LH changes
Pick any two versions below to diff them.
- Price
- $372.23
- Discount category
- Pricey
- Next earnings
- Feb 16, 2027
- Next earnings is estimate
- Yes
- Company name
- added: Labcorp
- Sector
- added: Diagnostics and drug development services
- About
- added: Labcorp Holdings Inc. (Labcorp) is a provider of laboratory testing and drug development services based in Burlington, North Carolina. It has two segments. Diagnostics Laboratories provides clinical laboratory testing. Biopharma Laboratory Services provides laboratory services for clinical trials of drug makers. In 2025, revenue was $13,952 million, of which Diagnostics Laboratories was $10,876 million and Biopharma Laboratory Services was $3,098 million. In the first nine months of 2026, revenue was $11,078.7 million. Labcorp also sells tests directly to consumers through Labcorp OnDemand, which has more than 140 panels and tests. Adam Schechter is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The company files 10-K and 10-Q reports with the SEC, and its common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange in US dollars.
- Thesis
- added: The price of Labcorp depends on whether it can keep growing adjusted earnings per share while it buys more laboratory businesses and faces rules on payment for tests. In Q3 of 2026, revenue rose 6.9% to $3.81 billion, of which 5.5% was organic. Adjusted EPS rose 14.5% to $4.78, and the company raised its guidance for 2026 to revenue growth of 5.9% to 6.7% and adjusted EPS of $18.30 to $18.70. It also announced or closed four acquisitions, and it says that each should add to adjusted EPS in the first year and earn its cost of capital by the third year. Total debt was $5.85 billion at the end of Q3, against cash of $261.8 million. For the price to hold or rise, three things must be true. Organic growth must stay near the current pace in both segments. The acquisitions must add earnings as the company says. Rules for payment of laboratory tests, such as the US Protecting Access to Medicare Act, must not cut prices. The next tests are the Q4 report with the guidance for 2027, expected in early 2027, and the closing of the three acquisitions that the company signed after the quarter.
- Risks
- added: Rules for payment of tests can cut revenue. The Form 10-Q names the US Protecting Access to Medicare Act as a factor for commercial laboratory testing. Government payers and insurers set many of the prices. Acquisitions can fail to add the earnings that the company expects. Four deals were announced or closed in a short time, and three still need regulatory approval. Integration costs are left out of adjusted EPS. Debt is higher after the deals. Total debt was $5.85 billion at September 30, 2026, and cash was $261.8 million. More deals will raise it further. Demand from drug makers can slow. Biopharma Laboratory Services depends on how much drug and device makers spend on trials. Guidance for this segment is for revenue growth of 7.4% to 8.4%. Laws on fraud and abuse apply to the business. The Form 10-Q says that a breach can lead to large damages and penalties, and to exclusion from government programs.
- Balance sheet
- added: At September 30, 2026, Labcorp had cash and cash equivalents of $261.8 million, against $532.3 million at December 31, 2025, and total debt of $5.85 billion. Net debt was about $5.59 billion. Free cash flow was $796.6 million in the first nine months, against $715.7 million a year before, and the guidance for 2026 is $1,240 million to $1,360 million. Capital spending was $404.2 million in the nine months. In Q3, the company paid $58.2 million in dividends and invested $255.5 million in acquisitions. About $1.4 billion remains under its share repurchase program. As of Sep 30, 2026.
- Checkpoints
- added: Feb 16, 2027 (estimate): Q4 2026 results and guidance for 2027. Pending. Watch: Adjusted EPS for 2026 lands in the guided range of $18.30 to $18.70 and the guidance for 2027 shows growth, and this passes; a cut to the range or flat guidance fails. 2027 (estimate): Closing of the three acquisitions signed after Q3. Pending. Watch: BioReference assets, the Myriad prenatal business and Millennium Health close after regulatory approval and the company keeps its view that each adds to adjusted EPS in year one, and this passes; a blocked deal fails.
- Recent events
- added: Oct 30, 2026: In its Form 10-Q, Labcorp reported 81.2 million shares of common stock outstanding at October 29, 2026. It paid $58.2 million in dividends and invested $255.5 million in acquisitions in Q3. Oct 28, 2026: Labcorp reported Q3 2026 results. Revenue rose 6.9% to $3.81 billion, diluted EPS was $3.22 and adjusted EPS was $4.78. It raised its guidance for 2026 to revenue growth of 5.9% to 6.7%, adjusted EPS of $18.30 to $18.70 and free cash flow of $1,240 million to $1,360 million. Oct 28, 2026: Labcorp said that it closed the purchase of MLM Medical Labs, a central and specialty laboratory provider in the United States, Germany and South Africa. After the quarter, it signed agreements to buy select assets of BioReference Health, the prenatal health business of Myriad Genetics and Millennium Health. Each is subject to regulatory approval. Oct 28, 2026: The FDA approved the PGDx elio tissue complete test as a companion diagnostic for advanced melanoma. After the quarter, Labcorp launched the FDA-cleared Elecsys pTau-217 blood test for Alzheimer's disease. Oct 21, 2026: Labcorp declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, payable on December 11, 2026, to holders of record on November 24, 2026.