IQV vs GH vs LDOS Stock Comparison

Iqvia Holdings, Guardant Health and Leidos Holdings Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IQV Iqvia Holdings Inc.
$279.38 +4.2% 1M +27.0% 1Y
Market cap
$45.49B
P/E
33.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.98B
Div. yield
–
Contract Research Healthcare
2 wins
GH Guardant Health, Inc.
$169.08 -4.1% 1M +143.8% 1Y
Market cap
$23.05B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.18B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
3 wins
LDOS Leidos Holdings, Inc.
$136.05 +9.1% 1M -28.9% 1Y
Market cap
$17.60B
P/E
12.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.63B
Div. yield
0.01%
Defense Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Leidos Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Leidos Holdings 6, Guardant Health 3, Iqvia Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIQVGHLDOSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $45.49B $23.05B $17.60B IQV
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.1x -50.8x 12.8x LDOS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.0x — 10.7x LDOS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.2% +42.7% +3.4% GH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.1% -38.3% 7.8% IQV
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.3% — 13.9% LDOS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.1x — 2.3x LDOS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +27.0% +143.8% -28.9% GH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.7%/yr +9.1%/yr +5.9%/yr GH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.3% 57.4% 35.5% LDOS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 27/100 71/100 LDOS

Percentile Scorecard

IQVGHLDOS

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

AxisIQVGHLDOS
Valuation 80 #3 of 11 17 #77 of 93 98 #3 of 100
Growth 80 #3 of 11 48 #46 of 88 58 #41 of 97
Profitability 90 #2 of 11 7 #81 of 87 84 #16 of 96
Financial Health 8 #12 of 13 50 #51 of 100 36 #68 of 106
Shareholder Returns – 15 #48 of 56 77 #16 of 65
Overall 65 27 71
  • IQV ranked among 13 companies in Pharma Services
  • GH ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • LDOS ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIQVGHLDOSSPY
1 month +4.2%-4.1%+9.1% -1.0%
3 months +34.4%+14.8%+21.3% +2.9%
6 months +72.2%+90.2%-6.9% +6.4%
Year to date +23.9%+65.5%-24.6% +11.4%
1 year +27.0%+143.8%-28.9% +13.1%
3 years +49.6%+541.9%+49.5% +79.4%
3 years, per year +14.4%+85.9%+14.4% +21.5%
5 years +8.8%+54.6%+33.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +1.7%+9.1%+5.9% +10.9%
10 years +277.4%—+224.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +14.2%—+12.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureIQVGHLDOSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.3%57.4%35.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.3%48.6%37.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.731.010.24 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.672.50-0.82 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.5%-86.7%-50.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-9.7%-31.8% -2.5%
52-week high $279.38$187.22$199.55 $779.14
52-week low $156.66$69.35$100.00 $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.

MultipleIQVGHLDOS
P/E now vs peer median 33.7xmedian 36.1x -49.5xmedian 25.3x 12.5xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 2.7x 19.1xmedian 1.6x 1.0xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.6xmedian 37.4x -49.9xmedian 14.6x 9.6xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.1xmedian 21.1x -93.8xmedian 22.7x 7.9xmedian 24.9x
P/B now vs peer median 7.3xmedian 2.9x -101.4xmedian 3.3x 3.2xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 2.84median 2.05 -4.99median 0.66 0.44median 0.92

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 monthsIQVGHLDOS
Revenue $16.98B $1.18B $17.63B
Gross profit $5.60B $769.16M $3.14B
Operating income $2.20B -$470.26M $2.03B
Net income $1.38B -$453.44M $1.40B
Free cash flow $2.18B -$240.72M $2.16B
R&D – $375.79M –
EPS (diluted) $8.22 $-3.41 $10.92
Cash & equivalents $1.91B $1.05B $748.00M
Total debt $16.00B – $21.66B
Shares (diluted) 167.30M 132.87M 126.00M
Enterprise value $37.19B $19.11B $14.32B

