GH vs ICLR vs CAI Stock Comparison

Guardant Health, Icon and Caris Life Sciences Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GH Guardant Health, Inc.
$173.25 -2.3% 1M +140.1% 1Y
Market cap
$23.15B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.18B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
4 wins
ICLR Icon Plc
$183.78 +6.6% 1M +3.2% 1Y
Market cap
$14.07B
P/E
43.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.33B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Guardant Health leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Guardant Health 4, Caris Life Sciences 4, Icon 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGHICLRCAILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $23.15B $14.07B $9.17B GH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -50.8x 43.8x 87.3x ICLR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 17.9x 295.1x ICLR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +42.7% +3.7% +85.4% CAI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -38.3% 3.9% 10.6% CAI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 1.3% 15.6% CAI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 3.5x -2.2x CAI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +140.1% +3.2% +4.5% GH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.1%/yr -8.2%/yr — GH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 57.4% 73.8% 69.6% GH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 28/100 69/100 69/100 ICLR

Percentile Scorecard

GHICLRCAI

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

AxisGHICLRCAI
Valuation 17 #77 of 93 90 #2 of 11 23 #72 of 93
Growth 48 #46 of 88 30 #8 of 11 99 #2 of 88
Profitability 7 #81 of 87 80 #3 of 11 87 #12 of 87
Financial Health 51 #50 of 100 75 #4 of 13 82 #19 of 100
Shareholder Returns 15 #48 of 56 – 53 #27 of 56
Overall 28 69 69
  • GH ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • ICLR ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • CAI ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGHICLRCAISPY
1 month -2.3%+6.6%+1.5% -0.8%
3 months +19.1%+8.9%+107.7% +3.5%
6 months +95.8%+78.1%+62.9% +7.0%
Year to date +69.6%+0.9%+20.3% +12.2%
1 year +140.1%+3.2%+4.5% +13.0%
3 years +594.1%-21.9%— +86.3%
3 years, per year +90.8%-7.9%— +23.1%
5 years +54.3%-34.8%— +68.6%
5 years, per year +9.1%-8.2%— +11.0%
10 years —+125.7%— +258.0%
10 years, per year —+8.5%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGHICLRCAISPY
Volatility, 1Y 57.4%73.8%69.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.7%87.9%69.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.021.451.38 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.440.040.06 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -86.7%-76.9%-63.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.5%-9.4%0.0% -1.8%
52-week high $187.22$202.92$32.46 $779.14
52-week low $69.58$80.08$14.55 $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.

MultipleGHICLRCAI
P/E now vs peer median -50.8xmedian 25.1x 43.8xmedian 36.5x 87.3xmedian 25.1x
P/S now vs peer median 19.6xmedian 1.6x 1.7xmedian 2.7x 9.3xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -51.2xmedian 14.5x 23.5xmedian 37.7x 48.7xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median -96.2xmedian 22.4x 15.9xmedian 20.7x 74.0xmedian 22.4x
P/B now vs peer median -103.9xmedian 3.1x 1.5xmedian 2.9x 15.5xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median -5.11median 0.66 -3.55median 2.04 —median 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 monthsGHICLRCAI
Revenue $1.18B $8.33B $989.61M
Gross profit $769.16M $2.01B $689.36M
Operating income -$470.26M $325.64M $153.26M
Net income -$453.44M $69.55M $105.14M
Free cash flow -$240.72M $883.82M $123.96M
R&D $375.79M – $117.14M
EPS (diluted) $-3.41 $4.16 $0.37
Cash & equivalents $1.05B $928.39M $690.92M
Total debt – $13.60B $393.15M
Shares (diluted) 132.87M 78.97M 282.89M
Enterprise value $19.21B $11.18B $6.00B

