GUARDANT HEALTH, INC. vs LABCORP HOLDINGS INC., two Medical Diagnostics stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Negative 40.2 against positive 10.8: the operating margins of Guardant Health and Labcorp, the sector's widest profitability gap between two companies the market values within $3B of each other, $20B against $23B. Labcorp earns its valuation the traditional way, national lab volume, a 6.2% free-cash yield, a dividend, 24.1 times earnings; Guardant earns its by spending toward blood-based cancer screening, no earnings to price, a 4.7 current ratio funding the pursuit. The pair is the market's clearest statement of what it thinks early cancer detection is worth: roughly one entire Labcorp, before profitability. Either the boldest correct price in diagnostics or the plainest wrong one.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | GH | LH |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $147.44 | $296.66 |
| Market cap | $19.4B | $24.6B |
| Sector | Medical Diagnostics | Medical Diagnostics |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +5.0% |
| P/E | — | 26.3 |
| P/B | — | 2.82 |
| P/S | 17.92 | 1.74 |
| EV/EBITDA | — | 18.6 |
| Revenue growth | +39.3% | +7.4% |
| Gross margin | — | 28.7% |
| Operating margin | -40.2% | 10.8% |
| Net margin | -40.1% | 6.7% |
| Return on equity | — | 10.8% |
| Return on assets | -22.6% | 4.9% |
| Return on invested capital | -26.7% | 7.5% |
| FCF yield | -1.2% | 5.6% |
| Dividend yield | — | 1.0% |
| Debt / equity | — | 0.73 |
| Current ratio | 4.68 | 1.73 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 4.30 | 3.00 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 3 / 9 | 4 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.