CRL vs. NVS: Charles River Laboratories vs. Novartis Stock Comparison

Company Profile

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

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) trades as ordinary local shares, while Novartis (NVS) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

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 Novartis (NVS) is defensive at 0.41 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

Novartis (NVS) at 24.33% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 1.27% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for NVS.

Novartis (NVS) at 17.49% 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 Novartis (NVS) at 34.27% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Novartis (NVS) at 9.57% 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.

Novartis (NVS) at 21.81% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at -1,555.00% falls below its industry range, a notably weak earnings reading.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 1.41 and Novartis (NVS) at 0.88 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

Both Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 0.87 and Novartis (NVS) at 1.29 lean more heavily on debt funding than most peers, landing in the higher-leverage quartile of their industries.

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 Novartis (NVS) reports a yield of 2.88%, 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 Novartis (NVS) reports a payout of 90.46%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Novartis (NVS) at 31.02 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 Novartis (NVS) at 5.35 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 Novartis (NVS) at 8.25 carries an above-peer premium to book — NVS is pricier on assets.

Valuation Metrics