CRL
Charles River Laboratories
$265.50
▼ 0.0%Updated Aug 7, 11:30 AM ET
CRL at a glance — five pillars scored 0–100 from real filed financials.
Overall: Weak · 30/100. A wider, greener shape means more pillars look healthy. Dividends scores 0 when a company pays none — that is a choice, not a flaw.
▲ Up 27.3% over the last 12 months
Market Cap
$11.11B
P/E
—
Forward P/E (est.)
—
ROE
-5.7%
Revenue Growth
0.1%
EPS Growth
—
Profit Margin
-4.6%
FCF Yield
8.3%
Debt / Equity
0.68x
ROIC
0.0%
Interest Coverage
0.18x
Current Ratio
1.36x
Dividend Yield
—
Implied Growth (rev. DCF)
4.1%
Rating Score
30/100
Charles River Laboratories (CRL) is a large-cap company in the Life Sciences Tools & Services industry, part of the Health Care sector of the S&P 500, with a market value around $11.11B.
In its latest reported year it generated about $4.02B in revenue and posted a net loss of $144.34M.
Our model rates CRL Weak (30/100) on growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation. The summary below is built from its filed financials and current ratios and refreshes automatically.
Evidence of durable competitive advantage in the filed financials (10 years of history).
The numbers don't show a durable competitive advantage — margins, growth, or returns on capital have been unstable or thin. Great returns are still possible; they just aren't protected.
7.1% average over the last 3 years
±5.0 pts around 12.7% across 10 years
grew in 7 of the last 9 year-over-year periods
positive in 10 of 10 years
0.0% latest fiscal year
A moat can't be proven by numbers alone — this scores the evidence a durable advantage leaves behind (pricing power, consistency, returns on capital), computed the same way for every stock. Pair it with the business overview before concluding anything.
Technical analysis reads price and volume to judge momentum and timing. It complements the fundamentals above — it does not replace them. Here is what CRL's chart says today, with each tool explained.
Trend — moving averages. A moving average is the average closing price over a window, which smooths out daily noise. CRL trades near $265.50, above its 50-day average ($180.40) and 200-day average ($180.44). Price above both averages, with the shorter one above the longer, is the textbook definition of an uptrend — momentum favours buyers.
Momentum — RSI. The Relative Strength Index runs 0–100 and measures how strong recent gains are versus losses. Above 70 is "overbought", below 30 "oversold". At 84 it is overbought — the recent rally is stretched and can cool off.
MACD. MACD compares two moving averages to flag shifts in momentum. Its histogram is currently positive — short-term momentum is improving.
Volatility — ATR. Average True Range is the typical daily move. CRL's is $7.91 (~3.0% of price), so swings of about that size each day are normal — handy for setting a stop that isn't too tight.
Support & resistance. Over the last month CRL found buyers near $178.92 (support) and sellers near $236.62 (resistance); its 52-week range is $144.26–$236.62. A decisive break beyond either edge often marks the next move.
Volume. The latest session traded 1.0× the 20-day average — about normal. Rising volume on up-days suggests real buying; on down-days, real selling.
Educational information to help you read a chart — not a recommendation or a forecast. It updates daily as the price and indicators change.
4Y CAGR
3.2%
Revenue moved from $1.68B in 2016 to $4.02B in 2025, a 10.2% compound annual growth rate. The most recent year was roughly flat (0.1%) year over year. Slower, mature growth is common for established businesses.
Gross Margin
34.5%
Operating Margin
0.6%
Net Margin
-3.6%
ROE
-5.7%
Charles River Laboratories keeps about -4.6% of each sales dollar as net profit, with a 34.5% gross margin and 0.6% operating margin. Return on equity is -5.7% and return on invested capital about 0.0%. The company is currently unprofitable on a net basis.
Total Debt
$1.61B
Net Debt
$1.42B
Net Debt / EBITDA
56.38x
Debt / Equity
0.68x
Leverage: debt-to-equity is 0.7x, and operating profit covers interest about 0.2x, with a current ratio of 1.4x. That is a moderate, manageable debt load for most businesses. It carries roughly $1.61B of total debt against $191.83M of cash.
Operating CF
$737.65M
Free Cash Flow
$518.49M
FCF Margin
12.9%
In the latest year Charles River Laboratories produced about $737.65M of operating cash flow and $518.49M of free cash flow after capital spending. That is a free-cash-flow yield of about 8.3% on today's price. Strong cash generation funds dividends, buybacks, and reinvestment.
P/E
—
P/S
2.24x
P/B
4.54x
EV / EBITDA
—
CRL trades at n/a trailing earnings, 2.2x sales, and 4.5x book value. Reverse-engineering today's price implies the market expects roughly 4.1% long-term free-cash-flow growth. With no positive trailing earnings, value it on sales, cash flow, or growth rather than P/E.
A two-stage discounted cash flow on real SEC-filed free cash flow — the intrinsic-value anchor professional analysts triangulate from.
