GH vs ICLR vs LH Stock Comparison

Guardant Health, Icon and Labcorp Holdings Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GH Guardant Health, Inc.
$178.06 +0.5% 1M +151.3% 1Y
Market cap
$23.79B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.18B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
3 wins
ICLR Icon Plc
$182.98 +6.2% 1M +0.5% 1Y
Market cap
$14.01B
P/E
32.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.23B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
3 wins
LH Labcorp Holdings Inc.
$331.39 +7.1% 1M +20.2% 1Y
Market cap
$26.81B
P/E
27.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.35B
Div. yield
0.87%
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Labcorp Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Labcorp Holdings 5, Icon 3, Guardant Health 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGHICLRLHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $23.79B $14.01B $26.81B LH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -52.2x 32.0x 27.0x LH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 17.9x 19.4x ICLR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +42.7% +1.8% +6.4% GH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -38.3% 5.4% 7.0% LH
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 4.7% 8.2% LH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.3x 2.6x ICLR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 0.87% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +151.3% +0.5% +20.2% GH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.5%/yr -8.6%/yr +6.2%/yr GH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 57.4% 73.7% 24.0% LH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 28/100 81/100 56/100 ICLR

Percentile Scorecard

GHICLRLH

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

AxisGHICLRLH
Valuation 18 #76 of 92 100 #1 of 11 62 #36 of 92
Growth 49 #45 of 87 70 #4 of 11 30 #61 of 87
Profitability 7 #80 of 86 80 #3 of 11 68 #28 of 86
Financial Health 52 #47 of 97 75 #4 of 13 47 #52 of 97
Shareholder Returns 15 #48 of 56 – 73 #16 of 56
Overall 28 81 56
  • GH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • ICLR ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • LH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGHICLRLHSPY
1 month +0.5%+6.2%+7.1% -0.2%
3 months +24.0%+1.5%+5.4% +3.9%
6 months +114.3%+78.5%+27.7% +8.2%
Year to date +74.3%+0.4%+32.1% +12.9%
1 year +151.3%+0.5%+20.2% +12.3%
3 years +613.4%-22.2%+66.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +92.6%-8.0%+18.6% +23.3%
5 years +50.7%-36.1%+35.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +8.5%-8.6%+6.2% +10.9%
10 years —+127.4%+211.2% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+8.6%+12.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureGHICLRLHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 57.4%73.7%24.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.7%87.6%24.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.031.440.34 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.640.010.84 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -86.7%-76.9%-35.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.9%-9.8%-2.4% -1.2%
52-week high $187.22$202.92$339.40 $779.14
52-week low $69.58$80.08$246.64 $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.

MultipleGHICLRLH
P/E now vs peer median -52.2xmedian 24.6x 32.0xmedian 32.1x 27.0xmedian 24.6x
P/S now vs peer median 20.1xmedian 1.6x 1.7xmedian 2.6x 1.9xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -52.7xmedian 14.6x 15.2xmedian 38.1x 14.8xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -98.8xmedian 21.6x 16.3xmedian 21.5x 23.2xmedian 21.6x
P/B now vs peer median -106.8xmedian 3.2x 1.5xmedian 3.1x 3.1xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median -5.25median 0.66 -13.47median 2.03 2.87median 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 monthsGHICLRLH
Revenue $1.18B $8.23B $14.35B
Gross profit $769.16M $1.93B $4.14B
Operating income -$470.26M $718.25M $1.50B
Net income -$453.44M $448.66M $1.00B
Free cash flow -$240.72M $857.06M $1.16B
R&D $375.79M – –
EPS (diluted) $-3.41 $5.68 $12.22
Cash & equivalents $1.05B $808.98M $141.80M
Total debt – $3.38B $5.86B
Shares (diluted) 132.87M 78.97M 82.00M
Enterprise value $19.85B $10.78B $24.57B

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
MetricGHICLRLH
P/E -52.2x 32.0x 27.0x
P/FCF -98.8x 16.3x 23.2x
P/Operating cash flow -128.5x 13.6x 16.4x
P/S 20.1x 1.7x 1.9x
P/B -106.8x 1.5x 3.1x
P/Tangible book -95.9x 2.3x 5.4x
EV/EBITDA -52.7x 15.2x 14.8x
EV/EBIT -48.4x 23.1x 21.7x
EV/Revenue 19.2x 2.0x 2.3x
EV/FCF -94.5x 19.3x 28.2x
EV/Operating cash flow -122.8x 16.1x 19.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.25 -13.47 2.87

