ICLR vs IQV vs CRL Stock Comparison

Icon, Iqvia Holdings and Charles River Laboratories International Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
3 wins
IQV Iqvia Holdings Inc.
$279.01 +3.1% 1M +27.9% 1Y
Market cap
$45.98B
P/E
33.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.31B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Iqvia Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Iqvia Holdings 7, Icon 3, Charles River Laboratories International 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionICLRIQVCRLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $16.40B $45.98B $17.86B IQV
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 37.4x 33.0x -75.3x IQV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.9x 23.0x 34.3x ICLR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.8% +8.8% -0.7% IQV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.4% 8.1% -6.0% IQV
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.7% 8.2% 1.6% IQV
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.3x 3.9x 6.3x ICLR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +20.5% +27.9% +99.1% CRL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.7%/yr +1.3%/yr -3.6%/yr IQV
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 75.3% 40.4% 45.9% IQV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 81/100 71/100 43/100 ICLR

Percentile Scorecard

ICLRIQVCRL

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

AxisICLRIQVCRL
Valuation 100 #1 of 11 80 #3 of 11 50 #6 of 11
Growth 70 #4 of 11 80 #3 of 11 10 #10 of 11
Profitability 80 #3 of 11 90 #2 of 11 70 #4 of 11
Financial Health 75 #4 of 13 33 #9 of 13 42 #8 of 13
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 81 71 43
  • ICLR ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • IQV ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • CRL ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodICLRIQVCRLSPY
1 month +22.0%+3.1%+27.0% +0.9%
3 months +20.2%+12.6%+59.4% +5.9%
6 months +84.4%+78.1%+128.4% +8.5%
Year to date +17.5%+23.8%+87.6% +13.3%
1 year +20.5%+27.9%+99.1% +12.4%
3 years -9.0%+55.1%+116.8% +88.1%
3 years, per year -3.1%+15.8%+29.4% +23.5%
5 years -25.3%+6.7%-16.6% +68.2%
5 years, per year -5.7%+1.3%-3.6% +11.0%
10 years +166.6%+288.8%+392.3% +263.4%
10 years, per year +10.3%+14.5%+17.3% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureICLRIQVCRLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 75.3%40.4%45.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 87.9%39.2%42.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.480.741.28 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.270.692.16 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -76.9%-51.5%-77.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-0.1%0.0% -0.9%
52-week high $214.16$279.38$374.16 $779.14
52-week low $80.08$156.66$149.93 $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.

MultipleICLRIQVCRL
P/E now vs peer median 37.4xmedian 37.4x 33.0xmedian 37.4x -75.3xmedian 37.4x
P/S now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 2.7x 2.7xmedian 2.7x 4.5xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.3xmedian 39.5x 17.2xmedian 39.5x 52.3xmedian 39.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.1xmedian 22.1x 22.1xmedian 22.1x 48.2xmedian 22.1x
P/B now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 3.4x 6.8xmedian 3.4x 6.3xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median -15.76median 2.08 2.86median 2.08 2.08median 2.08

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 monthsICLRIQVCRL
Revenue $8.23B $17.31B $4.00B
Gross profit $1.93B $5.72B $1.31B
Operating income $718.25M $2.22B $90.14M
Net income $448.66M $1.40B -$239.23M
Free cash flow $857.06M $2.08B $370.61M
EPS (diluted) $5.68 $8.35 $-4.97
Cash & equivalents $808.98M $2.25B $192.03M
Total debt $3.38B $16.07B $2.62B
Shares (diluted) 78.97M 167.00M 48.02M
Enterprise value $13.17B $37.37B $17.10B

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
MetricICLRIQVCRL
P/E 37.4x 33.0x -75.3x
P/FCF 19.1x 22.1x 48.2x
P/Operating cash flow 16.0x 16.8x 30.7x
P/S 2.0x 2.7x 4.5x
P/B 1.8x 6.8x 6.3x
P/Tangible book 2.7x 22.4x 6.9x
EV/EBITDA 17.3x 17.2x 52.3x
EV/EBIT 26.4x 26.9x 225.0x
EV/Revenue 2.3x 3.4x 5.1x
EV/FCF 22.1x 28.7x 54.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.5x 21.8x 34.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -15.76 2.86 2.08

