CRL vs LH vs GH Stock Comparison

Charles River Laboratories International, Labcorp Holdings and Guardant Health Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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LH Labcorp Holdings Inc.
$363.13 +16.5% 1M +44.9% 1Y
Market cap
$29.93B
P/E
29.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.59B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
9 wins
GH Guardant Health, Inc.
$153.43 -10.1% 1M +61.4% 1Y
Market cap
$20.16B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.28B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Labcorp Holdings leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Labcorp Holdings 9, Guardant Health 1, Charles River Laboratories International 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCRLLHGHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $16.05B $29.93B $20.16B LH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 399.4x 29.8x -41.6x LH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.7x 21.1x — LH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -1.2% +6.0% +41.7% GH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.0% 6.9% -37.9% LH
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.0% 8.5% — LH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.1x 2.5x — LH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +86.7% +44.9% +61.4% CRL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.6%/yr +9.0%/yr +6.8%/yr LH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.0% 24.6% 52.8% LH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 57/100 25/100 LH

Percentile Scorecard

CRLLHGH

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

AxisCRLLHGH
Valuation 70 #4 of 11 61 #38 of 95 16 #80 of 95
Growth 20 #9 of 11 31 #61 of 88 41 #52 of 88
Profitability 70 #4 of 11 70 #27 of 87 7 #81 of 87
Financial Health 58 #6 of 13 43 #57 of 100 50 #51 of 100
Shareholder Returns – 78 #14 of 60 12 #53 of 60
Overall 55 57 25
  • CRL ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • LH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • GH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCRLLHGHSPY
1 month +2.6%+16.5%-10.1% -5.9%
3 months +17.9%+14.7%-2.6% -4.6%
6 months +72.4%+40.7%+66.3% +0.2%
Year to date +57.0%+44.7%+50.2% +7.5%
1 year +86.7%+44.9%+61.4% +8.2%
3 years +72.6%+73.3%+453.1% +68.3%
3 years, per year +20.0%+20.1%+76.9% +19.0%
5 years -16.5%+53.8%+39.2% +56.5%
5 years, per year -3.6%+9.0%+6.8% +9.4%
10 years +359.2%+246.8%— +251.5%
10 years, per year +16.5%+13.2%— +13.4%

Risk

MeasureCRLLHGHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.0%24.6%52.8% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.9%21.7%51.2% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.220.401.30 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.851.821.16 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -74.7%-35.0%-85.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.7%-1.4%-18.0% -5.9%
52-week high $375.83$368.15$187.22 $779.14
52-week low $149.93$246.64$78.60 $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.

MultipleCRLLHGH
P/E now vs peer median 372.5xmedian 34.8x 29.5xmedian 24.8x -42.5xmedian 24.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 2.5x 2.0xmedian 1.6x 16.2xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 38.8xmedian 28.8x 15.9xmedian 15.9x -42.3xmedian 15.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 37.5xmedian 21.0x 22.9xmedian 20.9x -89.0xmedian 20.9x
P/B now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 2.7x 3.3xmedian 3.3x -74.9xmedian 3.3x
PEG now vs peer median -6.75median 1.96 1.72median 0.88 -73.30median 0.88

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 monthsCRLLHGH
Revenue $3.98B $14.59B $1.28B
Gross profit $1.33B $4.23B $833.70M
Operating income $158.98M $1.50B -$504.04M
Net income $39.65M $1.00B -$485.07M
Free cash flow $399.63M $1.29B -$232.15M
R&D – – $386.67M
EPS (diluted) $0.83 $12.24 $-3.61
Cash & equivalents $200.38M $261.80M $1.03B
Total debt $2.44B $5.85B –
Shares (diluted) 48.58M 82.00M 134.42M
Enterprise value $15.25B $28.01B $15.78B

