CRL vs ICLR vs MEDP Stock Comparison

Charles River Laboratories International, Icon and Medpace Holdings Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ICLR Icon Plc
$215.48 +26.5% 1M +29.8% 1Y
Market cap
$16.55B
P/E
36.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.23B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
4 wins
MEDP Medpace Holdings, Inc.
$677.56 +8.9% 1M +15.9% 1Y
Market cap
$18.76B
P/E
36.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.84B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Medpace Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Medpace Holdings 6, Icon 4, Charles River Laboratories International 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCRLICLRMEDPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.94B $16.55B $18.76B MEDP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -75.2x 36.9x 36.2x MEDP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 34.5x 21.0x 38.1x ICLR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -0.7% +1.8% +20.4% MEDP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -6.0% 5.4% 18.2% MEDP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 1.6% 4.7% — ICLR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.3x 2.3x — ICLR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +108.6% +29.8% +15.9% CRL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.5%/yr -5.6%/yr +24.5%/yr MEDP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.7% 75.0% 45.6% MEDP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 81/100 78/100 ICLR

Percentile Scorecard

CRLICLRMEDP

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

AxisCRLICLRMEDP
Valuation 50 #6 of 11 100 #1 of 11 60 #5 of 11
Growth 10 #10 of 11 70 #4 of 11 100 #1 of 11
Profitability 70 #4 of 11 80 #3 of 11 100 #1 of 11
Financial Health 42 #8 of 13 75 #4 of 13 50 #7 of 13
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 43 81 78
  • CRL ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • ICLR ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • MEDP ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCRLICLRMEDPSPY
1 month +26.8%+26.5%+8.9% +0.7%
3 months +60.2%+30.2%+17.2% +3.7%
6 months +125.1%+82.1%+61.8% +7.1%
Year to date +88.4%+18.3%+20.6% +12.8%
1 year +108.6%+29.8%+15.9% +11.9%
3 years +128.4%-9.5%+180.2% +85.2%
3 years, per year +31.7%-3.3%+41.0% +22.8%
5 years -16.2%-24.9%+199.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year -3.5%-5.6%+24.5% +10.9%
10 years +394.5%+168.3%+2,245.3% +262.0%
10 years, per year +17.3%+10.4%+37.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCRLICLRMEDPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.7%75.0%45.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.5%87.7%53.9% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.281.470.69 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.380.400.35 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -77.3%-76.9%-42.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%0.0%-2.2% -1.2%
52-week high $375.83$215.48$692.68 $779.14
52-week low $149.93$80.08$393.42 $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.

MultipleCRLICLRMEDP
P/E now vs peer median -75.7xmedian 36.6x 37.7xmedian 36.6x 36.6xmedian 36.6x
P/S now vs peer median 4.5xmedian 2.6x 2.0xmedian 2.6x 6.7xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 52.5xmedian 31.1x 17.4xmedian 31.1x 28.8xmedian 31.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 48.4xmedian 21.8x 19.3xmedian 21.8x 28.4xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 6.3xmedian 3.1x 1.8xmedian 3.1x 32.4xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.09median 2.05 -15.86median 2.05 1.28median 2.05

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 monthsCRLICLRMEDP
Revenue $4.00B $8.23B $2.84B
Gross profit $1.31B $1.93B $827.16M
Operating income $90.14M $718.25M $607.14M
Net income -$239.23M $448.66M $517.83M
Free cash flow $370.61M $857.06M $667.63M
EPS (diluted) $-4.97 $5.68 $18.25
Cash & equivalents $192.03M $808.98M $705.32M
Total debt $2.62B $3.38B –
Shares (diluted) 48.02M 78.97M 28.37M
Enterprise value $17.14B $13.32B $16.41B