Growth

14 metrics
MetricICLRIQVCRL
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.8% 8.8% -0.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.9% 5.2% -1.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -13.4% 6.6% -0.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -6.5% 3.4% -5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 53.9% 1.7% -27.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -7.0% 6.2% -48.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 55.9% 9.0% -268.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -4.4% 7.8% -35.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 30.1% 11.7% -253.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -2.4% 11.5% -36.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -9.9% -2.4% -26.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.8% 11.7% -2.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -11.1% -6.0% -35.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.4% 16.3% 8.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricICLRIQVCRL
Gross margin 23.4% 33.1% 32.7%
EBITDA margin 13.3% 20.0% 9.7%
Operating margin 8.7% 12.8% 2.3%
Pretax margin 6.3% 9.0% -4.6%
Net margin 5.4% 8.1% -6.0%
FCF margin 10.4% 12.0% 9.3%
Operating cash flow margin 12.5% 15.8% 14.6%
Return on equity 7.6% 21.4% -8.2%
Return on assets 4.3% 4.6% -3.1%
Return on invested capital 4.7% 8.2% 1.6%
Return on capital employed 5.3% 9.9% 1.4%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 2.0x -2.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 1.8% 2.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricICLRIQVCRL
Debt / assets 20.8% 52.7% 34.8%
Debt / equity 0.4x 2.4x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.3x 3.9x 6.3x
Debt / FCF 3.9x 7.7x 7.1x
Liabilities / assets 43.8% 77.7% 62.2%
Equity / assets 56.2% 22.3% 37.8%
Interest coverage 3.4x 2.8x 0.8x
Current ratio 1.3x 0.8x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 2.27 2.30 3.17

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricICLRIQVCRL
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 2.3% 2.5% 1.8%
Shareholder yield 2.3% 2.5% 1.8%
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.

ConsensusICLRIQVCRL
Forward P/E 20.9xFY2026 23.0xFY2026 34.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.25FY2026 $12.14FY2026 $10.90FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -18.2%FY2026 +1.8%FY2026 +6.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +22.2% +13.3% +20.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.52BFY2026 $18.58BFY2026 $3.82BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.2%FY2026 +13.9%FY2026 -4.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.2% -3.5% +0.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersICLRIQVCRL
Held by institutions 100.0% 94.1% 100.0%
Institutions holding 422 1,083 570
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.5% +0.3% -0.7%
Institutions buying 233 530 270
Institutions selling 138 424 204
Buyers to sellers 1.69 1.25 1.32

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.

ICLRIQVCRL
ICLR 1.00 0.55 0.51
IQV 0.55 1.00 0.71
CRL 0.51 0.71 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ICLR, IQV and CRL?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) is the largest by market capitalisation: Icon (ICLR) $16.40B, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) $45.98B, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) $17.86B.

Which stock is cheaper, ICLR, IQV and CRL?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Icon (ICLR) 37.4x, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 33.0x, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -75.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Icon (ICLR) is cheapest (Icon (ICLR) 20.9x, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 23.0x, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 34.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Icon (ICLR) +1.8%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +8.8%, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -0.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) has the highest net margin (Icon (ICLR) 5.4%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 8.1%, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -6.0%). On return on invested capital, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) leads (Icon (ICLR) 4.7%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 8.2%, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 1.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) returned the most: Icon (ICLR) +20.5%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +27.9%, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) +99.1%. Over five years, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) compounded fastest (Icon (ICLR) -5.7%/yr, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +1.3%/yr, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -3.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) has been the steadiest (Icon (ICLR) 75.3%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 40.4%, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 45.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ICLR, IQV and CRL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 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.