DGX vs. DXCM: Quest Diagnostics vs. DexCom Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM) 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

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM) both fall under the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group, but DGX is classified in Health Care Providers & Services while DXCM is classified in Health Care Equipment & Supplies.

Company profile comparison for Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM)
Profile Item	DGX	DXCM
Name	Quest Diagnostics Incorporated	DexCom 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	Health Care Services	Health Care Equipment
Market Capitalization	28.21 billion USD	29.62 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	December 17, 1996	April 14, 2005
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

DGX

DXCM

GSPC

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM), 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 Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM)
Metric	DGX	DXCM
Total Return (1Y)	45.88%	46.33%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	27.45%	-4.50%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	14.84%	-12.76%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

DGX

DXCM

GSPC

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM), 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 Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

DexCom (DXCM) has an aggressive beta of 1.43, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Quest Diagnostics (DGX) is defensive at 0.54 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM)
Metric	DGX	DXCM
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	24.06%	38.37%
Beta (5Y)	0.54	1.43
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-28.62%	-66.32%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.00M	4.34M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

DGX and DXCM 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 Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM)
Metric	DGX	DXCM
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.73	1.10
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	3.16	1.79

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 15.32% and DexCom (DXCM) at 37.67% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.32%

Max: 47.61%
DGX: 15.32%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

DXCM

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

37.67%

Max: 47.61%
DXCM: 37.67%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 9.54% and DexCom (DXCM) at 19.42% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.54%

Max: 29.35%
DGX: 9.54%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

DXCM

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

19.42%

Max: 29.35%
DXCM: 19.42%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 15.63% and DexCom (DXCM) at 24.34% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.63%

Max: 35.43%
DGX: 15.63%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

DXCM

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

24.34%

Max: 35.43%
DXCM: 24.34%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM)
Metric	DGX	DXCM
ROE (TTM)	15.32%	37.67%
ROA (TTM)	6.61%	11.14%
Net Margin (TTM)	9.54%	19.42%
Operating Margin (TTM)	15.63%	24.34%
Gross Margin (TTM)	33.18%	63.42%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 11.78% and DexCom (DXCM) at 15.60% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

DexCom (DXCM) at 47.18% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 13.78% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for DXCM.

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM)
Metric	DGX	DXCM
Revenue Growth (YoY)	11.78%	15.60%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	3.74%	17.01%
EPS Growth (YoY)	13.78%	47.18%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	3.16%	36.60%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 1.70 and DexCom (DXCM) at 1.74 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.70

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
DGX: 1.70
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

DXCM

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.74

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
DXCM: 1.74
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 0.80 and DexCom (DXCM) at 0.55 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.80

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
DGX: 0.80
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

DXCM

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.55

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
DXCM: 0.55
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM)
Metric	DGX	DXCM
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.70	1.74
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.80	0.55
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.38	-0.28

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

DexCom (DXCM) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Quest Diagnostics (DGX) reports a yield of 1.33%, ranking against industry peers normally.

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.33%

DGX: 1.33%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

DXCM

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

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

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

DexCom (DXCM) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Quest Diagnostics (DGX) reports a payout of 25.10%, ranking against industry peers normally.

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.10%

DGX: 25.10%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

DXCM

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

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

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM)
Metric	DGX	DXCM
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.33%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	25.10%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 25.46 and DexCom (DXCM) at 31.26 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.46

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
DGX: 25.46
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

DXCM

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

31.26

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
DXCM: 31.26
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 2.38 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while DexCom (DXCM) at 5.80 sits in the pricier quartile — DXCM costs more per dollar of sales.

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.38

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
DGX: 2.38
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

DXCM

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

5.80

Max: 8.80
DXCM: 5.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 3.68 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while DexCom (DXCM) at 11.68 carries an above-peer premium to book — DXCM is pricier on assets.

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.68

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
DGX: 3.68
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

DXCM

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

11.68

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

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. DexCom (DXCM): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Quest Diagnostics (DGX) and DexCom (DXCM)
Metric	DGX	DXCM
P/E Ratio (TTM)	25.46	31.26
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.38	5.80
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.68	11.68
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.09%	2.74%