CSTL vs LH vs SHC Stock Comparison

Castle Biosciences, Labcorp Holdings and Sotera Health Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CSTL Castle Biosciences Inc
$34.51 -3.6% 1M +44.0% 1Y
Market cap
$1.12B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$357.28M
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
1 win
LH Labcorp Holdings Inc.
$331.39 +7.1% 1M +20.2% 1Y
Market cap
$29.50B
P/E
29.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.35B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
6 wins
SHC Sotera Health Co
$18.49 +0.8% 1M +10.7% 1Y
Market cap
$5.32B
P/E
32.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.22B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Labcorp Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Labcorp Holdings 6, Sotera Health 4, Castle Biosciences 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCSTLLHSHCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.12B $29.50B $5.32B LH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -57.9x 29.4x 32.6x LH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 19.4x 20.1x LH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.2% +6.4% +8.1% SHC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -5.4% 7.0% 13.4% SHC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -6.7% 8.2% 9.1% SHC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 15.5x 2.6x 3.3x LH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +44.0% +20.2% +10.7% CSTL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -11.6%/yr +6.2%/yr -5.8%/yr LH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 58.3% 24.0% 28.4% LH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 56/100 59/100 SHC

Percentile Scorecard

CSTLLHSHC

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

AxisCSTLLHSHC
Valuation 47 #49 of 92 62 #36 of 92 52 #45 of 92
Growth 52 #42 of 87 30 #61 of 87 66 #30 of 87
Profitability 39 #53 of 86 68 #28 of 86 82 #16 of 86
Financial Health 92 #9 of 97 47 #52 of 97 37 #62 of 97
Shareholder Returns 20 #45 of 56 73 #16 of 56 –
Overall 50 56 59
  • CSTL ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • LH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • SHC ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCSTLLHSHCSPY
1 month -3.6%+7.1%+0.8% -0.2%
3 months +44.5%+5.4%+4.1% +3.9%
6 months +39.8%+27.7%+19.0% +8.2%
Year to date -11.3%+32.1%+4.8% +12.9%
1 year +44.0%+20.2%+10.7% +12.3%
3 years +164.2%+66.6%+47.8% +87.4%
3 years, per year +38.3%+18.6%+13.9% +23.3%
5 years -46.0%+35.2%-25.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year -11.6%+6.2%-5.8% +10.9%
10 years —+211.2%— +261.1%
10 years, per year —+12.0%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCSTLLHSHCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 58.3%24.0%28.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 61.4%24.1%27.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.960.341.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.760.840.38 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.1%-35.0%-78.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.8%-2.4%-5.5% -1.2%
52-week high $43.04$339.40$19.57 $779.14
52-week low $18.15$246.64$13.13 $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.

MultipleCSTLLHSHC
P/E now vs peer median -54.0xmedian 24.6x 27.0xmedian 24.6x 32.3xmedian 24.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 1.6x 1.9xmedian 1.6x 4.3xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -48.2xmedian 14.6x 14.8xmedian 14.6x 13.0xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -2,153xmedian 21.6x 23.2xmedian 21.6x 46.8xmedian 21.6x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 3.2x 3.1xmedian 3.2x 7.9xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median -1.28median 0.66 2.87median 0.66 0.86median 0.66

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 monthsCSTLLHSHC
Revenue $357.28M $14.35B $1.22B
Gross profit $276.03M $4.14B $668.51M
Operating income -$32.11M $1.50B $411.34M
Net income -$19.42M $1.00B $163.48M
Free cash flow -$489.00K $1.16B $112.70M
R&D $55.45M – –
EPS (diluted) $-0.64 $12.22 $0.57
Cash & equivalents $62.12M $141.80M $356.72M
Total debt $10.08M $5.86B $2.14B
Shares (diluted) 30.40M 82.00M 288.15M
Enterprise value $9.27M $27.25B $4.01B

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
MetricCSTLLHSHC
P/E -54.0x 27.0x 32.3x
P/FCF -2,153x 23.2x 46.8x
P/Operating cash flow 24.7x 16.4x 18.1x
P/S 2.9x 1.9x 4.3x
P/B 2.2x 3.1x 7.9x
P/Tangible book 2.2x 5.4x 13.3x
EV/EBITDA -48.2x 14.8x 13.0x
EV/EBIT -24.8x 21.7x 17.2x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 2.3x 5.8x
EV/FCF -1,628x 28.2x 62.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.7x 19.9x 24.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.28 2.87 0.86

