CRL vs MEDP vs FTRE Stock Comparison

Charles River Laboratories International, Medpace Holdings and Fortrea Holdings Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MEDP Medpace Holdings, Inc.
$634.98 +5.3% 1M +6.0% 1Y
Market cap
$18.27B
P/E
35.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.84B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
7 wins
FTRE Fortrea Holdings Inc.
$20.46 -1.5% 1M +71.2% 1Y
Market cap
$2.10B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.67B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Medpace Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Medpace Holdings 7, Fortrea Holdings 2, Charles River Laboratories International 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCRLMEDPFTRELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $16.11B $18.27B $2.10B MEDP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 400.8x 35.3x -30.5x MEDP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.7x 35.7x 25.0x FTRE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -1.2% +20.4% -3.4% MEDP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.0% 18.2% -2.6% MEDP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.0% — 0.8% FTRE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.1x — 9.1x CRL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +86.7% +6.0% +71.2% CRL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.6%/yr +23.0%/yr — MEDP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.0% 45.9% 68.9% MEDP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 75/100 50/100 MEDP

Percentile Scorecard

CRLMEDPFTRE

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

AxisCRLMEDPFTRE
Valuation 70 #4 of 11 60 #5 of 11 90 #2 of 11
Growth 20 #9 of 11 100 #1 of 11 60 #5 of 11
Profitability 70 #4 of 11 100 #1 of 11 50 #6 of 11
Financial Health 58 #6 of 13 42 #8 of 13 0 #13 of 13
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 55 75 50
  • CRL ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • MEDP ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • FTRE ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCRLMEDPFTRESPY
1 month +2.6%+5.3%-1.5% -5.9%
3 months +17.9%+8.5%+15.7% -4.6%
6 months +72.4%+48.1%+31.4% +0.2%
Year to date +57.0%+13.1%+18.6% +7.5%
1 year +86.7%+6.0%+71.2% +8.2%
3 years +72.6%+135.7%-31.1% +68.3%
3 years, per year +20.0%+33.1%-11.7% +19.0%
5 years -16.5%+181.2%— +56.5%
5 years, per year -3.6%+23.0%— +9.4%
10 years +359.2%+1,950.3%— +251.5%
10 years, per year +16.5%+35.3%— +13.4%

Risk

MeasureCRLMEDPFTRESPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.0%45.9%68.9% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.9%53.8%66.4% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.220.711.84 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.850.131.03 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -74.7%-42.9%-89.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.7%-8.3%-20.9% -5.9%
52-week high $375.83$692.68$25.88 $779.14
52-week low $149.93$393.42$8.87 $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.

MultipleCRLMEDPFTRE
P/E now vs peer median 372.5xmedian 34.8x 34.3xmedian 34.8x -28.5xmedian 34.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 2.5x 6.3xmedian 2.5x 0.7xmedian 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 38.8xmedian 28.8x 26.9xmedian 28.8x 30.7xmedian 28.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 37.5xmedian 21.0x 26.6xmedian 21.0x 11.7xmedian 21.0x
P/B now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 2.7x 30.4xmedian 2.7x 3.7xmedian 2.7x
PEG now vs peer median -6.75median 1.96 1.20median 1.96 0.47median 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 monthsCRLMEDPFTRE
Revenue $3.98B $2.84B $2.67B
Gross profit $1.33B $827.16M $533.40M
Operating income $158.98M $607.14M $12.80M
Net income $39.65M $517.83M -$68.70M
Free cash flow $399.63M $667.63M $169.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.83 $18.25 $-0.68
Cash & equivalents $200.38M $705.32M $220.60M
Total debt $2.44B – $1.06B
Shares (diluted) 48.58M 28.37M 101.20M
Enterprise value $15.31B $15.91B $1.38B

