CRL vs ICLR Stock Comparison

Charles River Laboratories International and Icon Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ICLR Icon Plc
$182.98 +6.2% 1M +0.5% 1Y
Market cap
$14.01B
P/E
32.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.23B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

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

QuestionCRLICLRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.14B $14.01B CRL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -72.3x 32.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.9x 17.9x ICLR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -0.7% +1.8% ICLR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -6.0% 5.4% ICLR
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 — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +83.9% +0.5% CRL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.9%/yr -8.6%/yr CRL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.9% 73.7% CRL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 81/100 ICLR

Percentile Scorecard

CRLICLR

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

AxisCRLICLR
Valuation 60 #5 of 11 100 #1 of 11
Growth 10 #10 of 11 70 #4 of 11
Profitability 70 #4 of 11 80 #3 of 11
Financial Health 42 #8 of 13 75 #4 of 13
Shareholder Returns – –
Overall 45 81
  • CRL ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • ICLR ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCRLICLRSPY
1 month +22.5%+6.2% -0.2%
3 months +49.4%+1.5% +3.9%
6 months +115.3%+78.5% +8.2%
Year to date +80.0%+0.4% +12.9%
1 year +83.9%+0.5% +12.3%
3 years +108.0%-22.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +27.7%-8.0% +23.3%
5 years -18.2%-36.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year -3.9%-8.6% +10.9%
10 years +369.5%+127.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year +16.7%+8.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCRLICLRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.9%73.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.0%87.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.271.44 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.830.01 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -77.8%-76.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-9.8% -1.2%
52-week high $359.04$202.92 $779.14
52-week low $149.93$80.08 $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.

MultipleCRLICLR
P/E now vs peer median -72.3xmedian 32.1x 32.0xmedian 32.1x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 2.6x 1.7xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 50.4xmedian 38.1x 15.2xmedian 38.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 46.2xmedian 21.5x 16.3xmedian 21.5x
P/B now vs peer median 6.0xmedian 3.1x 1.5xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.00median 2.03 -13.47median 2.03

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 monthsCRLICLR
Revenue $4.00B $8.23B
Gross profit $1.31B $1.93B
Operating income $90.14M $718.25M
Net income -$239.23M $448.66M
Free cash flow $370.61M $857.06M
EPS (diluted) $-4.97 $5.68
Cash & equivalents $192.03M $808.98M
Total debt $2.62B $3.38B
Shares (diluted) 48.02M 78.97M
Enterprise value $16.37B $10.78B

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
MetricCRLICLR
P/E -72.3x 32.0x
P/FCF 46.2x 16.3x
P/Operating cash flow 29.4x 13.6x
P/S 4.3x 1.7x
P/B 6.0x 1.5x
P/Tangible book 6.6x 2.3x
EV/EBITDA 50.4x 15.2x
EV/EBIT 217.0x 23.1x
EV/Revenue 4.9x 2.0x
EV/FCF 52.8x 19.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 33.6x 16.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.00 -13.47

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCRLICLR
Revenue growth (1Y) -0.7% 1.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.5% 0.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.1% -13.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.5% -6.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -27.6% 53.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -48.2% -7.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -268.7% 55.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -35.5% -4.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -253.8% 30.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -36.2% -2.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -26.1% -9.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -2.3% 15.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -35.9% -11.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.6% 18.4%

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCRLICLR
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%
Equity / assets 37.8% 56.2%
Interest coverage 0.8x 3.4x
Current ratio 1.3x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 3.08 2.07

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCRLICLR
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield 1.9% 2.7%
Shareholder yield 1.9% 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.

ConsensusCRLICLR
Forward P/E 32.9xFY2026 17.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.90FY2026 $10.25FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.0%FY2026 -18.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.5% +22.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.82BFY2026 $8.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.9%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% -3.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCRLICLR
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 570 422
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.7% +5.5%
Institutions buying 270 233
Institutions selling 204 138
Buyers to sellers 1.32 1.69

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.

CRLICLR
CRL 1.00 0.51
ICLR 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CRL and ICLR?

Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) $17.14B, Icon (ICLR) $14.01B.

Which company is growing faster?

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

Which company is more profitable?

Icon (ICLR) has the highest net margin (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -6.0%, Icon (ICLR) 5.4%). 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) +83.9%, Icon (ICLR) +0.5%. Over five years, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) compounded fastest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -3.9%/yr, Icon (ICLR) -8.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) has been the steadiest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 45.9%, Icon (ICLR) 73.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do CRL and ICLR move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.51, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, CRL and ICLR?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Icon (ICLR) 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.