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGHICLRLH
Revenue growth (1Y) 42.7% 1.8% 6.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 32.4% 0.9% 6.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 47.7% -13.4% 9.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -6.5% 7.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -2.1% 53.9% 25.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.8% -7.0% 14.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -9.6% 55.9% 31.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 3.7% -4.4% 6.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -2.4% 30.1% 34.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.9% -2.4% 9.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.4% -9.9% -3.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.1% 15.8% 3.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 11.4% -11.1% -8.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.4% 18.4% 0.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGHICLRLH
Gross margin 65.0% 23.4% 28.9%
EBITDA margin -36.5% 13.3% 15.3%
Operating margin -39.7% 8.7% 10.4%
Pretax margin -38.4% 6.3% 8.6%
Net margin -38.3% 5.4% 7.0%
FCF margin -20.3% 10.4% 8.1%
Operating cash flow margin -15.7% 12.5% 11.4%
Return on equity – 7.6% 11.6%
Return on assets -23.7% 4.3% 5.3%
Return on invested capital – 4.7% 8.2%
Return on capital employed -29.9% 5.3% 9.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.4x 2.3x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 16.2% 1.1% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGHICLRLH
Debt / assets – 20.8% 31.6%
Debt / equity – 0.4x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.3x 2.6x
Debt / FCF – 3.9x 5.1x
Liabilities / assets 111.7% 43.8% 53.6%
Equity / assets -11.7% 56.2% 46.4%
Interest coverage -97.6x 3.4x 6.6x
Current ratio 4.0x 1.3x 1.8x
Quick ratio 3.5x 0.9x 1.2x
Cash ratio 3.1x 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.77 2.07 3.43

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGHICLRLH
Dividend yield – – 0.9%
Net buyback yield -1.7% 2.7% 2.4%
Shareholder yield -1.7% 2.7% 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.

ConsensusGHICLRLH
Forward P/E – 17.9xFY2026 19.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-3.33FY2026 $10.25FY2026 $17.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -18.2%FY2026 +3.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +22.2% +9.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.42BFY2026 $8.52BFY2026 $14.31BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +44.5%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +27.0% -3.2% +11.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGHICLRLH
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 97.0%
Institutions holding 594 422 1,051
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.6% +5.5% +1.6%
Institutions buying 353 233 465
Institutions selling 180 138 393
Buyers to sellers 1.96 1.69 1.18

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.

GHICLRLH
GH 1.00 0.20 0.24
ICLR 0.20 1.00 0.32
LH 0.24 0.32 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GH, ICLR and LH?

Labcorp Holdings (LH) is the largest by market capitalisation: Guardant Health (GH) $23.79B, Icon (ICLR) $14.01B, Labcorp Holdings (LH) $26.81B.

Which stock is cheaper, GH, ICLR and LH?

Labcorp Holdings (LH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Guardant Health (GH) -52.2x, Icon (ICLR) 32.0x, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 27.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Icon (ICLR) is cheapest (Icon (ICLR) 17.9x, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 19.4x). 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: Guardant Health (GH) +42.7%, Icon (ICLR) +1.8%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) +6.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Labcorp Holdings (LH) has the highest net margin (Guardant Health (GH) -38.3%, Icon (ICLR) 5.4%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 7.0%). On return on invested capital, Labcorp Holdings (LH) leads (Icon (ICLR) 4.7%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 8.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Guardant Health (GH) returned the most: Guardant Health (GH) +151.3%, Icon (ICLR) +0.5%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) +20.2%. Over five years, Guardant Health (GH) compounded fastest (Guardant Health (GH) +8.5%/yr, Icon (ICLR) -8.6%/yr, Labcorp Holdings (LH) +6.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Labcorp Holdings (LH) 0.87%. Guardant Health (GH) and Icon (ICLR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Labcorp Holdings (LH) has been the steadiest (Guardant Health (GH) 57.4%, Icon (ICLR) 73.7%, Labcorp Holdings (LH) 24.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 5. 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.