CRL vs NAII vs STE Stock Comparison

Charles River Laboratories International, Natural Alternatives International and Steris Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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STE STERIS plc
$254.37 +22.0% 1M +4.6% 1Y
Market cap
$24.70B
P/E
29.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.17B
Div. yield
1.01%
Medical Devices Healthcare
8 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Steris leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Steris 8, Natural Alternatives International 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.

QuestionCRLNAIISTELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $14.99B $6.75M $24.70B STE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 372.5x -0.3x 29.9x STE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.7x — 22.0x STE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -1.2% +9.7% +8.1% NAII
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.0% -14.5% 13.4% STE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.0% -24.9% 9.5% STE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.1x -0.8x 0.8x NAII
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 1.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +86.7% -62.4% +4.6% CRL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.6%/yr -39.1%/yr +2.5%/yr STE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.0% 67.4% 27.5% STE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 33/100 71/100 STE

Percentile Scorecard

CRLNAIISTE

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

AxisCRLNAIISTE
Valuation 70 #4 of 11 40 #7 of 11 76 #56 of 229
Growth 20 #9 of 11 0 #11 of 11 50 #111 of 221
Profitability 70 #4 of 11 40 #7 of 11 89 #24 of 210
Financial Health 58 #6 of 13 50 #7 of 13 65 #84 of 240
Shareholder Returns – – 73 #40 of 147
Overall 55 33 71
  • CRL ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • NAII ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • STE ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCRLNAIISTESPY
1 month +2.6%-15.8%+22.0% -5.9%
3 months +17.9%-52.9%+9.8% -4.6%
6 months +72.4%-59.1%+19.0% +0.2%
Year to date +57.0%-68.7%+0.3% +7.5%
1 year +86.7%-62.4%+4.6% +8.2%
3 years +72.6%-81.8%+17.0% +68.3%
3 years, per year +20.0%-43.4%+5.4% +19.0%
5 years -16.5%-91.6%+13.3% +56.5%
5 years, per year -3.6%-39.1%+2.5% +9.4%
10 years +359.2%-90.5%+289.3% +251.5%
10 years, per year +16.5%-20.9%+14.6% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureCRLNAIISTESPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.0%67.4%27.5% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.9%76.7%25.8% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.220.740.37 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.85-0.930.17 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -74.7%-92.7%-36.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.7%-76.8%-5.3% -5.9%
52-week high $375.83$4.83$268.65 $779.14
52-week low $149.93$1.06$199.40 $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.

MultipleCRLNAIISTE
P/E now vs peer median 372.5xmedian 34.8x -0.3xmedian 34.8x 29.9xmedian 26.9x
P/S now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 2.5x 0.0xmedian 2.5x 4.0xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 38.8xmedian 28.8x -1.3xmedian 28.8x 15.7xmedian 17.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 37.5xmedian 21.0x -0.5xmedian 21.0x 26.4xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 2.7x 0.1xmedian 2.7x 3.4xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -6.75median 1.96 0.00median 1.96 1.96median 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 monthsCRLNAIISTE
Revenue $3.98B $142.52M $6.17B
Gross profit $1.33B $9.00M $2.75B
Operating income $158.98M -$18.75M $1.17B
Net income $39.65M -$20.70M $829.70M
Free cash flow $399.63M -$12.62M $937.20M
R&D – – $118.40M
EPS (diluted) $0.83 $-3.43 $8.47
Cash & equivalents $200.38M $7.39M $531.10M
Total debt $2.44B $18.69M $1.89B
Shares (diluted) 48.58M 6.03M 97.60M
Enterprise value $14.24B -$21.33M $22.84B

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
MetricCRLNAIISTE
P/E 372.5x -0.3x 29.9x
P/FCF 37.5x -0.5x 26.4x
P/Operating cash flow 24.1x -0.8x 19.2x
P/S 3.8x 0.0x 4.0x
P/B 4.6x 0.1x 3.4x
P/Tangible book 5.0x 0.1x 4.3x
EV/EBITDA 38.8x -1.3x 15.7x
EV/EBIT 108.4x -1.0x 22.3x
EV/Revenue 4.3x 0.1x 4.2x
EV/FCF 43.1x -1.4x 27.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.7x -2.0x 20.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.75 0.00 1.96