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
MetricGHICLRCAI
P/E -50.8x 43.8x 87.3x
P/FCF -96.2x 15.9x 74.0x
P/Operating cash flow -125.0x 13.2x 54.4x
P/S 19.6x 1.7x 9.3x
P/B -103.9x 1.5x 15.5x
P/Tangible book -93.3x 2.3x 15.5x
EV/EBITDA -51.2x 23.5x 48.7x
EV/EBIT -47.0x 50.8x 57.2x
EV/Revenue 18.7x 2.0x 8.9x
EV/FCF -91.8x 18.7x 70.8x
EV/Operating cash flow -119.3x 15.5x 52.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.11 -3.55 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGHICLRCAI
Revenue growth (1Y) 42.7% 3.7% 85.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 32.4% 1.8% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 47.7% -11.5% 141.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -4.7% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -2.1% -66.6% 188.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.8% -28.0% –
Net income growth (1Y) -9.6% -91.0% 137.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 3.7% -48.5% –
EPS growth (1Y) -2.4% -59.0% 103.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.9% -12.3% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.4% -7.4% 227.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.1% 26.1% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 11.4% -10.7% 188.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.4% 32.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGHICLRCAI
Gross margin 65.0% 24.2% 69.7%
EBITDA margin -36.5% 8.4% 18.2%
Operating margin -39.7% 3.9% 15.5%
Pretax margin -38.4% 1.6% 10.6%
Net margin -38.3% 3.9% 10.6%
FCF margin -20.3% 10.6% 12.5%
Operating cash flow margin -15.7% 12.8% 17.0%
Return on equity – 6.4% 17.7%
Return on assets -23.7% 3.7% 8.8%
Return on invested capital – 1.3% 15.6%
Return on capital employed -29.9% 2.6% 15.3%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.4x 15.4x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 16.2% 1.4% 6.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGHICLRCAI
Debt / assets – 20.7% 32.0%
Debt / equity – 0.4x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 3.5x -2.2x
Debt / FCF – 3.8x 3.2x
Liabilities / assets 111.7% 42.8% 51.9%
Equity / assets -11.7% 57.2% 48.1%
Interest coverage -97.6x 1.7x 3.3x
Current ratio 4.0x 1.0x 5.5x
Quick ratio 3.5x 0.6x 4.8x
Cash ratio 3.1x 0.2x 4.1x
Altman Z-score 4.59 1.96 7.79

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGHICLRCAI
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -1.7% 1.7% 0.1%
Shareholder yield -1.7% 1.7% 0.1%
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.

ConsensusGHICLRCAI
Forward P/E – 17.9xFY2026 295.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-3.34FY2026 $10.25FY2026 $0.11FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -18.2%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after – +22.2% +236.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.42BFY2026 $8.52BFY2026 $1.06BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +44.5%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026 +30.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +27.0% -3.4% +21.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGHICLRCAI
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 52.0%
Institutions holding 594 422 245
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.6% +5.5% -6.3%
Institutions buying 353 233 175
Institutions selling 180 138 47
Buyers to sellers 1.96 1.69 3.72

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.

GHICLRCAI
GH 1.00 0.20 0.41
ICLR 0.20 1.00 0.22
CAI 0.41 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GH, ICLR and CAI?

Guardant Health (GH) is the largest by market capitalisation: Guardant Health (GH) $23.15B, Icon (ICLR) $14.07B, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) $9.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, GH, ICLR and CAI?

Icon (ICLR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Guardant Health (GH) -50.8x, Icon (ICLR) 43.8x, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 87.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Icon (ICLR) is cheapest (Icon (ICLR) 17.9x, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 295.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Caris Life Sciences (CAI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Guardant Health (GH) +42.7%, Icon (ICLR) +3.7%, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) +85.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Caris Life Sciences (CAI) has the highest net margin (Guardant Health (GH) -38.3%, Icon (ICLR) 3.9%, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 10.6%). On return on invested capital, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) leads (Icon (ICLR) 1.3%, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 15.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Guardant Health (GH) returned the most: Guardant Health (GH) +140.1%, Icon (ICLR) +3.2%, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) +4.5%. Over five years, Guardant Health (GH) compounded fastest (Guardant Health (GH) +9.1%/yr, Icon (ICLR) -8.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Guardant Health (GH) has been the steadiest (Guardant Health (GH) 57.4%, Icon (ICLR) 73.8%, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 69.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GH, ICLR and CAI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Guardant Health (GH) leads on 4. 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.