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
MetricCRLMEDPFTRE
P/E 372.5x 34.3x -28.5x
P/FCF 37.5x 26.6x 11.7x
P/Operating cash flow 24.1x 24.6x 9.8x
P/S 3.8x 6.3x 0.7x
P/B 4.6x 30.4x 3.7x
P/Tangible book 5.0x 32.2x -49.7x
EV/EBITDA 38.8x 26.9x 30.7x
EV/EBIT 108.4x 28.1x 219.5x
EV/Revenue 4.3x 6.0x 1.1x
EV/FCF 43.1x 25.5x 16.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.7x 23.6x 13.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.75 1.20 0.47

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCRLMEDPFTRE
Revenue growth (1Y) -1.2% 20.4% -3.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.9% 16.8% 0.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.1% 12.8% 3.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -4.8% 18.0% -8.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.8% 19.7% 101.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -37.4% 23.0% -43.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 149.8% 19.6% 93.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -56.5% 23.8% -47.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 149.0% 21.5% 93.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -55.2% 28.5% -60.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -17.0% 1.7% 13,353%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.7% 20.5% 5.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -26.5% -1.4% 1,400%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 20.9% 10.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCRLMEDPFTRE
Gross margin 33.3% 29.1% 20.0%
EBITDA margin 11.2% 22.4% 3.4%
Operating margin 4.0% 21.4% 0.5%
Pretax margin -2.5% 22.1% -2.0%
Net margin 1.0% 18.2% -2.6%
FCF margin 10.0% 23.5% 6.3%
Operating cash flow margin 15.7% 25.5% 7.6%
Return on equity 1.4% 101.7% -13.0%
Return on assets 0.6% 23.8% -2.5%
Return on invested capital 0.0% – 0.8%
Return on capital employed 2.5% 88.8% 0.7%
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.3x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 15.7x 1.4x -2.9x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 0.8% 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCRLMEDPFTRE
Debt / assets 32.8% – 38.5%
Debt / equity 0.8x – 2.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.1x – 9.1x
Debt / FCF 6.1x – 6.2x
Liabilities / assets 56.6% 74.6% 80.6%
Equity / assets 43.4% 25.4% 19.4%
Interest coverage 1.5x – –
Current ratio 1.4x 0.8x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.8x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.5x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.13 7.95 0.79

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCRLMEDPFTRE
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 2.0% 1.4% –
Shareholder yield 2.0% 1.4% –
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.

ConsensusCRLMEDPFTRE
Forward P/E 28.7xFY2026 35.7xFY2026 25.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.90FY2026 $17.80FY2026 $0.82FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.0%FY2026 +16.5%FY2026 +90.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.5% +6.2% +20.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.82BFY2026 $2.94BFY2026 $2.79BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.9%FY2026 +16.4%FY2026 +2.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% +6.0% -3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCRLMEDPFTRE
Held by institutions 100.0% 87.8% 100.0%
Institutions holding 571 695 331
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.7% +3.2% -0.2%
Institutions buying 271 279 139
Institutions selling 204 304 108
Buyers to sellers 1.33 0.92 1.29

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.

CRLMEDPFTRE
CRL 1.00 0.59 0.63
MEDP 0.59 1.00 0.48
FTRE 0.63 0.48 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CRL, MEDP and FTRE?

Medpace Holdings (MEDP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) $16.11B, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) $18.27B, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) $2.10B.

Which stock is cheaper, CRL, MEDP and FTRE?

Medpace Holdings (MEDP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 400.8x, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) 35.3x, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) -30.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) is cheapest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 28.7x, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) 35.7x, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) 25.0x). 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) -1.2%, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) +20.4%, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) -3.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Medpace Holdings (MEDP) has the highest net margin (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 1.0%, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) 18.2%, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) -2.6%). On return on invested capital, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) leads (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 0.0%, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) 0.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) returned the most: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) +86.7%, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) +6.0%, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) +71.2%. Over five years, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) compounded fastest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -3.6%/yr, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) +23.0%/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) 47.0%, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) 45.9%, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) 68.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 7. 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.