CRL
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.
CRL's fundamentals are mixed, but it looks expensive: trading at 355x earnings, about 12 times its usual 29x.
CRL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Weak |
CRL's profitability is currently healthy, and its revenue and cash flow are stable, but its balance sheet is weak.
CRL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 22x | $21.43 | -94% |
| Fair | 29x | $27.64 | -92% |
| Expensive | 46x | $44.08 | -87% |
| Current | 355x | $341 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CRL's PE is in its expensive range at 355x.
CRL Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for CRL to show an outlook.
CRL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $0.96 | +$2.47 |
| Q2 2026 | -$4.80 | -$3.52 |
| Q1 2026 | -$3.71 | -$3.11 |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.91 | -1555% |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.51 | -119% |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.28 | -115% |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.60 | -107% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.20 | -98% |
CRL has returned to profit: it earned $0.96 per share over the past year, after losing money the year before.
CRL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $982.7M | -2.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $1B | -2.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $995.8M | +1.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $994.2M | -0.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $1B | -0.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $1B | +0.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $984.2M | -2.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $1B | -1.1% |
CRL's revenue grew through 2022 and has held roughly level since: $983M last quarter, down 2.2% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 21% | +7.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 12% | +2.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 12% | +4.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | -29% | -12 points |
| Q3 2025 | 13% | +1.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.7% | -5.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 7.6% | -4.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | -17% | -30 points |
CRL's operating margin was 21% last quarter, up 7.3 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
CRL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $207.3M | +16% |
| Q2 2026 | $148.6M | -12% |
| Q1 2026 | -$14.8M | -113% |
| Q4 2025 | $58.6M | -30% |
| Q3 2025 | $178.2M | -16% |
| Q2 2025 | $169.3M | +9.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $112.4M | +121% |
| Q4 2024 | $83.7M | -41% |
CRL still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2024 peak: $400M over the past year.
CRL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.2% | +563K shares |
| 1 year | -1.7% | -842K shares |
| 3 years | -5.9% | -3M shares |
| 5 years | -5.8% | -3M shares |
| Available history | -2.2% | -1.1M shares |
CRL has 49M diluted shares, down 1.7% from a year ago, with $324M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $224,000 |
| Q2 2026 | $115.6M |
| Q1 2026 | $208.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $96,000 |
| Q3 2025 | $93,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $7.4M |
| Q1 2025 | $353.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $124,000 |
CRL spent $324M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 10% from the year before.
CRL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.1x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 6.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 5.9x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 4.5x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 4.0x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.5x | Elevated |
CRL's net debt is about 5.1 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 3.5 years a year ago.
CRL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 71.9 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 75.1 | Neutral |
CRL's weekly RSI is 72 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 75 (neutral).
CRL PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | CRL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 355x | 26x | 1,273% above |
| PE % | 96 | 29 | 67 pts above |
CRL is trading at 355x earnings, a 1273% premium to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
CRL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $321.0 | 6.2% above |
| 20 week MA | $284.7 | 20% above |
| 50 week MA | $223.9 | 52% above |
| 100 week MA | $191.1 | 78% above |
| 200 week MA | $201.5 | 69% above |
CRL has climbed back above all five of its weekly moving averages, and it's now 69% above its 200-week average.
CRL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $151.9 | $251.7 | +66% |
| 2021 | $251.7 | $369.2 | +47% |
| 2022 | $369.2 | $218.5 | -41% |
| 2023 | $218.5 | $236.4 | +8.2% |
| 2024 | $236.4 | $186.2 | -21% |
| 2025 | $186.2 | $203.7 | +9.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $203.7 | $340.8 | +67% |
CRL has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's up 67% so far in 2026.