DGX
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
DGX has the edge over NVO overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
NVO
Novo Nordisk A/S
NVO offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
DGX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
DGX's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet is stable.
NVO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
NVO's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable.
DGX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 10x | $102 | -61% |
| Fair | 19x | $192 | -26% |
| Expensive | 22x | $220 | -15% |
| Forward | 22x | $260 | — |
| Current | 26x | $260 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
DGX's PE is in its expensive range at 26x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 22x next year's earnings.
NVO PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 10x | $40.65 | — |
| Cheap | 14x | $53.56 | +32% |
| Fair | 27x | $103 | +154% |
| Expensive | 39x | $152 | +273% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NVO has the edge over DGX in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
DGX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
DGX has the edge over NVO on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and profitability expectations.
NVO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect NVO's revenue to grow, but its profitability to weaken. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
DGX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $11.60 | +16% |
| Q3 2026 | $10.04 | +18% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.42 | +13% |
| Q1 2026 | $9.05 | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.75 | +14% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.52 | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.35 | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.91 | +6.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.69 | +2.7% |
DGX's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $10.04 over the past year, against $16.77 in mid-2021.
NVO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $3.89 | +4.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.07 | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.42 | +1.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.47 | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.71 | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.49 | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.36 | +21% |
| Q3 2024 | $3.15 | +27% |
NVO has the edge over DGX on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
DGX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.1B | +10% |
| Q2 2026 | $3B | +10% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.9B | +9.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.8B | +7.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.8B | +13% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.8B | +15% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.7B | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.6B | +15% |
DGX's revenue has grown year over year for 11 quarters in a row: $3.1B last quarter, up 10% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | +1.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 15% | -0.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 14% | +0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | 0 points |
| Q3 2025 | 14% | +0.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 16% | +1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 13% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 14% | +2.1 points |
DGX's operating margin was 15% last quarter, up 1.8 points from the same quarter a year ago.
NVO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $11.7B | +2.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $14.4B | +24% |
| Q4 2025 | $11.8B | -7.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.1B | +5.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $11.4B | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.6B | +19% |
| Q4 2024 | $12.7B | +30% |
| Q3 2024 | $10.6B | +21% |
NVO's revenue is growing: $11.7B last quarter, up 2.1% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 34% | -9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 62% | +12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 40% | -2.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | -16 points |
| Q2 2025 | 44% | +5.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 50% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 43% | +2.2 points |
| Q3 2024 | 47% | +1.6 points |
NVO has the edge over DGX on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
DGX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $445M | +6.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $459M | +5.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $164M | -17% |
| Q4 2025 | $307M | -10% |
| Q3 2025 | $419M | +68% |
| Q2 2025 | $436M | +63% |
| Q1 2025 | $197M | +294% |
| Q4 2024 | $341M | -25% |
DGX still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2020 peak: $1.4B over the past year.
NVO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $6.3B | +73% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.8B | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | -$5.4B | -$4.7B |
| Q3 2025 | $4.6B | -2.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.6B | -34% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +89% |
| Q4 2024 | -$632.6M | +$390.5M |
| Q3 2024 | $4.7B | +3.3% |
NVO still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2026 peak: $7.3B over the past year.
DGX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | -0.9% | -1M shares |
| 3 years | -1.8% | -2M shares |
| 5 years | -10% | -13M shares |
| Available history | -18% | -24M shares |
DGX has the edge over NVO on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $150M |
| Q4 2025 | $300M |
| Q4 2023 | $275M |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | — |
| Q1 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | $461M |
| Q3 2022 | $374M |
NVO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -12.9M shares |
| 1 year | -0.2% | -11M shares |
| 3 years | -1.5% | -66.8M shares |
| 5 years | -3.8% | -177M shares |
| Available history | -6.5% | -311M shares |
NVO has 4.4B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $520M |
| Q1 2026 | $356.7M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $206.3M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.1B |
| Q3 2024 | $357.4M |
NVO spent $877M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 48% from the year before.
DGX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.4x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 3.1x | Elevated |
DGX's net debt is about 2.1 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 2.5 years a year ago.
NVO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | -0.0x | Very low |
NVO has the edge over DGX on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
DGX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 70.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 89.7 | Overbought |
DGX's weekly RSI is 70 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 90 (overbought).
NVO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 27.0 | Neutral |
NVO's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 27 (neutral).
DGX PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | DGX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 26x | 26x | Same PE |
| PE % | 99 | 29 | 70 pts above |
DGX is trading at 26x earnings, in line with the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
NVO PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | NVO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 10x | 26x | 60% below |
| PE % | 6 | 29 | 23 pts below |
NVO has the edge over DGX on valuation relative to its sector.
DGX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $243.1 | 6.8% above |
| 20 week MA | $235.9 | 10% above |
| 50 week MA | $209.8 | 24% above |
| 100 week MA | $191.5 | 36% above |
| 200 week MA | $165.4 | 57% above |
DGX has the edge over NVO on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
NVO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $39.2 | 3.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $43.9 | 7.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $45.3 | 10% below |
| 100 week MA | $56.3 | 28% below |
| 200 week MA | $80.7 | 50% below |
NVO has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-week average, but 50% below its 200-week average.
DGX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $106.9 | $120.2 | +13% |
| 2021 | $120.2 | $167.1 | +39% |
| 2022 | $167.1 | $156.3 | -6.4% |
| 2023 | $156.3 | $137.9 | -12% |
| 2024 | $137.9 | $152.6 | +11% |
| 2025 | $152.6 | $175.9 | +15% |
| 2026 YTD | $175.9 | $259.7 | +48% |
DGX has the edge over NVO on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
NVO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $29.1 | $34.7 | +19% |
| 2021 | $34.7 | $54.2 | +56% |
| 2022 | $54.2 | $67.0 | +24% |
| 2023 | $67.0 | $103.5 | +54% |
| 2024 | $103.5 | $87.4 | -16% |
| 2025 | $87.4 | $52.4 | -40% |
| 2026 YTD | $52.4 | $40.7 | -22% |
NVO has finished higher in four of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's down 22% so far in 2026.