DGX vs SHC vs GH Stock Comparison

Quest Diagnostics, Sotera Health and Guardant Health Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DGX Quest Diagnostics Inc
$242.92 +2.8% 1M +33.3% 1Y
Market cap
$26.64B
P/E
23.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.84B
Div. yield
0.01%
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
7 wins
SHC Sotera Health Co
$18.39 +0.3% 1M +9.1% 1Y
Market cap
$5.28B
P/E
32.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.22B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
2 wins
GH Guardant Health, Inc.
$173.25 -2.3% 1M +140.1% 1Y
Market cap
$23.68B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.18B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Quest Diagnostics leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Quest Diagnostics 7, Sotera Health 2, Guardant Health 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDGXSHCGHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $26.64B $5.28B $23.68B DGX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.6x 32.3x -52.2x DGX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.2x 20.0x — SHC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.1% +8.1% +42.7% GH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.5% 13.4% -38.3% SHC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.9% 9.1% — DGX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 3.3x — DGX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +33.3% +9.1% +140.1% GH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +11.0%/yr -6.0%/yr +9.1%/yr DGX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.8% 28.5% 57.4% DGX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 58/100 28/100 DGX

Percentile Scorecard

DGXSHCGH

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

AxisDGXSHCGH
Valuation 71 #28 of 93 50 #47 of 93 17 #77 of 93
Growth 40 #53 of 88 67 #30 of 88 48 #46 of 88
Profitability 77 #21 of 87 80 #18 of 87 7 #81 of 87
Financial Health 56 #45 of 100 35 #65 of 100 51 #50 of 100
Shareholder Returns 76 #14 of 56 – 15 #48 of 56
Overall 64 58 28
  • DGX ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • SHC ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • GH ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodDGXSHCGHSPY
1 month +2.8%+0.3%-2.3% -0.8%
3 months +4.7%+6.7%+19.1% +3.5%
6 months +23.5%+16.3%+95.8% +7.0%
Year to date +40.0%+4.3%+69.6% +12.2%
1 year +33.3%+9.1%+140.1% +13.0%
3 years +90.3%+47.0%+594.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +23.9%+13.7%+90.8% +23.1%
5 years +68.8%-26.6%+54.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year +11.0%-6.0%+9.1% +11.0%
10 years +203.1%—— +258.0%
10 years, per year +11.7%—— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureDGXSHCGHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.8%28.5%57.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 18.8%27.0%48.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.091.011.02 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.400.322.44 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -30.3%-78.2%-86.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.8%-6.0%-7.5% -1.8%
52-week high $247.47$19.57$187.22 $779.14
52-week low $173.49$13.13$69.58 $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.

MultipleDGXSHCGH
P/E now vs peer median 23.7xmedian 25.1x 32.1xmedian 25.1x -50.8xmedian 25.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 1.6x 4.3xmedian 1.6x 19.6xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.6xmedian 14.5x 13.0xmedian 14.5x -51.2xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.4xmedian 22.4x 46.6xmedian 22.4x -96.2xmedian 22.4x
P/B now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 3.1x 7.9xmedian 3.1x -103.9xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.62median 0.66 0.86median 0.66 -5.11median 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 monthsDGXSHCGH
Revenue $11.84B $1.22B $1.18B
Gross profit $3.92B $668.51M $769.16M
Operating income $1.72B $411.34M -$470.26M
Net income $1.18B $163.48M -$453.44M
Free cash flow $1.38B $112.70M -$240.72M
R&D – – $375.79M
EPS (diluted) $10.08 $0.57 $-3.41
Cash & equivalents $797.00M $356.72M $1.05B
Total debt $5.55B $2.14B –
Shares (diluted) 112.00M 288.15M 132.87M
Enterprise value $24.41B $3.97B $19.74B

