Avantor vs Charles River Laboratories
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Avantor and Charles River Laboratories side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Avantor is the larger business, with $6.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $4.0B for Charles River Laboratories, about 1.6 times as much.
- Charles River Laboratories grew revenue faster (−0.9%, against −3.4%).
- Charles River Laboratories kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (0.6% operating margin, against −3.8%).
- Charles River Laboratories turned more of its sales into free cash flow (12.9% FCF margin, against 7.6%).
- Charles River Laboratories earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (0.4%, against −2.1%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Avantor
AVTR
1/10
Piotroski F-score
Charles River Laboratories
CRL
9/10
Revenue growth5-year growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | AVTR FY25 | CRL FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $11.7B | $17.1B |
| Revenue | $6.6B | $4.0B |
| Free cash flow | $495M | $518M |
| Net income | −$530M | −$144M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −3.4% | −0.9% |
| 5-year growth | 0.5% | 6.6% |
| Share count change | −0.2% | −4.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 32.7% | — |
| Operating margin | −3.8% | 0.6% |
| Net margin | −8.1% | −3.6% |
| FCF margin | 7.6% | 12.9% |
| Return on capital | −2.1% | 0.4% |
| Return on equity | −9.2% | −4.4% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $3.6B | $1.9B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 22.0x | 4.5x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $75.1M | $361M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | — |
| 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.