ICLR vs IQV vs GH Stock Comparison

Icon, Iqvia Holdings and Guardant Health Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
IQV Iqvia Holdings Inc.
$274.30 +1.7% 1M +24.4% 1Y
Market cap
$45.15B
P/E
33.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.98B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
5 wins
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
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Iqvia Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Iqvia 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.

QuestionICLRIQVGHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $14.07B $45.15B $23.15B IQV
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 43.8x 33.1x -50.8x IQV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.9x 22.6x — ICLR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.7% +8.2% +42.7% GH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.9% 8.1% -38.3% IQV
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 1.3% 8.3% — IQV
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.5x 4.1x — ICLR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +3.2% +24.4% +140.1% GH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.2%/yr +1.5%/yr +9.1%/yr GH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 73.8% 40.4% 57.4% IQV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 65/100 28/100 ICLR

Percentile Scorecard

ICLRIQVGH

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

AxisICLRIQVGH
Valuation 90 #2 of 11 80 #3 of 11 17 #77 of 93
Growth 30 #8 of 11 80 #3 of 11 48 #46 of 88
Profitability 80 #3 of 11 90 #2 of 11 7 #81 of 87
Financial Health 75 #4 of 13 8 #12 of 13 51 #50 of 100
Shareholder Returns – – 15 #48 of 56
Overall 69 65 28
  • ICLR ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • IQV ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • GH ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodICLRIQVGHSPY
1 month +6.6%+1.7%-2.3% -0.8%
3 months +8.9%+28.5%+19.1% +3.5%
6 months +78.1%+67.4%+95.8% +7.0%
Year to date +0.9%+21.7%+69.6% +12.2%
1 year +3.2%+24.4%+140.1% +13.0%
3 years -21.9%+52.4%+594.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year -7.9%+15.1%+90.8% +23.1%
5 years -34.8%+7.9%+54.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year -8.2%+1.5%+9.1% +11.0%
10 years +125.7%+275.1%— +258.0%
10 years, per year +8.5%+14.1%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureICLRIQVGHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 73.8%40.4%57.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 87.9%39.4%48.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.450.741.02 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.040.602.44 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -76.9%-51.5%-86.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.4%-1.8%-7.5% -1.8%
52-week high $202.92$279.38$187.22 $779.14
52-week low $80.08$156.66$69.58 $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.

MultipleICLRIQVGH
P/E now vs peer median 43.8xmedian 36.5x 33.1xmedian 36.5x -50.8xmedian 25.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 2.7x 2.7xmedian 2.7x 19.6xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.5xmedian 37.7x 17.3xmedian 37.7x -51.2xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.9xmedian 20.7x 20.7xmedian 20.7x -96.2xmedian 22.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.9x 7.2xmedian 2.9x -103.9xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median -3.55median 2.04 2.79median 2.04 -5.11median 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 monthsICLRIQVGH
Revenue $8.33B $16.98B $1.18B
Gross profit $2.01B $5.60B $769.16M
Operating income $325.64M $2.20B -$470.26M
Net income $69.55M $1.38B -$453.44M
Free cash flow $883.82M $2.18B -$240.72M
R&D – – $375.79M
EPS (diluted) $4.16 $8.22 $-3.41
Cash & equivalents $928.39M $1.91B $1.05B
Total debt $13.60B $16.00B –
Shares (diluted) 78.97M 167.30M 132.87M
Enterprise value $11.18B $36.98B $19.21B

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
MetricICLRIQVGH
P/E 43.8x 33.1x -50.8x
P/FCF 15.9x 20.7x -96.2x
P/Operating cash flow 13.2x 16.0x -125.0x
P/S 1.7x 2.7x 19.6x
P/B 1.5x 7.2x -103.9x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 29.1x -93.3x
EV/EBITDA 23.5x 17.3x -51.2x
EV/EBIT 50.8x 26.8x -47.0x
EV/Revenue 2.0x 3.5x 18.7x
EV/FCF 18.7x 27.0x -91.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.5x 21.0x -119.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.55 2.79 -5.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricICLRIQVGH
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.7% 8.2% 42.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.8% 5.0% 32.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -11.5% 4.1% 47.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -4.7% 3.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -66.6% 1.0% -2.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -28.0% 6.0% 4.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -91.0% 11.5% -9.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -48.5% 7.8% 3.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -59.0% 15.1% -2.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -12.3% 11.9% 9.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -7.4% 7.7% 22.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.1% 7.9% 18.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -10.7% 8.7% 11.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 32.4% 11.3% 14.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricICLRIQVGH
Gross margin 24.2% 33.0% 65.0%
EBITDA margin 8.4% 20.1% -36.5%
Operating margin 3.9% 13.0% -39.7%
Pretax margin 1.6% 9.3% -38.4%
Net margin 3.9% 8.1% -38.3%
FCF margin 10.6% 12.9% -20.3%
Operating cash flow margin 12.8% 16.6% -15.7%
Return on equity 6.4% 21.8% –
Return on assets 3.7% 4.6% -23.7%
Return on invested capital 1.3% 8.3% –
Return on capital employed 2.6% 10.5% -29.9%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.6x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 15.4x 2.0x 0.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% 1.6% 16.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricICLRIQVGH
Debt / assets 20.7% 53.5% –
Debt / equity 0.4x 2.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA 3.5x 4.1x –
Debt / FCF 3.8x 7.3x –
Liabilities / assets 42.8% 78.9% 111.7%
Equity / assets 57.2% 21.1% -11.7%
Interest coverage 1.7x 2.9x -97.6x
Current ratio 1.0x 0.7x 4.0x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.8x 3.5x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 3.1x
Altman Z-score 1.96 2.23 4.59

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricICLRIQVGH
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 1.7% 2.6% -1.7%
Shareholder yield 1.7% 2.6% -1.7%
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.

ConsensusICLRIQVGH
Forward P/E 17.9xFY2026 22.6xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $10.25FY2026 $12.14FY2026 $-3.34FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -18.2%FY2026 +1.8%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +22.2% +13.3% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.52BFY2026 $18.58BFY2026 $1.42BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.2%FY2026 +13.9%FY2026 +44.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.4% -3.5% +27.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersICLRIQVGH
Held by institutions 100.0% 94.1% 100.0%
Institutions holding 422 1,083 594
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.5% +0.3% -2.6%
Institutions buying 233 530 353
Institutions selling 138 424 180
Buyers to sellers 1.69 1.25 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.

ICLRIQVGH
ICLR 1.00 0.55 0.20
IQV 0.55 1.00 0.26
GH 0.20 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ICLR, IQV and GH?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) is the largest by market capitalisation: Icon (ICLR) $14.07B, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) $45.15B, Guardant Health (GH) $23.15B.

Which stock is cheaper, ICLR, IQV and GH?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Icon (ICLR) 43.8x, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 33.1x, Guardant Health (GH) -50.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Icon (ICLR) is cheapest (Icon (ICLR) 17.9x, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 22.6x). 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: Icon (ICLR) +3.7%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +8.2%, Guardant Health (GH) +42.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) has the highest net margin (Icon (ICLR) 3.9%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 8.1%, Guardant Health (GH) -38.3%). On return on invested capital, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) leads (Icon (ICLR) 1.3%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 8.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Guardant Health (GH) returned the most: Icon (ICLR) +3.2%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +24.4%, Guardant Health (GH) +140.1%. Over five years, Guardant Health (GH) compounded fastest (Icon (ICLR) -8.2%/yr, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +1.5%/yr, Guardant Health (GH) +9.1%/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) 73.8%, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 40.4%, Guardant Health (GH) 57.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.