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
MetricIQVGHLDOS
P/E 33.7x -49.5x 12.5x
P/FCF 21.1x -93.8x 7.9x
P/Operating cash flow 16.3x -122.0x 7.4x
P/S 2.7x 19.1x 1.0x
P/B 7.3x -101.4x 3.2x
P/Tangible book 29.6x -91.0x 3.9x
EV/EBITDA 17.6x -49.9x 9.6x
EV/EBIT 27.2x -45.8x 11.0x
EV/Revenue 3.5x 18.2x 1.3x
EV/FCF 27.4x -89.5x 10.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.3x -116.3x 9.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.84 -4.99 0.44

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIQVGHLDOS
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.2% 42.7% 3.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 32.4% 5.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.1% 47.7% 4.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.1% – 14.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.0% -2.1% -0.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.0% 4.8% 21.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 11.5% -9.6% -0.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 3.7% 24.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.1% -2.4% 1.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 11.9% 9.9% 28.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.7% 22.4% 54.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.9% 18.1% 35.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 8.7% 11.4% 63.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.3% 14.4% 41.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIQVGHLDOS
Gross margin 33.0% 65.0% 17.8%
EBITDA margin 20.1% -36.5% 13.2%
Operating margin 13.0% -39.7% 11.5%
Pretax margin 9.3% -38.4% 10.2%
Net margin 8.1% -38.3% 7.8%
FCF margin 12.9% -20.3% 12.3%
Operating cash flow margin 16.6% -15.7% 13.0%
Return on equity 21.8% – 26.8%
Return on assets 4.6% -23.7% 9.0%
Return on invested capital 8.3% – 13.9%
Return on capital employed 10.5% -29.9% 16.5%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.6x 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 0.4x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 16.2% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIQVGHLDOS
Debt / assets 53.5% – 38.6%
Debt / equity 2.5x – 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.1x – 2.3x
Debt / FCF 7.3x – 2.8x
Liabilities / assets 78.9% 111.7% 65.9%
Equity / assets 21.1% -11.7% 34.1%
Interest coverage 2.9x -97.6x –
Current ratio 0.7x 4.0x 1.6x
Quick ratio 0.8x 3.5x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 3.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 2.25 4.44 3.17

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIQVGHLDOS
Dividend yield – – 1.3%
Net buyback yield 2.5% -1.8% 3.9%
Shareholder yield 2.5% -1.8% 5.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 15.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 10.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 2.8%

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.

ConsensusIQVGHLDOS
Forward P/E 23.0xFY2026 – 10.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.14FY2026 $-3.34FY2026 $12.75FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1.8%FY2026 – +6.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.4% – -9.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.58BFY2026 $1.42BFY2026 $17.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.9%FY2026 +44.5%FY2026 +2.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.5% +27.0% +14.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIQVGHLDOS
Held by institutions 94.1% 100.0% 79.3%
Institutions holding 1,083 594 773
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.3% -2.6% +4.1%
Institutions buying 530 353 380
Institutions selling 424 180 294
Buyers to sellers 1.25 1.96 1.29

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.

IQVGHLDOS
IQV 1.00 0.26 0.17
GH 0.26 1.00 0.09
LDOS 0.17 0.09 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IQV, GH and LDOS?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) is the largest by market capitalisation: Iqvia Holdings (IQV) $45.49B, Guardant Health (GH) $23.05B, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) $17.60B.

Which stock is cheaper, IQV, GH and LDOS?

Leidos Holdings (LDOS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 33.1x, Guardant Health (GH) -50.8x, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 12.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) is cheapest (Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 23.0x, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 10.7x). 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: Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +8.2%, Guardant Health (GH) +42.7%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) +3.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Iqvia Holdings (IQV) has the highest net margin (Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 8.1%, Guardant Health (GH) -38.3%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 7.8%). On return on invested capital, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) leads (Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 8.3%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 13.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Guardant Health (GH) returned the most: Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +27.0%, Guardant Health (GH) +143.8%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) -28.9%. Over five years, Guardant Health (GH) compounded fastest (Iqvia Holdings (IQV) +1.7%/yr, Guardant Health (GH) +9.1%/yr, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) +5.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 0.00%, Guardant Health (GH) 0.00%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 0.01%. Iqvia Holdings (IQV) and Guardant Health (GH) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) has been the steadiest (Iqvia Holdings (IQV) 40.3%, Guardant Health (GH) 57.4%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 35.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) leads on 6. 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.