IQV vs CRL vs FTRE Stock Comparison

Iqvia Holdings, Charles River Laboratories International and Fortrea Holdings Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IQV Iqvia Holdings Inc.
$274.96 +2.2% 1M +26.2% 1Y
Market cap
$43.94B
P/E
31.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.31B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
9 wins
FTRE Fortrea Holdings Inc.
$23.14 +17.2% 1M +121.6% 1Y
Market cap
$2.02B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.67B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Iqvia Holdings leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Iqvia Holdings 9, Fortrea Holdings 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIQVCRLFTRELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $43.94B $17.25B $2.02B IQV
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 31.5x -72.3x -29.4x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.6x 34.5x 28.6x IQV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.8% -0.7% -3.4% IQV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.1% -6.0% -2.6% IQV
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.2% 1.6% 0.8% IQV
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.9x 6.3x 9.1x IQV
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +26.2% +108.6% +121.6% FTRE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.0%/yr -3.5%/yr — IQV
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.4% 45.7% 71.4% IQV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 43/100 53/100 IQV

Percentile Scorecard

IQVCRLFTRE

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

AxisIQVCRLFTRE
Valuation 80 #3 of 11 50 #6 of 11 90 #2 of 11
Growth 80 #3 of 11 10 #10 of 11 60 #5 of 11
Profitability 90 #2 of 11 70 #4 of 11 60 #5 of 11
Financial Health 33 #9 of 13 42 #8 of 13 0 #13 of 13
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 71 43 53
  • IQV ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • CRL ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • FTRE ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIQVCRLFTRESPY
1 month +2.2%+26.8%+17.2% +0.7%
3 months +15.6%+60.2%+21.3% +3.7%
6 months +73.6%+125.1%+101.2% +7.1%
Year to date +22.0%+88.4%+34.1% +12.8%
1 year +26.2%+108.6%+121.6% +11.9%
3 years +55.2%+128.4%-15.2% +85.2%
3 years, per year +15.8%+31.7%-5.4% +22.8%
5 years +5.2%-16.2%— +67.6%
5 years, per year +1.0%-3.5%— +10.9%
10 years +283.1%+394.5%— +262.0%
10 years, per year +14.4%+17.3%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureIQVCRLFTRESPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.4%45.7%71.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.3%42.5%65.5% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.741.282.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.652.381.70 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.5%-77.3%-89.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.6%0.0%-10.6% -1.2%
52-week high $279.38$375.83$25.88 $779.14
52-week low $156.66$149.93$8.87 $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.

MultipleIQVCRLFTRE
P/E now vs peer median 32.5xmedian 36.6x -75.7xmedian 36.6x -32.2xmedian 36.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 2.6x 4.5xmedian 2.6x 0.8xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.0xmedian 31.1x 52.5xmedian 31.1x 33.5xmedian 31.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 21.8x 48.4xmedian 21.8x 13.2xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 3.1x 6.3xmedian 3.1x 4.2xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.82median 2.05 2.09median 2.05 0.53median 2.05

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 monthsIQVCRLFTRE
Revenue $17.31B $4.00B $2.67B
Gross profit $5.72B $1.31B $533.40M
Operating income $2.22B $90.14M $12.80M
Net income $1.40B -$239.23M -$68.70M
Free cash flow $2.08B $370.61M $169.00M
EPS (diluted) $8.35 $-4.97 $-0.68
Cash & equivalents $2.25B $192.03M $220.60M
Total debt $16.07B $2.62B $1.06B
Shares (diluted) 167.00M 48.02M 101.20M
Enterprise value $35.20B $16.44B $1.31B

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
MetricIQVCRLFTRE
P/E 32.5x -75.7x -32.2x
P/FCF 21.8x 48.4x 13.2x
P/Operating cash flow 16.6x 30.8x 11.1x
P/S 2.6x 4.5x 0.8x
P/B 6.7x 6.3x 4.2x
P/Tangible book 22.1x 6.9x -56.2x
EV/EBITDA 17.0x 52.5x 33.5x
EV/EBIT 26.6x 225.9x 239.7x
EV/Revenue 3.4x 5.1x 1.2x
EV/FCF 28.4x 55.0x 18.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.5x 35.0x 15.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.82 2.09 0.53

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIQVCRLFTRE
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.8% -0.7% -3.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% -1.5% 0.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.6% -0.1% 3.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.4% -5.5% -8.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.7% -27.6% 101.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% -48.2% -43.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.0% -268.7% 93.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 7.8% -35.5% -47.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 11.7% -253.8% 93.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 11.5% -36.2% -60.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -2.4% -26.1% 13,353%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.7% -2.3% 5.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -6.0% -35.9% 1,400%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.3% 8.6% 10.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIQVCRLFTRE
Gross margin 33.1% 32.7% 20.0%
EBITDA margin 20.0% 9.7% 3.4%
Operating margin 12.8% 2.3% 0.5%
Pretax margin 9.0% -4.6% -2.0%
Net margin 8.1% -6.0% -2.6%
FCF margin 12.0% 9.3% 6.3%
Operating cash flow margin 15.8% 14.6% 7.6%
Return on equity 21.4% -8.2% -13.0%
Return on assets 4.6% -3.1% -2.5%
Return on invested capital 8.2% 1.6% 0.8%
Return on capital employed 9.9% 1.4% 0.7%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x -2.4x -2.9x
Stock comp / revenue 1.8% 2.1% 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIQVCRLFTRE
Debt / assets 52.7% 34.8% 38.5%
Debt / equity 2.4x 0.9x 2.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.9x 6.3x 9.1x
Debt / FCF 7.7x 7.1x 6.2x
Liabilities / assets 77.7% 62.2% 80.6%
Equity / assets 22.3% 37.8% 19.4%
Interest coverage 2.8x 0.8x –
Current ratio 0.8x 1.3x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.8x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 2.29 3.18 0.86

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIQVCRLFTRE
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 2.6% 1.8% –
Shareholder yield 2.6% 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.

ConsensusIQVCRLFTRE
Forward P/E 22.6xFY2026 34.5xFY2026 28.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.14FY2026 $10.90FY2026 $0.81FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1.8%FY2026 +6.0%FY2026 +88.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.3% +20.5% +22.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.58BFY2026 $3.82BFY2026 $2.77BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.9%FY2026 -4.9%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.5% +0.7% -3.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIQVCRLFTRE
Held by institutions 94.1% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,084 571 330
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% -0.7% -0.2%
Institutions buying 531 271 140
Institutions selling 424 204 108
Buyers to sellers 1.25 1.33 1.30

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.

IQVCRLFTRE
IQV 1.00 0.71 0.57
CRL 0.71 1.00 0.55
FTRE 0.57 0.55 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IQV, CRL and FTRE?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) is the largest by market capitalisation: Iqvia Holdings (IQV) $43.94B, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) $17.25B, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) $2.02B.

Which company is growing faster?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +8.8%, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -0.7%, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) -3.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) has the highest net margin (Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 8.1%, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -6.0%, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) -2.6%). On return on invested capital, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) leads (Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 8.2%, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 1.6%, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) 0.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) returned the most: Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +26.2%, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) +108.6%, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) +121.6%. Over five years, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) compounded fastest (Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +1.0%/yr, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) -3.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Iqvia Holdings (IQV) has been the steadiest (Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 40.4%, Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) 45.7%, Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) 71.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 9. 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.