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
MetricDGXSHCGH
P/E 23.7x 32.1x -50.8x
P/FCF 19.4x 46.6x -96.2x
P/Operating cash flow 13.7x 18.0x -125.0x
P/S 2.3x 4.3x 19.6x
P/B 3.4x 7.9x -103.9x
P/Tangible book 4.2x 13.3x -93.3x
EV/EBITDA 13.6x 13.0x -51.2x
EV/EBIT 18.3x 17.1x -47.0x
EV/Revenue 2.7x 5.8x 18.7x
EV/FCF 22.9x 62.4x -91.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.1x 24.1x -119.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.62 0.86 -5.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDGXSHCGH
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.1% 8.1% 42.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 7.6% 32.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.5% 7.1% 47.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 8.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.5% 21.8% -2.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 15.1% 23.2% 4.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 15.0% 580.5% -9.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 12.9% 37.7% 3.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 17.6% 574.9% -2.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.6% 37.5% 9.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.5% 9.8% 22.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.8% 61.3% 18.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -1.3% 0.0% 11.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 32.1% 32.6% 14.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDGXSHCGH
Gross margin 33.1% 55.0% 65.0%
EBITDA margin 19.5% 44.6% -36.5%
Operating margin 14.6% 33.8% -39.7%
Pretax margin 12.6% 21.7% -38.4%
Net margin 9.5% 13.4% -38.3%
FCF margin 11.6% 9.3% -20.3%
Operating cash flow margin 16.5% 24.0% -15.7%
Return on equity 15.0% 25.4% –
Return on assets 6.9% 5.0% -23.7%
Return on invested capital 9.9% 9.1% –
Return on capital employed 11.3% 13.5% -29.9%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.4x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.8x 0.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 3.1% 16.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDGXSHCGH
Debt / assets 32.2% 64.7% –
Debt / equity 0.7x 3.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 3.3x –
Debt / FCF 4.0x 19.0x –
Liabilities / assets 53.8% 79.9% 111.7%
Equity / assets 46.2% 20.1% -11.7%
Interest coverage 6.5x – -97.6x
Current ratio 1.7x 2.8x 4.0x
Quick ratio 1.4x 2.4x 3.5x
Cash ratio 0.4x 1.5x 3.1x
Altman Z-score 3.70 1.93 4.59

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDGXSHCGH
Dividend yield 1.4% – –
Net buyback yield 1.2% – -1.7%
Shareholder yield 2.6% – -1.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 31.3% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 26.8% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 6.3% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 6.1% – –

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.

ConsensusDGXSHCGH
Forward P/E 22.2xFY2026 20.0xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $10.96FY2026 $0.92FY2026 $-3.33FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +11.3%FY2026 +7.0%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +6.8% +21.7% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.25BFY2026 $1.33BFY2026 $1.42BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.9%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026 +44.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.7% -4.2% +27.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDGXSHCGH
Held by institutions 94.4% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,096 316 594
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.7% +5.9% -2.6%
Institutions buying 549 220 353
Institutions selling 341 64 180
Buyers to sellers 1.61 3.44 1.96

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.

DGXSHCGH
DGX 1.00 0.23 0.21
SHC 0.23 1.00 0.28
GH 0.21 0.28 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DGX, SHC and GH?

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Quest Diagnostics (DGX) $26.64B, Sotera Health (SHC) $5.28B, Guardant Health (GH) $23.68B.

Which stock is cheaper, DGX, SHC and GH?

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 23.6x, Sotera Health (SHC) 32.3x, Guardant Health (GH) -52.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sotera Health (SHC) is cheapest (Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 22.2x, Sotera Health (SHC) 20.0x). 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: Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +9.1%, Sotera Health (SHC) +8.1%, Guardant Health (GH) +42.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sotera Health (SHC) has the highest net margin (Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 9.5%, Sotera Health (SHC) 13.4%, Guardant Health (GH) -38.3%). On return on invested capital, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) leads (Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 9.9%, Sotera Health (SHC) 9.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Guardant Health (GH) returned the most: Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +33.3%, Sotera Health (SHC) +9.1%, Guardant Health (GH) +140.1%. Over five years, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) compounded fastest (Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +11.0%/yr, Sotera Health (SHC) -6.0%/yr, Guardant Health (GH) +9.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 0.01%, Sotera Health (SHC) 0.00%, Guardant Health (GH) 0.00%. Sotera Health (SHC) and Guardant Health (GH) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) has been the steadiest (Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 23.8%, Sotera Health (SHC) 28.5%, Guardant Health (GH) 57.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DGX, SHC 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, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 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.