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
MetricCRLICLRMEDP
P/E -75.7x 37.7x 36.6x
P/FCF 48.4x 19.3x 28.4x
P/Operating cash flow 30.8x 16.1x 26.2x
P/S 4.5x 2.0x 6.7x
P/B 6.3x 1.8x 32.4x
P/Tangible book 6.9x 2.7x 34.3x
EV/EBITDA 52.5x 17.4x 28.8x
EV/EBIT 225.9x 26.5x 30.0x
EV/Revenue 5.1x 2.3x 6.4x
EV/FCF 55.0x 22.2x 27.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 35.0x 18.6x 25.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.09 -15.86 1.28

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCRLICLRMEDP
Revenue growth (1Y) -0.7% 1.8% 20.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.5% 0.9% 16.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.1% -13.4% 12.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.5% -6.5% 18.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -27.6% 53.9% 19.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -48.2% -7.0% 23.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -268.7% 55.9% 19.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -35.5% -4.4% 23.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -253.8% 30.1% 21.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -36.2% -2.4% 28.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -26.1% -9.9% 1.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -2.3% 15.8% 20.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -35.9% -11.1% -1.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.6% 18.4% 20.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCRLICLRMEDP
Gross margin 32.7% 23.4% 29.1%
EBITDA margin 9.7% 13.3% 22.4%
Operating margin 2.3% 8.7% 21.4%
Pretax margin -4.6% 6.3% 22.1%
Net margin -6.0% 5.4% 18.2%
FCF margin 9.3% 10.4% 23.5%
Operating cash flow margin 14.6% 12.5% 25.5%
Return on equity -8.2% 7.6% 101.7%
Return on assets -3.1% 4.3% 23.8%
Return on invested capital 1.6% 4.7% –
Return on capital employed 1.4% 5.3% 88.8%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.4x 2.3x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 2.1% 1.1% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCRLICLRMEDP
Debt / assets 34.8% 20.8% –
Debt / equity 0.9x 0.4x –
Net debt / EBITDA 6.3x 2.3x –
Debt / FCF 7.1x 3.9x –
Liabilities / assets 62.2% 43.8% 74.6%
Equity / assets 37.8% 56.2% 25.4%
Interest coverage 0.8x 3.4x –
Current ratio 1.3x 1.3x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.9x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 3.18 2.28 8.36

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCRLICLRMEDP
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 1.8% 2.3% 1.3%
Shareholder yield 1.8% 2.3% 1.3%
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.

ConsensusCRLICLRMEDP
Forward P/E 34.5xFY2026 21.0xFY2026 38.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.90FY2026 $10.25FY2026 $17.80FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.0%FY2026 -18.2%FY2026 +16.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.5% +22.2% +6.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.82BFY2026 $8.52BFY2026 $2.94BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.9%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026 +16.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% -3.2% +6.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCRLICLRMEDP
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 87.8%
Institutions holding 571 423 694
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.7% +5.5% +3.2%
Institutions buying 271 234 279
Institutions selling 204 138 303
Buyers to sellers 1.33 1.70 0.92

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.

CRLICLRMEDP
CRL 1.00 0.51 0.58
ICLR 0.51 1.00 0.38
MEDP 0.58 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CRL, ICLR and MEDP?

Medpace Holdings (MEDP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) $17.94B, Icon (ICLR) $16.55B, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) $18.76B.

Which stock is cheaper, CRL, ICLR and MEDP?

Medpace Holdings (MEDP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -75.2x, Icon (ICLR) 36.9x, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) 36.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Icon (ICLR) is cheapest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 34.5x, Icon (ICLR) 21.0x, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) 38.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Medpace Holdings (MEDP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -0.7%, Icon (ICLR) +1.8%, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) +20.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Medpace Holdings (MEDP) has the highest net margin (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -6.0%, Icon (ICLR) 5.4%, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) 18.2%). On return on invested capital, Icon (ICLR) leads (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 1.6%, Icon (ICLR) 4.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) returned the most: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) +108.6%, Icon (ICLR) +29.8%, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) +15.9%. Over five years, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) compounded fastest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -3.5%/yr, Icon (ICLR) -5.6%/yr, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) +24.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) has been the steadiest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 45.7%, Icon (ICLR) 75.0%, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) 45.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CRL, ICLR and MEDP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) leads on 6. 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.