CRL vs LH vs ICLR Stock Comparison

Charles River Laboratories International, Labcorp Holdings and Icon Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LH Labcorp Holdings Inc.
$329.04 +8.2% 1M +15.9% 1Y
Market cap
$26.92B
P/E
26.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.35B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
8 wins
ICLR Icon Plc
$185.27 +13.0% 1M +2.9% 1Y
Market cap
$14.43B
P/E
43.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.33B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Labcorp Holdings leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Labcorp Holdings 8, Icon 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.

QuestionCRLLHICLRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.13B $26.92B $14.43B LH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -71.8x 26.9x 43.9x LH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 31.7x 19.3x 18.1x ICLR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -0.7% +6.4% +3.7% LH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -6.0% 7.0% 3.9% LH
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 1.6% 8.2% 1.3% LH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.3x 2.6x 3.5x LH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +80.8% +15.9% +2.9% CRL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.9%/yr +6.3%/yr -7.8%/yr LH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.9% 24.1% 73.7% LH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 57/100 69/100 ICLR

Percentile Scorecard

CRLLHICLR

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

AxisCRLLHICLR
Valuation 60 #5 of 11 64 #34 of 93 90 #2 of 11
Growth 10 #10 of 11 30 #62 of 88 30 #8 of 11
Profitability 70 #4 of 11 69 #28 of 87 80 #3 of 11
Financial Health 42 #8 of 13 49 #52 of 100 75 #4 of 13
Shareholder Returns – 73 #16 of 56 –
Overall 45 57 69
  • CRL ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • LH ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • 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

PeriodCRLLHICLRSPY
1 month +24.5%+8.2%+13.0% -1.0%
3 months +52.4%+10.9%+11.8% +2.9%
6 months +103.3%+24.7%+81.3% +6.4%
Year to date +73.1%+31.2%+1.7% +11.4%
1 year +80.8%+15.9%+2.9% +13.1%
3 years +88.0%+65.6%-21.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +23.4%+18.3%-7.8% +21.5%
5 years -17.9%+35.7%-33.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year -3.9%+6.3%-7.8% +10.9%
10 years +320.4%+176.0%+119.2% +255.2%
10 years, per year +15.4%+10.7%+8.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCRLLHICLRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.9%24.1%73.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.8%24.1%88.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.250.321.45 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.760.660.04 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -77.8%-35.0%-76.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-3.1%-8.7% -2.5%
52-week high $345.24$339.40$202.92 $779.14
52-week low $149.93$246.64$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.

MultipleCRLLHICLR
P/E now vs peer median -69.5xmedian 36.1x 26.8xmedian 25.3x 44.2xmedian 36.1x
P/S now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 2.7x 1.9xmedian 1.6x 1.7xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 48.7xmedian 37.4x 14.7xmedian 14.6x 23.7xmedian 37.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 44.5xmedian 21.1x 23.0xmedian 22.7x 16.1xmedian 21.1x
P/B now vs peer median 5.8xmedian 2.9x 3.1xmedian 3.3x 1.5xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 1.92median 2.05 2.85median 0.66 -3.58median 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 monthsCRLLHICLR
Revenue $4.00B $14.35B $8.33B
Gross profit $1.31B $4.14B $2.01B
Operating income $90.14M $1.50B $325.64M
Net income -$239.23M $1.00B $69.55M
Free cash flow $370.61M $1.16B $883.82M
EPS (diluted) $-4.97 $12.22 $4.16
Cash & equivalents $192.03M $141.80M $928.39M
Total debt $9.60B $23.36B $13.60B
Shares (diluted) 48.02M 82.00M 78.97M
Enterprise value $16.33B $24.67B $11.54B

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
MetricCRLLHICLR
P/E -69.5x 26.8x 44.2x
P/FCF 44.5x 23.0x 16.1x
P/Operating cash flow 28.3x 16.2x 13.3x
P/S 4.1x 1.9x 1.7x
P/B 5.8x 3.1x 1.5x
P/Tangible book 6.4x 5.4x 2.3x
EV/EBITDA 48.7x 14.7x 23.7x
EV/EBIT 209.7x 21.6x 51.1x
EV/Revenue 4.7x 2.3x 2.0x
EV/FCF 51.0x 28.0x 18.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.5x 19.7x 15.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.92 2.85 -3.58

