SHC vs CAI vs DGX Stock Comparison

Sotera Health, Caris Life Sciences and Quest Diagnostics Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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SHC Sotera Health Co
$16.39 -11.6% 1M -0.2% 1Y
Market cap
$4.68B
P/E
27.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.23B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
2 wins
DGX Quest Diagnostics Inc
$255.59 +10.1% 1M +43.6% 1Y
Market cap
$28.12B
P/E
24.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.84B
Div. yield
1.32%
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Quest Diagnostics leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Quest Diagnostics 5, Caris Life Sciences 4, Sotera Health 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSHCCAIDGXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.68B $9.52B $28.12B DGX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.0x 98.2x 24.9x DGX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.8x 302.0x 23.3x SHC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.9% +61.5% +9.1% CAI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.1% 9.2% 9.5% SHC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.2% 13.7% 9.9% CAI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x -2.3x 2.1x CAI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.00% 1.32% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -0.2% +6.5% +43.6% DGX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -9.5%/yr — +12.7%/yr DGX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.5% 69.8% 24.1% DGX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 65/100 65/100 CAI

Percentile Scorecard

SHCCAIDGX

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

AxisSHCCAIDGX
Valuation 57 #41 of 95 22 #74 of 95 70 #29 of 95
Growth 69 #28 of 88 99 #2 of 88 36 #57 of 88
Profitability 86 #13 of 87 71 #26 of 87 83 #16 of 87
Financial Health 34 #66 of 100 79 #22 of 100 57 #44 of 100
Shareholder Returns – 56 #26 of 58 81 #12 of 58
Overall 62 65 65
  • SHC ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • CAI ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • DGX ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSHCCAIDGXSPY
1 month -11.6%+9.3%+10.1% -1.0%
3 months -8.8%+101.9%+8.4% -0.4%
6 months +3.7%+73.7%+35.1% +4.5%
Year to date -7.1%+23.1%+47.3% +12.4%
1 year -0.2%+6.5%+43.6% +13.6%
3 years +24.1%—+90.9% +76.4%
3 years, per year +7.5%—+24.1% +20.8%
5 years -39.2%—+81.8% +63.7%
5 years, per year -9.5%—+12.7% +10.4%
10 years ——+214.7% +267.7%
10 years, per year ——+12.1% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureSHCCAIDGXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.5%69.8%24.1% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.2%70.3%18.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.031.55-0.06 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.010.091.81 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -78.2%-63.0%-30.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.2%-8.1%0.0% -1.6%
52-week high $19.57$36.14$255.59 $779.14
52-week low $13.13$14.55$173.49 $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.

MultipleSHCCAIDGX
P/E now vs peer median 27.0xmedian 25.6x 98.2xmedian 25.6x 24.9xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 1.6x 9.1xmedian 1.6x 2.4xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.7xmedian 16.0x 55.0xmedian 16.0x 14.2xmedian 16.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 34.6xmedian 21.6x 329.5xmedian 21.6x 20.5xmedian 21.6x
P/B now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 3.4x 14.9xmedian 3.4x 3.5xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.74median 0.74 —median 0.74 1.70median 0.74

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 monthsSHCCAIDGX
Revenue $1.23B $1.05B $11.84B
Gross profit $671.74M $724.14M $3.92B
Operating income $413.72M $139.94M $1.72B
Net income $173.47M $96.06M $1.18B
Free cash flow $135.43M $28.91M $1.38B
R&D – $129.36M –
EPS (diluted) $0.60 $0.33 $10.08
Cash & equivalents $412.38M $665.32M $797.00M
Total debt $2.14B $393.27M $5.55B
Shares (diluted) 289.22M 295.14M 112.00M
Enterprise value $3.25B $6.34B $26.20B