DCF fair value / share
$148.13
Current price
$265.50
Starting FCF (latest 10-K)
$518.49M
Growth, years 1–5
0.1%
Fade to terminal, years 6–10
2.5%
Discount rate
9.0%
Cash flows grow at the stage-1 rate (trailing revenue growth, capped at 20%) for five years, fade to 2.5% by year 10, and continue at that rate forever (Gordon terminal value), all discounted at 9.0%. Small changes in assumptions move the result a lot — treat this as one reference point, not a target price. Educational only, not investment advice.
Where CRL sits versus its Health Care sector peers in the S&P 500.
Bands show the middle half (25th–75th percentile) of the 83 Health Care companies in the S&P 500 — the peer-relative anchor professional comps analysis uses. Context only — not investment advice.
How CRL stacks up against its Health Care peers — valuation, profitability, and growth versus the sector median.
In the Health Care sector (324 S&P 500 companies), CRL ranks #77 of 324 by our overall rating.
P/E vs sector
—
median 27.3x
ROE vs sector
-5.7%
median 14.1%
Growth vs sector
0.1%
median 7.6%
Sector rank
#77
of 324 by rating
Valuation vs. quality map
The sweet spot is upper-left: more profitable (higher ROE) for a lower P/E. Dashed lines mark the sector median.
Peers are the closest Health Care companies by sub-industry and size. Sector median is across all 324 S&P 500 names in the sector. Educational, not a recommendation.
Project revenue → earnings → price. Edit the assumptions to build your own case.
2030 price target (Base Case)
$0.00 – $0.00
vs. $265.50 today · expected CAGR -32% – -24%
| Metric | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $4.14B | $4.26B | $4.39B | $4.52B | $4.65B |
| Net income | $124.08M | $127.80M | $131.63M | $135.58M | $139.65M |
| EPS | $2.96 | $3.05 | $3.15 | $3.24 | $3.34 |
| Share price (low) | $35.58 | $36.64 | $37.74 | $38.87 | $40.04 |
| Share price (high) | $59.29 | $61.07 | $62.90 | $64.79 | $66.73 |
| CAGR (low–high) | -87% / -78% | -63% / -52% | -48% / -38% | -38% / -30% | -32% / -24% |
Educational model on sample fundamentals — not a forecast or investment advice. Outputs are only as good as your assumptions.
The case for CRL:
- Healthy free-cash-flow yield (~8.3%) funds buybacks and dividends.
- As an established S&P 500 member in Health Care, it brings scale and a long operating history.
The case against CRL:
- Revenue growth is slow (0.1%), limiting the upside engine.
- Thin net margins (-4.6%) leave little room for error.
- Interest coverage is thin (0.2x), so debt costs bite.
- Our model's overall read is Weak (30/100).
Growth risk — sluggish revenue (0.1%) leaves little margin for execution missteps.
Margin risk — thin profitability (-4.6%) is vulnerable to cost or pricing pressure.
Market risk — sector rotation, the economic cycle, and broad sentiment move the stock regardless of fundamentals.
On balance, the fundamentals screen weakly: Charles River Laboratories is a large-cap health care business growing at a mature pace, with modest profitability, and a sound balance sheet. It trades at n/a earnings, which our model scores Weak (30/100). Weigh this against your own goals and time horizon — this is educational information, not a recommendation.
Analyst Ratings
What 22 Wall Street analysts covering CRL recommend (August 2026). Consensus is a useful sanity check — not a substitute for your own homework.
Analysts have turned more positive over the last three months (+6 pts of buy ratings).
Latest SEC Filings
CRL's most recent filings, straight from SEC EDGAR. Annual and quarterly reports are the deep dives; 8-Ks flag material events the moment they happen.
CRL — frequently asked questions
Is CRL a good stock to buy?
We don't give buy or sell advice. Our model rates Charles River Laboratories Weak (30/100) based on its growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation — use that as a research starting point and make your own decision.
What is CRL's rating on The Stocks School?
Charles River Laboratories currently scores 30/100 (Weak) on our transparent model, which weighs real fundamentals: growth, margins, returns on capital, balance-sheet strength, and valuation.
How our ratings work →Where does CRL's data come from?
Live price data plus real fundamentals and 5-year financials pulled directly from Charles River Laboratories's SEC filings — refreshed automatically, not hand-entered.
How is the 5-year projection for CRL calculated?
It's a scenario model: it grows revenue at an assumed rate, applies a profit margin and a valuation multiple, and shows the resulting share-price range. The assumptions are yours to change — it's a tool for thinking, not a prediction.
Is this CRL analysis financial advice?
No. Everything on this page is educational research, not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell CRL. Always do your own research and consider a licensed professional.
Data notice. Fundamentals and financial statements are sourced from company filings (SEC EDGAR) and market-data providers; prices and market caps refresh on trading days and may be delayed. Ratings, projections, technical signals, and written summaries are model- or rule-generated for education and may simplify or lag the latest filings.
Not advice. Nothing on this page is investment advice or a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any security. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial professional before investing.