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Quest Diagnostics Incorporated logo

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated

DGX
52
Medical - Diagnostics & Research · Healthcare
Price
$210.68
+1.27 (+0.61%)
Market Cap
$23.32B
Winston Score
52
Winston is curious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Share count falling — buybacks

11.7% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 128.0M (2021) → 113.0M (2025)

Quest Diagnostics is one of the largest medical testing companies in the United States. It collects blood, urine, and tissue samples from patients and runs laboratory tests that help doctors diagnose diseases, monitor health conditions, and guide treatment decisions. The company serves patients, hospitals, physician offices, and health insurers across a wide range of tests — from routine cholesterol checks to complex genetic screenings.

Quest makes money by charging for each test it performs, billing either the patient's insurance company, government programs like Medicare and Medicaid, or the patient directly. It operates thousands of patient service centers and processes millions of tests each year, giving it a large scale advantage that is difficult for smaller labs to match. The main growth driver is expanding its test menu into higher-value areas like genetic and molecular diagnostics, while the main risk is ongoing pricing pressure from insurers and government payers, which can squeeze revenue per test over time.

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

4 trades / 12mo

1 Congressional buy and 3 sells on DGX in the last 12 months.

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Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+9.2% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+15.2% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady EPS growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (18%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

0.6%ownership

Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$393M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

→ Burn rate stable

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated is growing revenue at 9% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Gross Margin
32.5%
Modest — 32.5% gross margin
Operating Margin
13.8%
Healthy — 13.8% operating margin
ROCE
2.9%
Weak — 2.9% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales YoY
+11.0%
Steady sales growth (11.0% YoY)
EPS YoY
+14.5%
Earnings growing (14.5% YoY)

Healthy double-digit earnings growth — what compounders look like.

EPS Consistency
8/8 quarters
Every recent quarter grew earnings vs last year

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
181%
Turns 181% of profit into real cash
FCF Margin
11.8%
Modest free cash flow (11.8%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

Debt / Equity
0.87
Moderate — manageable debt (0.87)
Interest Cover
6.09x
Adequate interest coverage (6.1x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
23.0x
Growth-priced — P/E 23.0

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

P/E vs Forward
+6.5
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (23.0 → 16.5)

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Dividends

Dividend Yield
1.55%
Small dividend — 1.55% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend Growth
+7.1%
Dividend growing modestly (7.1% YoY)

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