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
MetricSHCCAIDGX
P/E 27.0x 98.2x 24.9x
P/FCF 34.6x 329.5x 20.5x
P/Operating cash flow 14.1x 113.5x 14.4x
P/S 3.8x 9.1x 2.4x
P/B 6.4x 14.9x 3.5x
P/Tangible book 10.0x 14.9x 4.5x
EV/EBITDA 11.7x 55.0x 14.2x
EV/EBIT 15.5x 65.4x 19.1x
EV/Revenue 5.2x 8.7x 2.8x
EV/FCF 47.3x 316.5x 23.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.3x 109.1x 16.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.74 – 1.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSHCCAIDGX
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.9% 61.5% 9.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.5% – 8.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.3% 86.2% 8.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.6% – 8.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.4% 274.2% 12.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 21.1% – 15.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 213.0% 151.4% 15.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 36.9% – 12.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 210.3% 114.2% 17.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 36.6% – 14.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 38.3% 15,464% 3.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 59.9% – 21.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 56.4% 306.4% -1.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 33.1% – 32.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSHCCAIDGX
Gross margin 54.6% 69.1% 33.1%
EBITDA margin 44.7% 15.9% 19.5%
Operating margin 33.6% 13.4% 14.6%
Pretax margin 22.4% 9.3% 12.6%
Net margin 14.1% 9.2% 9.5%
FCF margin 11.0% 2.8% 11.6%
Operating cash flow margin 27.0% 8.0% 16.5%
Return on equity 24.8% 15.6% 15.0%
Return on assets 5.2% 7.7% 6.9%
Return on invested capital 9.2% 13.7% 9.9%
Return on capital employed 13.2% 12.9% 11.3%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.8x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 0.9x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 3.0% 6.7% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSHCCAIDGX
Debt / assets 63.1% 31.3% 32.2%
Debt / equity 2.9x 0.6x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x -2.3x 2.1x
Debt / FCF 15.8x 13.6x 4.0x
Liabilities / assets 78.4% 49.1% 53.8%
Equity / assets 21.6% 50.9% 46.2%
Interest coverage – 3.3x 6.5x
Current ratio 3.1x 6.7x 1.7x
Quick ratio 2.7x 5.7x 1.4x
Cash ratio 1.8x 4.8x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.83 8.52 3.79

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSHCCAIDGX
Dividend yield – – 1.3%
Net buyback yield – 0.0% 1.2%
Shareholder yield – 0.0% 2.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 31.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 26.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 6.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 6.1%

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.

ConsensusSHCCAIDGX
Forward P/E 17.8xFY2026 302.0xFY2026 23.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.92FY2026 $0.11FY2026 $10.96FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +7.0%FY2026 – +11.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.7% +236.4% +6.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.33BFY2026 $1.06BFY2026 $11.25BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.8%FY2026 +30.1%FY2026 +1.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.2% +21.6% +7.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSHCCAIDGX
Held by institutions 100.0% 52.0% 94.4%
Institutions holding 316 246 1,098
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.9% -6.3% +2.7%
Institutions buying 220 175 550
Institutions selling 64 47 342
Buyers to sellers 3.44 3.72 1.61

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.

SHCCAIDGX
SHC 1.00 0.36 0.25
CAI 0.36 1.00 0.23
DGX 0.25 0.23 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SHC, CAI and DGX?

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Sotera Health (SHC) $4.68B, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) $9.52B, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) $28.12B.

Which stock is cheaper, SHC, CAI and DGX?

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Sotera Health (SHC) 27.0x, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 98.2x, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 24.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sotera Health (SHC) is cheapest (Sotera Health (SHC) 17.8x, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 302.0x, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 23.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Caris Life Sciences (CAI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Sotera Health (SHC) +6.9%, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) +61.5%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +9.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sotera Health (SHC) has the highest net margin (Sotera Health (SHC) 14.1%, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 9.2%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 9.5%). On return on invested capital, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) leads (Sotera Health (SHC) 9.2%, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 13.7%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 9.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Quest Diagnostics (DGX) returned the most: Sotera Health (SHC) -0.2%, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) +6.5%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +43.6%. Over five years, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) compounded fastest (Sotera Health (SHC) -9.5%/yr, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +12.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 0.00%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 1.32%. Sotera Health (SHC) and Caris Life Sciences (CAI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) has been the steadiest (Sotera Health (SHC) 30.5%, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 69.8%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 24.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SHC, CAI and DGX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 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.