DGX vs TEM vs SHC Stock Comparison

Quest Diagnostics, Tempus AI and Sotera Health Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DGX Quest Diagnostics Inc
$241.90 +3.8% 1M +32.0% 1Y
Market cap
$26.69B
P/E
23.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.84B
Div. yield
0.01%
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
8 wins
TEM Tempus AI, Inc.
$67.61 -11.7% 1M -22.3% 1Y
Market cap
$12.10B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.43B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
1 win
SHC Sotera Health Co
$18.10 -1.0% 1M +7.1% 1Y
Market cap
$5.26B
P/E
32.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.22B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Quest Diagnostics leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Quest Diagnostics 8, Sotera Health 2, Tempus AI 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDGXTEMSHCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $26.69B $12.10B $5.26B DGX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.6x -47.6x 32.2x DGX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.3x — 19.7x SHC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.1% +50.4% +8.1% TEM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.5% -17.8% 13.4% SHC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.9% -52.0% 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 +32.0% -22.3% +7.1% DGX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.6%/yr — -7.0%/yr DGX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.8% 76.5% 28.4% DGX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 26/100 58/100 DGX

Percentile Scorecard

DGXTEMSHC

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

AxisDGXTEMSHC
Valuation 72 #27 of 93 9 #85 of 93 50 #47 of 93
Growth 40 #53 of 88 26 #65 of 88 67 #30 of 88
Profitability 77 #21 of 87 11 #78 of 87 80 #18 of 87
Financial Health 56 #45 of 100 57 #44 of 100 35 #65 of 100
Shareholder Returns 76 #14 of 56 – –
Overall 64 26 58
  • DGX ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • TEM ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • SHC ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodDGXTEMSHCSPY
1 month +3.8%-11.7%-1.0% -1.0%
3 months +6.1%+58.4%+4.3% +2.9%
6 months +23.2%+29.7%+16.2% +6.4%
Year to date +39.4%+14.5%+2.6% +11.4%
1 year +32.0%-22.3%+7.1% +13.1%
3 years +95.7%—+39.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +25.1%—+11.6% +21.5%
5 years +65.1%—-30.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year +10.6%—-7.0% +10.9%
10 years +189.0%—— +255.2%
10 years, per year +11.2%—— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureDGXTEMSHCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.8%76.5%28.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 18.8%67.1%26.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.102.550.99 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.35-0.290.25 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -30.3%-59.8%-78.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.3%-26.2%-7.5% -2.5%
52-week high $247.47$91.58$19.57 $779.14
52-week low $173.49$41.55$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.

MultipleDGXTEMSHC
P/E now vs peer median 23.6xmedian 25.3x -47.8xmedian 25.3x 31.6xmedian 25.3x
P/S now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 1.6x 8.3xmedian 1.6x 4.2xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.6xmedian 14.6x —median 14.6x 12.8xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.4xmedian 22.7x -45.0xmedian 22.7x 45.8xmedian 22.7x
P/B now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 3.3x 26.6xmedian 3.3x 7.8xmedian 3.3x
PEG now vs peer median 1.61median 0.66 —median 0.66 0.84median 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 monthsDGXTEMSHC
Revenue $11.84B $1.43B $1.22B
Gross profit $3.92B $916.19M $668.51M
Operating income $1.72B -$283.03M $411.34M
Net income $1.18B -$254.43M $163.48M
Free cash flow $1.38B -$263.22M $112.70M
R&D – $196.31M –
EPS (diluted) $10.08 $-1.39 $0.57
Cash & equivalents $797.00M $599.61M $356.72M
Total debt $5.55B $608.24M $2.14B
Shares (diluted) 112.00M 182.40M 288.15M
Enterprise value $24.45B $9.13B $3.94B