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCSTLLHSHC
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.2% 6.4% 8.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 28.7% 6.5% 7.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.6% 9.2% 7.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 29.2% 7.1% 8.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -39.3% 25.6% 21.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 30.8% 14.4% 23.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -105.1% 31.3% 580.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 39.8% 6.5% 37.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -99.3% 34.3% 574.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 42.3% 9.4% 37.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -31.8% -3.3% 9.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 45.1% 3.0% 61.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -101.4% -8.4% 0.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 78.8% 0.5% 32.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCSTLLHSHC
Gross margin 77.3% 28.9% 55.0%
EBITDA margin -4.6% 15.3% 44.6%
Operating margin -9.0% 10.4% 33.8%
Pretax margin -5.4% 8.6% 21.7%
Net margin -5.4% 7.0% 13.4%
FCF margin -0.1% 8.1% 9.3%
Operating cash flow margin 11.9% 11.4% 24.0%
Return on equity -4.2% 11.6% 25.4%
Return on assets -3.5% 5.3% 5.0%
Return on invested capital -6.7% 8.2% 9.1%
Return on capital employed -6.4% 9.0% 13.5%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.8x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.2x 1.6x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue 12.6% 0.9% 3.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCSTLLHSHC
Debt / assets 1.8% 31.6% 64.7%
Debt / equity 0.0x 0.7x 3.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 15.5x 2.6x 3.3x
Debt / FCF -20.6x 5.1x 19.0x
Liabilities / assets 16.2% 53.6% 79.9%
Equity / assets 83.8% 46.4% 20.1%
Interest coverage -85.6x 6.6x –
Current ratio 6.0x 1.8x 2.8x
Quick ratio 5.6x 1.2x 2.4x
Cash ratio 4.7x 0.1x 1.5x
Altman Z-score 7.39 3.43 1.94

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCSTLLHSHC
Dividend yield – 0.9% –
Net buyback yield -0.5% 2.4% –
Shareholder yield -0.5% 3.3% –
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.

ConsensusCSTLLHSHC
Forward P/E – 19.4xFY2026 20.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-1.31FY2026 $17.07FY2026 $0.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +3.8%FY2026 +7.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +9.3% +21.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $385.85MFY2026 $14.31BFY2026 $1.33BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.1%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.3% +11.9% -4.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCSTLLHSHC
Held by institutions 89.6% 97.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 177 1,051 316
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.0% +1.6% +5.9%
Institutions buying 104 465 220
Institutions selling 55 393 64
Buyers to sellers 1.89 1.18 3.44

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.

CSTLLHSHC
CSTL 1.00 0.14 0.33
LH 0.14 1.00 0.41
SHC 0.33 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CSTL, LH and SHC?

Labcorp Holdings (LH) is the largest by market capitalisation: Castle Biosciences (CSTL) $1.12B, Labcorp Holdings (LH) $29.50B, Sotera Health (SHC) $5.32B.

Which stock is cheaper, CSTL, LH and SHC?

Labcorp Holdings (LH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Castle Biosciences (CSTL) -57.9x, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 29.4x, Sotera Health (SHC) 32.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Labcorp Holdings (LH) is cheapest (Labcorp Holdings (LH) 19.4x, Sotera Health (SHC) 20.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sotera Health (SHC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Castle Biosciences (CSTL) +3.2%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) +6.4%, Sotera Health (SHC) +8.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sotera Health (SHC) has the highest net margin (Castle Biosciences (CSTL) -5.4%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 7.0%, Sotera Health (SHC) 13.4%). On return on invested capital, Sotera Health (SHC) leads (Castle Biosciences (CSTL) -6.7%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 8.2%, Sotera Health (SHC) 9.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Castle Biosciences (CSTL) returned the most: Castle Biosciences (CSTL) +44.0%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) +20.2%, Sotera Health (SHC) +10.7%. Over five years, Labcorp Holdings (LH) compounded fastest (Castle Biosciences (CSTL) -11.6%/yr, Labcorp Holdings (LH) +6.2%/yr, Sotera Health (SHC) -5.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Labcorp Holdings (LH) has been the steadiest (Castle Biosciences (CSTL) 58.3%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 24.0%, Sotera Health (SHC) 28.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CSTL, LH and SHC?

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 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.