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCRLLHICLR
Revenue growth (1Y) -0.7% 6.4% 3.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.5% 6.5% 1.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.1% 9.2% -11.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.5% 7.1% -4.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -27.6% 25.6% -66.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -48.2% 14.4% -28.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -268.7% 31.3% -91.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -35.5% 6.5% -48.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -253.8% 34.3% -59.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -36.2% 9.4% -12.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -26.1% -3.3% -7.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -2.3% 3.0% 26.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -35.9% -8.4% -10.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.6% 0.5% 32.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCRLLHICLR
Gross margin 32.7% 28.9% 24.2%
EBITDA margin 9.7% 15.3% 8.4%
Operating margin 2.3% 10.4% 3.9%
Pretax margin -4.6% 8.6% 1.6%
Net margin -6.0% 7.0% 3.9%
FCF margin 9.3% 8.1% 10.6%
Operating cash flow margin 14.6% 11.4% 12.8%
Return on equity -8.2% 11.6% 6.4%
Return on assets -3.1% 5.3% 3.7%
Return on invested capital 1.6% 8.2% 1.3%
Return on capital employed 1.4% 9.0% 2.6%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.4x 1.6x 15.4x
Stock comp / revenue 2.1% 0.9% 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCRLLHICLR
Debt / assets 34.8% 31.6% 20.7%
Debt / equity 0.9x 0.7x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.3x 2.6x 3.5x
Debt / FCF 7.1x 5.1x 3.8x
Liabilities / assets 62.2% 53.6% 42.8%
Equity / assets 37.8% 46.4% 57.2%
Interest coverage 0.8x 6.6x 1.7x
Current ratio 1.3x 1.8x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.2x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.00 3.42 1.97

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCRLLHICLR
Dividend yield – 0.9% –
Net buyback yield 2.0% 2.4% 1.7%
Shareholder yield 2.0% 3.3% 1.7%
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.

ConsensusCRLLHICLR
Forward P/E 31.7xFY2026 19.3xFY2026 18.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.90FY2026 $17.07FY2026 $10.26FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.0%FY2026 +3.8%FY2026 -18.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.5% +9.3% +22.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.82BFY2026 $14.31BFY2026 $8.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.9%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% +11.9% -3.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCRLLHICLR
Held by institutions 100.0% 97.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 570 1,051 422
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.7% +1.6% +5.5%
Institutions buying 270 465 233
Institutions selling 204 393 138
Buyers to sellers 1.32 1.18 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.

CRLLHICLR
CRL 1.00 0.40 0.52
LH 0.40 1.00 0.32
ICLR 0.52 0.32 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CRL, LH and ICLR?

Labcorp Holdings (LH) is the largest by market capitalisation: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) $17.13B, Labcorp Holdings (LH) $26.92B, Icon (ICLR) $14.43B.

Which stock is cheaper, CRL, LH and ICLR?

Labcorp Holdings (LH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -71.8x, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 26.9x, Icon (ICLR) 43.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Icon (ICLR) is cheapest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 31.7x, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 19.3x, Icon (ICLR) 18.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Labcorp Holdings (LH) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -0.7%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) +6.4%, Icon (ICLR) +3.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Labcorp Holdings (LH) has the highest net margin (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -6.0%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 7.0%, Icon (ICLR) 3.9%). On return on invested capital, Labcorp Holdings (LH) leads (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 1.6%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 8.2%, Icon (ICLR) 1.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) returned the most: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) +80.8%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) +15.9%, Icon (ICLR) +2.9%. Over five years, Labcorp Holdings (LH) compounded fastest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -3.9%/yr, Labcorp Holdings (LH) +6.3%/yr, Icon (ICLR) -7.8%/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) 45.9%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 24.1%, Icon (ICLR) 73.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CRL, LH 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, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 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.