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCRLNAIISTE
Revenue growth (1Y) -1.2% 9.7% 8.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.9% -2.6% 8.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.1% -3.1% 8.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -4.8% -20.9% 9.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.8% -116.5% 20.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -37.4% -81.5% -4.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 149.8% -52.4% 20.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -56.5% -116.9% 14.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 149.0% -50.4% 21.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -55.2% -115.5% 15.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -17.0% -250.3% -0.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.7% -48.4% 15.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -26.5% -644.3% -2.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% -24.7% 20.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCRLNAIISTE
Gross margin 33.3% 6.3% 44.6%
EBITDA margin 11.2% -9.9% 27.0%
Operating margin 4.0% -13.2% 19.0%
Pretax margin -2.5% -14.2% 18.2%
Net margin 1.0% -14.5% 13.4%
FCF margin 10.0% -8.9% 15.2%
Operating cash flow margin 15.7% -6.3% 20.9%
Return on equity 1.4% -36.6% 11.4%
Return on assets 0.6% -14.7% 7.7%
Return on invested capital 0.0% -24.9% 9.5%
Return on capital employed 2.5% -18.2% 12.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.0x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 15.7x 0.4x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 0.5% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCRLNAIISTE
Debt / assets 32.8% 14.8% 17.7%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.4x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.1x -0.8x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 6.1x -1.5x 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 56.6% 60.5% 32.1%
Equity / assets 43.4% 39.5% 67.9%
Interest coverage 1.5x – 20.5x
Current ratio 1.4x 1.7x 2.1x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.5x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.13 1.38 5.82

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCRLNAIISTE
Dividend yield – – 1.0%
Net buyback yield 2.0% 1.3% 1.4%
Shareholder yield 2.0% 1.3% 2.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 30.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 26.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 9.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 9.6%

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.

ConsensusCRLNAIISTE
Forward P/E 28.7xFY2026 – 22.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.90FY2026 – $11.56FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.0%FY2026 – +13.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.5% – +13.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.82BFY2026 – $6.62BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.9%FY2026 – +11.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.7% – -0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCRLNAIISTE
Held by institutions 100.0% 10.5% 97.1%
Institutions holding 571 24 831
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.7% +6.0% +1.1%
Institutions buying 271 8 405
Institutions selling 204 7 302
Buyers to sellers 1.33 1.14 1.34

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.

CRLNAIISTE
CRL 1.00 0.11 0.28
NAII 0.11 1.00 0.18
STE 0.28 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CRL, NAII and STE?

Steris (STE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) $14.99B, Natural Alternatives International (NAII) $6.75M, Steris (STE) $24.70B.

Which stock is cheaper, CRL, NAII and STE?

Steris (STE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 372.5x, Natural Alternatives International (NAII) -0.3x, Steris (STE) 29.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Steris (STE) is cheapest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 28.7x, Steris (STE) 22.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Natural Alternatives International (NAII) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -1.2%, Natural Alternatives International (NAII) +9.7%, Steris (STE) +8.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Steris (STE) has the highest net margin (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 1.0%, Natural Alternatives International (NAII) -14.5%, Steris (STE) 13.4%). On return on invested capital, Steris (STE) leads (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 0.0%, Natural Alternatives International (NAII) -24.9%, Steris (STE) 9.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) returned the most: Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) +86.7%, Natural Alternatives International (NAII) -62.4%, Steris (STE) +4.6%. Over five years, Steris (STE) compounded fastest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -3.6%/yr, Natural Alternatives International (NAII) -39.1%/yr, Steris (STE) +2.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Steris (STE) 1.01%. Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) and Natural Alternatives International (NAII) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Steris (STE) has been the steadiest (Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 47.0%, Natural Alternatives International (NAII) 67.4%, Steris (STE) 27.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CRL, NAII and STE?

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