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
MetricCRLLHGH
P/E 372.5x 29.5x -42.5x
P/FCF 37.5x 22.9x -89.0x
P/Operating cash flow 24.1x 16.2x -119.1x
P/S 3.8x 2.0x 16.2x
P/B 4.6x 3.3x -74.9x
P/Tangible book 5.0x 5.7x -68.7x
EV/EBITDA 38.8x 15.9x -42.3x
EV/EBIT 108.4x 23.4x -39.0x
EV/Revenue 4.3x 2.4x 15.4x
EV/FCF 43.1x 27.3x -84.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.7x 19.3x -113.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.75 1.72 -73.30

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCRLLHGH
Revenue growth (1Y) -1.2% 6.0% 41.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.9% 6.6% 33.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.1% 8.0% 44.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -4.8% 8.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.8% 12.6% -13.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -37.4% 19.7% 0.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 149.8% 17.4% -21.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -56.5% 14.9% -3.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 149.0% 19.8% -12.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -55.2% 17.2% 0.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -17.0% 0.6% 22.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.7% 9.0% 19.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -26.5% -6.8% 11.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 8.2% 13.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCRLLHGH
Gross margin 33.3% 29.0% 65.2%
EBITDA margin 11.2% 15.1% -36.3%
Operating margin 4.0% 10.3% -39.4%
Pretax margin -2.5% 8.4% -38.0%
Net margin 1.0% 6.9% -37.9%
FCF margin 10.0% 8.8% -18.2%
Operating cash flow margin 15.7% 12.4% -13.6%
Return on equity 1.4% 11.5% –
Return on assets 0.6% 5.4% -25.5%
Return on invested capital 0.0% 8.5% –
Return on capital employed 2.5% 9.4% -33.0%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.8x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 15.7x 1.8x 0.4x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 0.9% 16.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCRLLHGH
Debt / assets 32.8% 30.9% –
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.7x –
Net debt / EBITDA 5.1x 2.5x –
Debt / FCF 6.1x 4.5x –
Liabilities / assets 56.6% 53.2% 114.6%
Equity / assets 43.4% 46.8% -14.6%
Interest coverage 1.5x 6.5x -96.6x
Current ratio 1.4x 1.4x 3.6x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.0x 3.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 2.8x
Altman Z-score 3.13 3.52 3.66

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCRLLHGH
Dividend yield – 0.8% –
Net buyback yield 2.0% 2.0% -2.0%
Shareholder yield 2.0% 2.8% -2.0%
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.

ConsensusCRLLHGH
Forward P/E 28.7xFY2026 21.1xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $10.90FY2026 $17.21FY2026 $-3.33FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.0%FY2026 +4.7%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +20.5% +7.9% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.82BFY2026 $14.39BFY2026 $1.42BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.9%FY2026 +3.1%FY2026 +44.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% +12.5% +27.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCRLLHGH
Held by institutions 100.0% 97.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 571 1,053 597
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.7% +1.6% -2.5%
Institutions buying 271 466 356
Institutions selling 204 393 180
Buyers to sellers 1.33 1.19 1.98

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.

CRLLHGH
CRL 1.00 0.36 0.41
LH 0.36 1.00 0.25
GH 0.41 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CRL, LH and GH?

Labcorp Holdings (LH) is the largest by market capitalisation: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) $16.05B, Labcorp Holdings (LH) $29.93B, Guardant Health (GH) $20.16B.

Which stock is cheaper, CRL, LH and GH?

Labcorp Holdings (LH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 399.4x, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 29.8x, Guardant Health (GH) -41.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Labcorp Holdings (LH) is cheapest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 28.7x, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 21.1x). 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%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) +6.0%, Guardant Health (GH) +41.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Labcorp Holdings (LH) has the highest net margin (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 1.0%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 6.9%, Guardant Health (GH) -37.9%). On return on invested capital, Labcorp Holdings (LH) leads (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 0.0%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 8.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) returned the most: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) +86.7%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) +44.9%, Guardant Health (GH) +61.4%. Over five years, Labcorp Holdings (LH) compounded fastest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -3.6%/yr, Labcorp Holdings (LH) +9.0%/yr, Guardant Health (GH) +6.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Labcorp Holdings (LH) has been the steadiest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 47.0%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 24.6%, Guardant Health (GH) 52.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Labcorp Holdings (LH) leads on 9. 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.