Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research

CRLStrained5 of 10 basics passed

$301.79

+1.27%

Market cap $14.4B

$301.79

+1.27%

Market cap $14.4B

Charles River Laboratories was founded in 1947 and is a leading provider of drug discovery and development services.

It is a $14.4B healthcare company. Revenue shrank 0.7% over the last year, it currently loses money, and its net debt equals ~5.2 years of free cash flow.

Website: criver.com
Location: Wilmington, MA
Employees: 19 700
Sector: Healthcare
Founded: 1947

Share price · 3 years

$195.63 → $301.79+54.3%

price only — dividends excluded

Key facts · TTM

Revenue: total sales; $4.00B
Loss: spends more than it earns; -$238M
Free cash flow: cash left after running the business; $371M
Net debt: debt minus cash on hand; $1.92B
P/E: years of profit in the price; 20.8
Shares: down 4% since 2016 — buybacks; 49.6M
Volatility: beta vs the market — under 1 swings less; 1.38

Revenue, last 10 years

52-week range

Low $149.93$301.79High $310.77

Today's price is 94% of the way from the year's low to its high.

P/E vs its history4y

19.0×median 24.7×

Higher than 2% of past days — near the lowest of its own history.

Valuation vs own history

P/E

19.0×

98%

P/S

3.6×

11%

EV/EBITDA

27.2×

34%

P/B

5.0×

11%

FCF yield

2.6%

12%

Share of the last ~5 years that was pricier than today (pricier than usual). Based on the daily valuation record.

Insider activity · 90 days

-$11.1Mnet selling

Purchases$2.97K

Sales$11.1M

Insiders trading, last 14d1 buy · 1 sell

Standing in Healthcare

Size$14.4Btop 65%
Revenue growth+0%top 84%
Net margin-6%top 78%
Return on equity-8%top 80%
P/E20.8×top 32%

Ranked against 98 Healthcare companies with a full CV — for P/E, lower ranks higher.

Skills

Six independent scores, 0–100, built from reported numbers and valuation history. Click a row to see how it was scored.

Growth, Profitability, Health and Moat lag behind.

Valuation50

P/E vs own history2th pct · 25/25
FCF yield2.6% · 5/25
P/S3.6x · 20/25
EV/EBITDA100.0x · 0/25

Growth6

Revenue CAGR3.2% · 6/25
Net income CAGRn/a · 0/25
EPS CAGR ~5Yn/a · 0/25
Fwd implied growth-21.8% · 0/25

Profitability5

ROIC-2.8% · 0/25
ROE-7.7% · 0/25
Net margin-6.0% · 0/25
Operating margin2.3% · 5/25

Health27

Altman Zn/a · 0/25
Current ratio1.35 · 12/25
Interest coverage0.2x · 3/25
Net cash / debtD/A 27% · 12/25

Quality65

Piotroski F6/9 · 15/25
Beneish M-3.07 · 25/25
FCF conversionn/a · 0/25
Margin stabilityσ 2.2% · 25/25

Moat43

ROIC >12% years0/10 yrs · 0/25
Median gross margin36.8% · 13/25
FCF-positive years10/10 yrs · 25/25
Worst-year net marginworst -3.6% · 5/25

How the scores work →

Experience

The company's career so far — founding, the IPO, landmark products and acquisitions, plus revenue milestones and insider buying.

FY2022Financial
Best year on record
$486M net income
2021Acquisition
Charles River announced the acquisition of Vigene Biosciences, a gene therapy contract development and…
FY2016Financial
First recorded profitable year
$155M net income
FY2016Financial
Revenue already above $1B
$1.68B in first reported year
FY2016Financial
Positive free cash flow every year since
10-year streak
2010Acquisition
Charles River Laboratories attempted to acquire WuXi PharmaTech, a China-based contract research…
2005Product
The company introduced preconditioning services in 2005 to provide customers with study-ready animals
2003Acquisition
Charles River Laboratories merged with Inveresk, a research company based in the United Kingdom
2002Product
Charles River launched the Humane Care Imperative in 2002, designed to raise awareness and train employees on animal…
1996Acquisition
Between 1996 and 2000, the company acquired Endosafe, Inc. and Sierra Biomedical
1988Acquisition
Charles River purchased Specific Pathogen Antigen Free Avian Services (SPAFAS) and serologic diagnostic…
1981Product
The first commercial, comprehensive genetic monitoring program was implemented by Charles River in 1981
1966Milestone
The organization became an international entity in 1966 by opening a new animal production facility in France
1947Founded
Charles River was founded in 1947 by Henry Foster, a young veterinarian who purchased one thousand rat cages from a…

Achievements

Verifiable track record, straight from the reported numbers.

$10 000 invested in 2021 would be worth ~$6 918 today — price return only

$4.0B revenue in FY2025

Positive free cash flow 10 years in a row

19 700 employees

Strengths & watch-outs

What a bull and a bear would each point to. Both lists come from the reported numbers, not opinions.

Strengths

No standout strengths in the available data.

