CNC vs. IDXX: Centene vs. IDEXX Laboratories Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) both fall under the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group, but CNC is classified in Health Care Providers & Services while IDXX is classified in Health Care Equipment & Supplies.

Company profile comparison for Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Profile Item	CNC	IDXX
Name	Centene Corp.	IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Health Care Equipment & Services	Health Care Equipment & Services
GICS Industry	Health Care Providers & Services	Health Care Equipment & Supplies
GICS Sub-Industry	Managed Health Care	Health Care Equipment
Market Capitalization	34.53 billion USD	53.26 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	December 13, 2001	June 21, 1991
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CNC

IDXX

GSPC

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	CNC	IDXX
Total Return (1Y)	84.77%	-1.84%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-0.97%	18.42%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-1.48%	2.02%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CNC

IDXX

GSPC

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	CNC	IDXX
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	46.34%	37.02%
Beta (5Y)	1.07	1.44
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-74.07%	-50.91%
Avg. Volume (3M)	4.63M	564.80K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CNC and IDXX are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	CNC	IDXX
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.74	-0.17
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.71	-0.28

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 68.93% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Centene (CNC) at 6.74%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

6.74%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
CNC: 6.74%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

68.93%

IDXX: 68.93%
Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 25.36% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Centene (CNC) at 0.81%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.81%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
CNC: 0.81%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.36%

Max: 29.35%
IDXX: 25.36%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 33.14% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Centene (CNC) at 0.74%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.74%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
CNC: 0.74%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

33.14%

Max: 35.43%
IDXX: 33.14%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	CNC	IDXX
ROE (TTM)	6.74%	68.93%
ROA (TTM)	2.68%	26.70%
Net Margin (TTM)	0.81%	25.36%
Operating Margin (TTM)	0.74%	33.14%
Gross Margin (TTM)	11.34%	62.72%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Centene (CNC) at 19.44% and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 10.42% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 22.59% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Centene (CNC) at -314.42% falls below its industry range, a notably weak earnings reading.

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	CNC	IDXX
Revenue Growth (YoY)	19.44%	10.42%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.45%	8.52%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-314.42%	22.59%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	17.66%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Centene (CNC) at 1.16 and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 1.19 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.16

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
CNC: 1.16
Min: 0.30

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.19

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
IDXX: 1.19
Min: 0.30

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Centene (CNC) at 0.70 and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 0.52 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.70

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
CNC: 0.70
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.52

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
IDXX: 0.52
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	CNC	IDXX
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.16	1.19
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.70	0.52
Net Debt / EBITDA	-1.71	0.46

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Neither Centene (CNC) nor IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

CNC: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

IDXX: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Neither Centene (CNC) nor IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

CNC: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

IDXX: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	CNC	IDXX
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Centene (CNC) at 23.97 and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 45.56 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

23.97

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
CNC: 23.97
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

45.56

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
IDXX: 45.56
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Centene (CNC) at 0.19 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 11.42 prices above its industry range — a wide gap in sales valuation between them.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.19

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
CNC: 0.19
Min: 0.03

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

11.42

IDXX: 11.42
Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Centene (CNC) at 1.55 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile relative to book while IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 28.50 prices above its industry range — a wide valuation gap against assets.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.55

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
CNC: 1.55
Min: -1.31

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

28.50

IDXX: 28.50
Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

Centene (CNC) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Centene (CNC) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Metric	CNC	IDXX
P/E Ratio (TTM)	23.97	45.56
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.19	11.42
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.55	28.50
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	8.93%	2.00%