ICLR vs MEDP vs TMO Stock Comparison

Icon, Medpace Holdings and Thermo Fisher Scientific Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
MEDP Medpace Holdings, Inc.
$673.79 +8.9% 1M +13.0% 1Y
Market cap
$18.84B
P/E
36.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.84B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionICLRMEDPTMOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $14.01B $18.84B $256.36B TMO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.0x 36.4x 36.4x ICLR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.9x 37.9x 26.8x ICLR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.8% +20.4% +8.3% MEDP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.4% 18.2% — MEDP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.7% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.3x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 0.27% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +0.5% +13.0% +23.0% TMO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.6%/yr +25.1%/yr +2.3%/yr MEDP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 73.7% 45.5% 29.8% TMO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 81/100 75/100 51/100 ICLR

Percentile Scorecard

ICLRMEDPTMO

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

AxisICLRMEDPTMO
Valuation 100 #1 of 11 50 #6 of 11 50 #113 of 227
Growth 70 #4 of 11 100 #1 of 11 41 #130 of 219
Profitability 80 #3 of 11 100 #1 of 11 70 #63 of 206
Financial Health 75 #4 of 13 50 #7 of 13 –
Shareholder Returns – – 44 #76 of 134
Overall 81 75 51
  • ICLR ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • MEDP ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • TMO ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodICLRMEDPTMOSPY
1 month +6.2%+8.9%+2.9% -0.2%
3 months +1.5%+18.0%+20.3% +3.9%
6 months +78.5%+64.5%+47.4% +8.2%
Year to date +0.4%+20.0%+19.7% +12.9%
1 year +0.5%+13.0%+23.0% +12.3%
3 years -22.2%+169.2%+60.7% +87.4%
3 years, per year -8.0%+39.1%+17.1% +23.3%
5 years -36.1%+206.7%+11.8% +67.9%
5 years, per year -8.6%+25.1%+2.3% +10.9%
10 years +127.4%+2,244.4%+364.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year +8.6%+37.1%+16.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureICLRMEDPTMOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 73.7%45.5%29.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 87.6%54.0%28.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.440.670.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.010.280.77 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -76.9%-42.9%-41.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.8%-0.4%-0.5% -1.2%
52-week high $202.92$676.77$696.55 $779.14
52-week low $80.08$393.42$438.34 $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.

MultipleICLRMEDPTMO
P/E now vs peer median 32.0xmedian 32.1x 36.4xmedian 32.1x 36.4xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 2.6x 6.6xmedian 2.6x 5.4xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 38.1x 28.6xmedian 38.1x —median 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.3xmedian 21.5x 28.2xmedian 21.5x 34.0xmedian 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 3.1x 32.2xmedian 3.1x 4.7xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -13.47median 2.03 1.28median 2.03 4.80median 1.04

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 monthsICLRMEDPTMO
Revenue $8.23B $2.84B $47.35B
Gross profit $1.93B $827.16M –
Operating income $718.25M $607.14M $8.47B
Net income $448.66M $517.83M $7.09B
Free cash flow $857.06M $667.63M –
R&D – – $1.40B
EPS (diluted) $5.68 $18.25 $19.06
Cash & equivalents $808.98M $705.32M $5.46B
Total debt $3.38B – –
Shares (diluted) 78.97M 28.37M 371.00M
Enterprise value $10.78B $16.49B $256.48B

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
MetricICLRMEDPTMO
P/E 32.0x 36.4x 36.4x
P/FCF 16.3x 28.2x 34.0x
P/Operating cash flow 13.6x 26.1x 27.5x
P/S 1.7x 6.6x 5.4x
P/B 1.5x 32.2x 4.7x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 34.1x 7.0x
EV/EBITDA 15.2x 28.6x –
EV/EBIT 23.1x 29.9x –
EV/Revenue 2.0x 6.4x 5.4x
EV/FCF 19.3x 27.2x –
EV/Operating cash flow 16.1x 25.1x 27.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -13.47 1.28 4.80

Growth

14 metrics
MetricICLRMEDPTMO
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.8% 20.4% 8.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 0.9% 16.8% 2.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -13.4% 12.8% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -6.5% 18.0% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 53.9% 19.7% 12.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -7.0% 23.0% 7.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 55.9% 19.6% 7.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -4.4% 23.8% 6.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 30.1% 21.5% 9.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -2.4% 28.5% 7.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -9.9% 1.7% 21.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.8% 20.5% 4.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -11.1% -1.4% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.4% 20.9% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricICLRMEDPTMO
Gross margin 23.4% 29.1% –
EBITDA margin 13.3% 22.4% –
Operating margin 8.7% 21.4% –
Pretax margin 6.3% 22.1% –
Net margin 5.4% 18.2% –
FCF margin 10.4% 23.5% –
Operating cash flow margin 12.5% 25.5% 19.7%
Return on equity 7.6% 101.7% 13.2%
Return on assets 4.3% 23.8% 6.2%
Return on invested capital 4.7% – –
Return on capital employed 5.3% 88.8% –
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.3x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.3x 1.4x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 0.8% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricICLRMEDPTMO
Debt / assets 20.8% – –
Debt / equity 0.4x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.3x – –
Debt / FCF 3.9x – –
Liabilities / assets 43.8% 74.6% –
Equity / assets 56.2% 25.4% 47.9%
Interest coverage 3.4x – –
Current ratio 1.3x 0.8x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.8x –
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.5x –
Altman Z-score 2.07 8.33 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricICLRMEDPTMO
Dividend yield – – 0.3%
Net buyback yield 2.7% 1.3% –
Shareholder yield 2.7% 1.3% 0.3%
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.

ConsensusICLRMEDPTMO
Forward P/E 17.9xFY2026 37.9xFY2026 26.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.25FY2026 $17.80FY2026 $25.91FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -18.2%FY2026 +16.5%FY2026 +13.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +22.2% +6.2% +2.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.52BFY2026 $2.94BFY2026 $50.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.2%FY2026 +16.4%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.2% +6.0% -2.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersICLRMEDPTMO
Held by institutions 100.0% 87.8% 90.2%
Institutions holding 422 693 2,622
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.5% +3.2% +0.8%
Institutions buying 233 279 1,142
Institutions selling 138 302 1,144
Buyers to sellers 1.69 0.92 1.00

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.

ICLRMEDPTMO
ICLR 1.00 0.37 0.46
MEDP 0.37 1.00 0.62
TMO 0.46 0.62 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ICLR, MEDP and TMO?

Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Icon (ICLR) $14.01B, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) $18.84B, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) $256.36B.

Which stock is cheaper, ICLR, MEDP and TMO?

Icon (ICLR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Icon (ICLR) 32.0x, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) 36.4x, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 36.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Icon (ICLR) is cheapest (Icon (ICLR) 17.9x, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) 37.9x, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 26.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Medpace Holdings (MEDP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Icon (ICLR) +1.8%, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) +20.4%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) +8.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Medpace Holdings (MEDP) has the highest net margin (Icon (ICLR) 5.4%, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) 18.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) returned the most: Icon (ICLR) +0.5%, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) +13.0%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) +23.0%. Over five years, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) compounded fastest (Icon (ICLR) -8.6%/yr, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) +25.1%/yr, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) +2.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 0.27%. Icon (ICLR) and Medpace Holdings (MEDP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) has been the steadiest (Icon (ICLR) 73.7%, Medpace Holdings (MEDP) 45.5%, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) 29.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ICLR, MEDP and TMO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) leads on 3. 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.