Bio-Rad Laboratories vs Charles River Laboratories
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Bio-Rad Laboratories and Charles River Laboratories side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Charles River Laboratories is the larger business, with $4.0B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $2.6B for Bio-Rad Laboratories, about 1.6 times as much.
- Bio-Rad Laboratories grew revenue faster (0.7%, against −0.9%).
- Bio-Rad Laboratories kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (1.8% operating margin, against 0.6%).
- Bio-Rad Laboratories turned more of its sales into free cash flow (14.5% FCF margin, against 12.9%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Bio-Rad Laboratories
BIO
8/10
Revenue growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA
Charles River Laboratories
CRL
2/10
5-year growthShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | BIO FY25 | CRL FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $9.9B | $16.6B |
| Revenue | $2.6B | $4.0B |
| Free cash flow | $375M | $518M |
| Net income | $760M | −$144M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 0.7% | −0.9% |
| 5-year growth | 0.3% | 6.6% |
| Share count change | −3.3% | −4.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 51.9% | — |
| Operating margin | 1.8% | 0.6% |
| Net margin | 29.4% | −3.6% |
| FCF margin | 14.5% | 12.9% |
| Return on capital | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| Return on equity | 10.8% | −4.4% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$329M | $1.9B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −1.6x | 4.5x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $296M | $361M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 46.3x | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 4 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.