IDXX vs ELAN Stock Comparison

Idexx Laboratories and Elanco Animal Health Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Idexx Laboratories leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Idexx Laboratories 8, Elanco Animal Health 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIDXXELANLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $44.33B $11.32B IDXX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 38.9x -56.9x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 36.5x 21.1x ELAN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.8% +12.0% IDXX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 25.0% -4.0% IDXX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 45.6% 6.1% IDXX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 2.5x IDXX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -11.0% +4.2% ELAN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.3%/yr -7.2%/yr IDXX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.1% 42.3% IDXX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 78/100 66/100 IDXX

Percentile Scorecard

IDXXELAN

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

AxisIDXXELAN
Valuation 75 #160 of 626 94 #41 of 626
Growth 76 #149 of 604 56 #266 of 604
Profitability 97 #18 of 555 83 #94 of 555
Financial Health 47 #350 of 658 33 #444 of 658
Shareholder Returns 94 #24 of 368 –
Overall 78 66
  • IDXX ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • ELAN ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIDXXELANSPY
1 month +9.8%+2.9% -0.8%
3 months +2.5%-9.6% +3.5%
6 months -0.8%+4.0% +7.0%
Year to date -15.7%+1.5% +12.2%
1 year -11.0%+4.2% +13.0%
3 years +45.7%+159.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year +13.4%+37.5% +23.1%
5 years -11.0%-31.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year -2.3%-7.2% +11.0%
10 years +434.6%— +258.0%
10 years, per year +18.3%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureIDXXELANSPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.1%42.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.3%43.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.801.31 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.340.10 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.3%-76.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.6%-14.4% -1.8%
52-week high $766.68$26.84 $779.14
52-week low $504.70$19.80 $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.

MultipleIDXXELAN
P/E now vs peer median 39.5xmedian 17.1x -57.7xmedian 17.1x
P/S now vs peer median 9.9xmedian 8.8x 2.3xmedian 8.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 28.4xmedian 17.1x 11.2xmedian 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 35.9xmedian 18.0x 30.3xmedian 18.0x
P/B now vs peer median 27.9xmedian 2.1x 1.7xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.62median 0.31 2.93median 0.31

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 monthsIDXXELAN
Revenue $4.55B $5.02B
Gross profit $2.84B $2.78B
Operating income $1.46B $637.00M
Net income $1.14B -$199.00M
Free cash flow $1.25B $379.00M
R&D $261.47M $371.00M
EPS (diluted) $14.37 $-0.39
Cash & equivalents $196.93M $530.00M
Total debt $968.86M $3.92B
Shares (diluted) 79.31M 505.90M
Enterprise value $43.54B $9.31B

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
MetricIDXXELAN
P/E 39.5x -57.7x
P/FCF 35.9x 30.3x
P/Operating cash flow 32.8x 18.6x
P/S 9.9x 2.3x
P/B 27.9x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 29.7x 3.4x
EV/EBITDA 28.4x 11.2x
EV/EBIT 31.4x 23.3x
EV/Revenue 10.0x 3.0x
EV/FCF 36.5x 39.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 33.4x 24.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.62 2.93

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIDXXELAN
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.8% 12.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 5.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.4% 13.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.5% 3.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.2% 22.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.7% 59.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 15.6% -145.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 12.9% -20.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 18.1% -145.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 15.1% -19.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 51.4% 7.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.5% 73.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 59.9% 5.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.4% 101.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIDXXELAN
Gross margin 62.4% 55.4%
EBITDA margin 35.4% 26.5%
Operating margin 32.0% 12.7%
Pretax margin 31.3% -3.3%
Net margin 25.0% -4.0%
FCF margin 27.5% 7.5%
Operating cash flow margin 30.1% 12.3%
Return on equity 71.9% -3.0%
Return on assets 33.4% -1.5%
Return on invested capital 45.6% 6.1%
Return on capital employed 68.6% 5.5%
Asset turnover 1.3x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x -3.1x
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% 1.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIDXXELAN
Debt / assets 28.1% 28.9%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 2.5x
Debt / FCF 0.8x 10.3x
Liabilities / assets 53.2% 51.4%
Equity / assets 46.8% 48.6%
Interest coverage 38.6x 2.6x
Current ratio 1.2x 2.1x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 20.40 1.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIDXXELAN
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield 2.3% –
Shareholder yield 2.3% –
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.

ConsensusIDXXELAN
Forward P/E 36.5xFY2026 21.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $15.63FY2026 $1.09FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.5%FY2026 +16.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.9% +23.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.00BFY2026 $4.79BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +16.3%FY2026 +1.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.6% +19.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIDXXELAN
Held by institutions 93.6% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,289 523
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.1% +4.4%
Institutions buying 587 246
Institutions selling 496 209
Buyers to sellers 1.18 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.

IDXXELAN
IDXX 1.00 0.40
ELAN 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IDXX and ELAN?

Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) $44.33B, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) $11.32B.

Which company is growing faster?

Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) +12.8%, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) +12.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) has the highest net margin (Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 25.0%, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) -4.0%). On return on invested capital, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) leads (Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 45.6%, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) 6.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) returned the most: Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) -11.0%, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) +4.2%. Over five years, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) compounded fastest (Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) -2.3%/yr, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) -7.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) has been the steadiest (Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 32.1%, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) 42.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do IDXX and ELAN move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.40, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, IDXX and ELAN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) leads on 8. 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.