x -68.7x 21.3x
EV/EBITDA 38.8x -42.3x 16.6x
EV/EBIT 108.4x -39.0x 25.8x
EV/Revenue 4.3x 15.4x 3.3x
EV/FCF 43.1x -84.6x 27.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.7x -113.2x 20.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.75 -73.30 2.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCRLGHIQV
Revenue growth (1Y) -1.2% 41.7% 8.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.9% 33.6% 5.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.1% 44.9% 6.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -4.8% – 3.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.8% -13.9% 1.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -37.4% 0.6% 6.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 149.8% -21.6% 9.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -56.5% -3.9% 7.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 149.0% -12.9% 11.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -55.2% 0.6% 11.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -17.0% 22.2% -2.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.7% 19.9% 11.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -26.5% 11.5% -6.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 13.9% 16.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCRLGHIQV
Gross margin 33.3% 65.2% 33.1%
EBITDA margin 11.2% -36.3% 20.0%
Operating margin 4.0% -39.4% 12.8%
Pretax margin -2.5% -38.0% 9.0%
Net margin 1.0% -37.9% 8.1%
FCF margin 10.0% -18.2% 12.0%
Operating cash flow margin 15.7% -13.6% 15.8%
Return on equity 1.4% – 21.4%
Return on assets 0.6% -25.5% 4.6%
Return on invested capital 0.0% – 8.2%
Return on capital employed 2.5% -33.0% 9.9%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.7x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 15.7x 0.4x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 16.5% 1.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCRLGHIQV
Debt / assets 32.8% – 52.7%
Debt / equity 0.8x – 2.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.1x – 3.9x
Debt / FCF 6.1x – 7.7x
Liabilities / assets 56.6% 114.6% 77.7%
Equity / assets 43.4% -14.6% 22.3%
Interest coverage 1.5x -96.6x 2.8x
Current ratio 1.4x 3.6x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.9x 3.3x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.2x 2.8x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 3.13 3.66 2.24

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCRLGHIQV
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 2.0% -2.0% 2.7%
Shareholder yield 2.0% -2.0% 2.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusCRLGHIQV
Forward P/E 28.7xFY2026 – 21.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.90FY2026 $-3.33FY2026 $12.16FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.0%FY2026 – +2.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.5% – +11.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.82BFY2026 $1.42BFY2026 $18.65BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.9%FY2026 +44.5%FY2026 +14.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% +27.0% -3.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCRLGHIQV
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 94.1%
Institutions holding 571 597 1,085
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.7% -2.5% +0.3%
Institutions buying 271 356 532
Institutions selling 204 180 424
Buyers to sellers 1.33 1.98 1.25

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.

CRLGHIQV
CRL 1.00 0.41 0.70
GH 0.41 1.00 0.30
IQV 0.70 0.30 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CRL, GH and IQV?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) is the largest by market capitalisation: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) $15.90B, Guardant Health (GH) $19.73B, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) $44.41B.

Which stock is cheaper, CRL, GH and IQV?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 395.7x, Guardant Health (GH) -40.7x, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 31.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) is cheapest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 28.7x, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 21.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Guardant Health (GH) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -1.2%, Guardant Health (GH) +41.7%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +8.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) has the highest net margin (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 1.0%, Guardant Health (GH) -37.9%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 8.1%). On return on invested capital, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) leads (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 0.0%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 8.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) returned the most: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) +86.7%, Guardant Health (GH) +61.4%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +26.1%. Over five years, Guardant Health (GH) compounded fastest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -3.6%/yr, Guardant Health (GH) +6.8%/yr, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +1.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) has been the steadiest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 47.0%, Guardant Health (GH) 52.8%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 40.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CRL, GH and IQV?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) leads on 8. 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.