CRL vs. JNJ: Charles River Laboratories vs. Johnson & Johnson Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) both fall under the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group, but CRL is classified in Life Sciences Tools & Services while JNJ is classified in Pharmaceuticals.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) has an aggressive beta of 1.33, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is defensive at 0.21 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 20.02% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 1.27% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for JNJ.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 16.20% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 1.01%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

Both Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 23.42% and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 25.74% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 6.05% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at -0.85% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 90.50% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at -1,555.00% falls below its industry range — a large difference in per-share earnings trajectories.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 1.41 and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 1.02 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 0.55 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 0.87 uses more debt funding than most peers.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reports a yield of 1.94%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reports a payout of 80.12%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 41.92 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 366.87 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for CRL’s trailing earnings.

On P/S ratio, both Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 4.07 and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 6.69 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 5.01 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) at 8.16 carries an above-peer premium to book — JNJ is pricier on assets.

Valuation Metrics