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
MetricDGXTEMSHC
P/E 23.6x -47.8x 31.6x
P/FCF 19.4x -45.0x 45.8x
P/Operating cash flow 13.6x -49.9x 17.7x
P/S 2.2x 8.3x 4.2x
P/B 3.3x 26.6x 7.8x
P/Tangible book 4.2x 89.4x 13.1x
EV/EBITDA 13.6x – 12.8x
EV/EBIT 18.2x -39.0x 16.9x
EV/Revenue 2.6x 7.7x 5.7x
EV/FCF 22.8x -41.9x 61.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.1x -46.5x 23.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.61 – 0.84

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDGXTEMSHC
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.1% 50.4% 8.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.4% – 7.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.5% 58.5% 7.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.4% – 8.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.5% -20.6% 21.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 15.1% – 23.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 15.0% -27.4% 580.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 12.9% – 37.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 17.6% -21.1% 574.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.6% – 37.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.5% -356.2% 9.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.8% – 61.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -1.3% -278.0% 0.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 32.1% – 32.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDGXTEMSHC
Gross margin 33.1% 64.0% 55.0%
EBITDA margin 19.5% – 44.6%
Operating margin 14.6% -19.8% 33.8%
Pretax margin 12.6% -17.6% 21.7%
Net margin 9.5% -17.8% 13.4%
FCF margin 11.6% -18.4% 9.3%
Operating cash flow margin 16.5% -16.6% 24.0%
Return on equity 15.0% -57.3% 25.4%
Return on assets 6.9% -11.0% 5.0%
Return on invested capital 9.9% -52.0% 9.1%
Return on capital employed 11.3% -15.2% 13.5%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.6x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 0.9x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 13.0% 3.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDGXTEMSHC
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% 81.2% 79.9%
Equity / assets 46.2% 18.8% 20.1%
Interest coverage 6.5x -5.1x –
Current ratio 1.7x 3.3x 2.8x
Quick ratio 1.4x 3.1x 2.4x
Cash ratio 0.4x 2.1x 1.5x
Altman Z-score 3.69 2.88 1.91

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDGXTEMSHC
Dividend yield 1.4% – –
Net buyback yield 1.2% – –
Shareholder yield 2.6% 0.0% –
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.

ConsensusDGXTEMSHC
Forward P/E 22.3xFY2026 – 19.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.86FY2026 $-0.20FY2026 $0.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.3%FY2026 – +7.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +8.3% – +21.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.19BFY2026 $1.64BFY2026 $1.33BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.3%FY2026 +29.0%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.8% +24.1% -4.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDGXTEMSHC
Held by institutions 94.4% 61.3% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,096 483 316
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.7% +5.0% +5.9%
Institutions buying 549 284 220
Institutions selling 341 118 64
Buyers to sellers 1.61 2.41 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.

DGXTEMSHC
DGX 1.00 0.19 0.23
TEM 0.19 1.00 0.44
SHC 0.23 0.44 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DGX, TEM and SHC?

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Quest Diagnostics (DGX) $26.69B, Tempus AI (TEM) $12.10B, Sotera Health (SHC) $5.26B.

Which stock is cheaper, DGX, TEM and SHC?

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 23.6x, Tempus AI (TEM) -47.6x, Sotera Health (SHC) 32.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sotera Health (SHC) is cheapest (Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 22.3x, Sotera Health (SHC) 19.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Tempus AI (TEM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +9.1%, Tempus AI (TEM) +50.4%, Sotera Health (SHC) +8.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sotera Health (SHC) has the highest net margin (Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 9.5%, Tempus AI (TEM) -17.8%, Sotera Health (SHC) 13.4%). On return on invested capital, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) leads (Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 9.9%, Tempus AI (TEM) -52.0%, Sotera Health (SHC) 9.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Quest Diagnostics (DGX) returned the most: Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +32.0%, Tempus AI (TEM) -22.3%, Sotera Health (SHC) +7.1%. Over five years, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) compounded fastest (Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +10.6%/yr, Sotera Health (SHC) -7.0%/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%, Tempus AI (TEM) 0.00%, Sotera Health (SHC) 0.00%. Tempus AI (TEM) and Sotera Health (SHC) 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%, Tempus AI (TEM) 76.5%, Sotera Health (SHC) 28.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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