ICLR vs GH vs XBIT Stock Comparison

Icon, Guardant Health and XBiotech Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ICLR Icon Plc
$214.16 +22.0% 1M +20.5% 1Y
Market cap
$16.40B
P/E
37.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.23B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
2 wins
GH Guardant Health, Inc.
$182.59 +3.0% 1M +162.4% 1Y
Market cap
$24.40B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.18B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
4 wins
XBIT XBiotech Inc.
$1.99 -7.4% 1M -16.7% 1Y
Market cap
$60.67M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Biotechnology Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

Guardant Health leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Guardant Health 4, Icon 2, XBiotech 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionICLRGHXBITLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $16.40B $24.40B $60.67M GH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 37.4x -53.5x -1.5x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.9x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.8% +42.7% — GH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.4% -38.3% — ICLR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.7% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.3x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +20.5% +162.4% -16.7% GH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.7%/yr +9.4%/yr -32.9%/yr GH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 75.3% 57.3% 44.1% XBIT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 81/100 28/100 69/100 ICLR

Percentile Scorecard

ICLRGHXBIT

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

AxisICLRGHXBIT
Valuation 100 #1 of 11 18 #76 of 92 87 #81 of 625
Growth 70 #4 of 11 48 #46 of 87 17 #498 of 602
Profitability 80 #3 of 11 7 #80 of 86 72 #156 of 549
Financial Health 75 #4 of 13 53 #46 of 97 99 #11 of 654
Shareholder Returns – 15 #47 of 55 –
Overall 81 28 69
  • ICLR ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • GH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • XBIT ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodICLRGHXBITSPY
1 month +22.0%+3.0%-7.4% +0.9%
3 months +20.2%+26.7%-11.6% +5.9%
6 months +84.4%+118.9%-21.0% +8.5%
Year to date +17.5%+78.8%-16.7% +13.3%
1 year +20.5%+162.4%-16.7% +12.4%
3 years -9.0%+631.5%-50.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year -3.1%+94.2%-20.8% +23.5%
5 years -25.3%+56.3%-86.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year -5.7%+9.4%-32.9% +11.0%
10 years +166.6%—-85.4% +263.4%
10 years, per year +10.3%—-17.5% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureICLRGHXBITSPY
Volatility, 1Y 75.3%57.3%44.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 87.9%48.9%40.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.481.040.46 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.272.83-0.38 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -76.9%-86.7%-88.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-2.5%-32.3% -0.9%
52-week high $214.16$187.22$2.94 $779.14
52-week low $80.08$69.58$1.82 $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.

MultipleICLRGHXBIT
P/E now vs peer median 37.4xmedian 37.4x -53.5xmedian 25.6x -1.5xmedian 17.4x
P/S now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 2.7x 20.6xmedian 1.6x —median 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.3xmedian 39.5x -54.1xmedian 16.3x —median 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.1xmedian 22.1x -101.3xmedian 21.3x —median 19.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 3.4x -109.5xmedian 3.3x 0.5xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -15.76median 2.08 -5.39median 0.68 0.11median 0.34

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 monthsICLRGHXBIT
Revenue $8.23B $1.18B –
Gross profit $1.93B $769.16M –
Operating income $718.25M -$470.26M -$48.28M
Net income $448.66M -$453.44M -$41.38M
Free cash flow $857.06M -$240.72M –
R&D – $375.79M $41.07M
EPS (diluted) $5.68 $-3.41 $-1.36
Cash & equivalents $808.98M $1.05B $109.53M
Total debt $3.38B – –
Shares (diluted) 78.97M 132.87M 30.49M
Enterprise value $13.17B $20.46B -$474.75M

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
MetricICLRGHXBIT
P/E 37.4x -53.5x -1.5x
P/FCF 19.1x -101.3x –
P/Operating cash flow 16.0x -131.7x –
P/S 2.0x 20.6x –
P/B 1.8x -109.5x 0.5x
P/Tangible book 2.7x -98.3x 0.5x
EV/EBITDA 17.3x -54.1x –
EV/EBIT 26.4x -49.6x 1.0x
EV/Revenue 2.3x 19.7x –
EV/FCF 22.1x -97.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 18.5x -126.1x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -15.76 -5.39 0.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricICLRGHXBIT
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.8% 42.7% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.9% 32.4% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) -13.4% 47.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -6.5% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 53.9% -2.1% -32.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -7.0% 4.8% -11.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 55.9% -9.6% -46.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -4.4% 3.7% -13.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 30.1% -2.4% -46.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -2.4% 9.9% -13.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -9.9% 22.4% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.8% 18.1% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -11.1% 11.4% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.4% 14.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricICLRGHXBIT
Gross margin 23.4% 65.0% –
EBITDA margin 13.3% -36.5% –
Operating margin 8.7% -39.7% –
Pretax margin 6.3% -38.4% –
Net margin 5.4% -38.3% –
FCF margin 10.4% -20.3% –
Operating cash flow margin 12.5% -15.7% –
Return on equity 7.6% – -30.8%
Return on assets 4.3% -23.7% -29.2%
Return on invested capital 4.7% – –
Return on capital employed 5.3% -29.9% -34.9%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.6x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 0.4x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 16.2% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricICLRGHXBIT
Debt / assets 20.8% – –
Debt / equity 0.4x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.3x – –
Debt / FCF 3.9x – –
Liabilities / assets 43.8% 111.7% 3.9%
Equity / assets 56.2% -11.7% 96.1%
Interest coverage 3.4x -97.6x –
Current ratio 1.3x 4.0x 33.2x
Quick ratio 0.9x 3.5x 32.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 3.1x 32.7x
Altman Z-score 2.27 4.94 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricICLRGHXBIT
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 2.3% -1.6% –
Shareholder yield 2.3% -1.6% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusICLRGHXBIT
Forward P/E 20.9xFY2026 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $10.25FY2026 $-3.33FY2026 –
EPS growth, next FY -18.2%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after +22.2% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.52BFY2026 $1.42BFY2026 $140.89MFY2023
Revenue growth, next FY +3.2%FY2026 +44.5%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after -3.2% +27.0% +1.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersICLRGHXBIT
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% –
Institutions holding 422 594 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.5% -2.6% –
Institutions buying 233 353 –
Institutions selling 138 180 –
Buyers to sellers 1.69 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.

ICLRGHXBIT
ICLR 1.00 0.21 0.14
GH 0.21 1.00 0.09
XBIT 0.14 0.09 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ICLR, GH and XBIT?

Guardant Health (GH) is the largest by market capitalisation: Icon (ICLR) $16.40B, Guardant Health (GH) $24.40B, XBiotech (XBIT) $60.67M.

Which company is growing faster?

Guardant Health (GH) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Icon (ICLR) +1.8%, Guardant Health (GH) +42.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Icon (ICLR) has the highest net margin (Icon (ICLR) 5.4%, Guardant Health (GH) -38.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Guardant Health (GH) returned the most: Icon (ICLR) +20.5%, Guardant Health (GH) +162.4%, XBiotech (XBIT) -16.7%. Over five years, Guardant Health (GH) compounded fastest (Icon (ICLR) -5.7%/yr, Guardant Health (GH) +9.4%/yr, XBiotech (XBIT) -32.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, XBiotech (XBIT) has been the steadiest (Icon (ICLR) 75.3%, Guardant Health (GH) 57.3%, XBiotech (XBIT) 44.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.