Watch-outs

Revenue shrinking 0.7% year over year
Not profitable — 6.0% net margin
Thin interest coverage (0.2×)
Loss-making in 1 of the recent years
Net debt equals ~5.2 years of free cash flow

Qualifications

The basics a company should meet before you research it further. Each check uses the reported numbers.

5 of 10 checks passed

Revenue growing — the company sells more than a year ago-0.7% YoY
Profitable — makes more than it spends-$238M TTM
Profit growing — earnings are higher than last year-750.1% YoY
Generates cash — cash left after running and investing$371M TTM
Debt under control — could handle its obligations~5.2y of cash flow to repay
Established company — not a micro-cap — lower blow-up risk$14.4B market cap
Not printing shares — share count not ballooning — you keep your slice-2.1% shares over ~5y
Proven track record — years of profitability behind it9/10 profitable years
Financially stable — balance sheet not near distresshealth score 15/100
Pays a dividend — returns cash to shareholdersno data
Valuation not extreme — price not wildly above earningsP/E 20.8

Peer comparisonCharles River Laboratories International, Inc. vs 6 largest healthcare peers — cap, P/E, growth and margin side by sideOpen ▾

Company	Market cap	P/E	Revenue growth	Net margin	Profile
CRL this company	$14.4B	20.8	-0.7%	-6.0%	Strained
LLY Eli Lilly & Co.	$1.0T	41.6	+49.6%	33.5%	Solid
JNJ Johnson & Johnson	$630.9B	29.9	+8.1%	21.5%	Mixed
ABBV Abbvie Inc.	$488.5B	77.4	+10.4%	9.8%	Mixed
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.	$361.0B	113.2	+4.6%	4.8%	Mixed
UNH UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INCORPORATED (Delaware)	$340.7B	24.1	+6.5%	3.1%	Mixed
NVS Novartis AG	$273.2B	20.3	+9.6%	24.7%	Solid

Head-to-head: CRL vs LLY · CRL vs JNJ · CRL vs ABBV

References

What covering analysts publish about the company — information only, not a recommendation.

Strong buy 6Buy 11Hold 6

Appendix · Financial records

The full statements behind this CV, FY2016–FY2025. For readers who want to check the numbers.

Profit & lossRevenue $4.00B · net income -$238M (TTM)Open ▾

Profit & loss

Revenue and profit over the company's career — the income statement, visualised.

How FY2025 revenue flows to profit

RevenueNet income

Revenue (TTM)

$4.00B

YoY -0.7%

Net income (TTM)

-$238M

Margin -6.0%

Gross margin

34.6%

Operating margin

2.3%

P/E ratio

20.8

Income statement — full detail

Figures in USD billions · EPS in USD

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Revenue	2.9	3.5	4.0	4.1	4.0	4.0
Gross profit	—	1.3	1.5	1.5	1.3	1.3
Operating income (EBIT)	0.4	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.5
Net income	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.0	-0.1
EPS (diluted)	7.20	7.60	9.48	9.22	0.43	-2.91

Cash flowFree cash flow $371M · operating cash flow $582M (TTM)Open ▾

Cash flow statement

Cash generated by the business and what is left after investment — year by year.

Operating cash flowFree cash flow

Free cash flow (TTM)

$371M

Margin 9.3%

Operating cash flow (TTM)

$582M

FCF margin

9.3%

Cash flow statement — full detail

Figures in USD billions

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Operating cash flow	0.5	0.8	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.7
Capital expenditure	-0.2	-0.2	-0.3	-0.3	-0.2	-0.2
Free cash flow	0.4	0.5	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.5
FCF margin	13.0%	15.0%	7.4%	8.8%	12.4%	12.9%

Balance sheetAssets $7.14B · net debt $1.92B (FY2025)Open ▾

Balance sheet

How the balance sheet is built — what it owns versus how it is financed.

How $7.14B of assets is financed

55%

45%

Liabilities $3.92B — borrowed moneyEquity $3.16B — owners' stake

Cash vs debt

Total debt $2.14B − cash $214M = net debt $1.92B

Cash on hand covers 10% of debt.

Debt repayment

0.0 yrs

Years of free cash flow to clear net debt

Interest coverage

0.2x

EBIT ÷ interest expense

ROE

-7.7%

Profit per $1 of equity

Balance sheet — full detail

Figures in USD billions

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Cash & equivalents	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2
Total assets	5.5	7.0	7.6	8.2	7.5	7.1
Total liabilities	3.3	4.4	4.6	4.5	4.0	3.9
Total debt	2.0	2.7	2.7	2.6	2.2	2.1
Equity	2.1	2.5	3.0	3.6	3.5	3.2
Net debt	1.8	2.4	2.5	2.4	2.0	1.9

Want the live picture — intraday moves, valuation history and full analysis?

Deeper analysis of CRL on PreMarketPrice

Figures are derived from company filings (quarterly values normalised from as-filed year-to-date data where applicable) and may be delayed, restated or incomplete. This page is information, not investment advice. Latest price $301.79 · market cap $14.4B.