Latest Ratios: P/E Ratio 59.7x · EV/EBITDA 11.6x · ROE 2.5%. (1998–2025 historical series)
Price-based multiples — how expensive the stock is relative to earnings, sales, book value, and cash flow
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $13.3B | $14.4B | $17.4B | $23.4B | $16.0B | $21.1B | $10.4B | $9.4B | $7.1B | $6.2B | $4.2B |
| Enterprise Value | $16.2B | $17.3B | $20.5B | $27.0B | $20.6B | $26.0B | $10.0B | $9.3B | $7.0B | $6.2B | $4.4B |
| P/E Ratio → | 59.68 | 62.83 | 22.01 | 38.25 | 31.69 | 137.64 | 31.25 | 25.37 | 21.90 | 21.86 | 16.17 |
| P/S Ratio | 1.61 | 1.74 | 2.10 | 2.88 | 2.07 | 3.85 | 3.71 | 3.34 | 2.72 | 3.50 | 2.55 |
| P/B Ratio | 1.49 | 1.57 | 1.83 | 2.53 | 1.89 | 2.61 | 5.62 | 5.78 | 5.22 | 5.00 | 4.49 |
| P/FCF | 15.37 | 16.69 | 15.57 | 22.95 | 38.04 | 28.67 | 19.11 | 25.86 | 32.80 | 126.32 | 19.58 |
| P/OCF | 12.79 | 13.89 | 13.53 | 20.17 | 28.44 | 25.42 | 17.47 | 22.68 | 26.79 | 126.25 | 16.36 |
P/E links to full P/E history page with 30-year chart
Enterprise-value multiples — capital-structure-neutral measures of total business value
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV / Revenue | — | 2.10 | 2.47 | 3.32 | 2.66 | 4.74 | 3.57 | 3.31 | 2.71 | 3.54 | 2.64 |
| EV / EBITDA | 11.58 | 12.40 | 12.91 | 17.49 | 14.58 | 35.15 | 20.54 | 17.69 | 16.00 | 15.57 | 11.85 |
| EV / EBIT | 15.96 | 39.26 | 19.04 | 28.84 | 25.78 | 68.52 | 25.32 | 21.11 | 18.58 | 18.26 | 13.75 |
| EV / FCF | — | 20.07 | 18.31 | 26.44 | 48.82 | 35.32 | 18.36 | 25.68 | 32.59 | 127.68 | 20.30 |
Margins and return-on-capital ratios measuring operating efficiency
Full margin charts and quarterly trend are on the Earnings History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 26.4% | 26.4% | 29.4% | 29.6% | 28.6% | 27.5% | 28.9% | 29.6% | 29.6% | 41.3% | 42.3% |
| Operating Margin | 12.3% | 12.3% | 13.3% | 11.8% | 10.3% | 6.9% | 14.0% | 15.4% | 14.4% | 19.2% | 18.7% |
| Net Profit Margin | 2.8% | 2.8% | 9.6% | 7.5% | 6.5% | 2.8% | 11.7% | 13.3% | 12.4% | 16.0% | 15.7% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | 2.5% | 2.5% | 8.4% | 6.9% | 6.1% | 3.1% | 18.9% | 25.2% | 25.0% | 25.9% | 30.7% |
| ROA | 1.4% | 1.4% | 4.7% | 3.6% | 2.9% | 1.5% | 10.3% | 14.2% | 14.2% | 14.0% | 14.8% |
| ROIC | 6.2% | 6.2% | 6.5% | 5.6% | 4.6% | 3.9% | 19.6% | 22.7% | 21.5% | 21.2% | 22.1% |
| ROCE | 7.5% | 7.5% | 7.8% | 6.7% | 5.4% | 4.4% | 19.2% | 24.6% | 22.2% | 22.9% | 25.2% |
Solvency and debt-coverage ratios — lower is generally safer
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt / Equity | 0.39 | 0.39 | 0.38 | 0.43 | 0.57 | 0.70 | 0.23 | 0.28 | 0.26 | 0.28 | 0.37 |
| Debt / EBITDA | 2.55 | 2.55 | 2.27 | 2.55 | 3.43 | 7.64 | 0.89 | 0.87 | 0.80 | 0.87 | 0.94 |
| Net Debt / Equity | — | 0.32 | 0.32 | 0.39 | 0.53 | 0.61 | -0.22 | -0.04 | -0.03 | 0.05 | 0.17 |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | 2.08 | 2.08 | 1.93 | 2.31 | 3.22 | 6.62 | -0.84 | -0.13 | -0.11 | 0.17 | 0.42 |
| Debt / FCF | — | 3.37 | 2.74 | 3.49 | 10.78 | 6.65 | -0.75 | -0.18 | -0.22 | 1.36 | 0.72 |
| Interest Coverage | 2.34 | 2.34 | 4.53 | 2.78 | 3.47 | 2.08 | 30.28 | 33.16 | 28.00 | 26.98 | 24.59 |
Short-term solvency ratios and asset-utilisation metrics
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | 1.10 | 1.10 | 1.26 | 1.21 | 1.20 | 1.19 | 1.87 | 1.44 | 2.18 | 1.95 | 1.94 |
| Quick Ratio | 1.10 | 1.10 | 1.26 | 1.21 | 1.20 | 1.19 | 1.87 | 1.43 | 2.17 | 1.94 | 1.93 |
| Cash Ratio | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.19 | 0.13 | 0.11 | 0.30 | 0.75 | 0.50 | 0.75 | 0.64 | 0.53 |
| Asset Turnover | — | 0.51 | 0.49 | 0.48 | 0.45 | 0.32 | 0.81 | 0.97 | 1.10 | 0.80 | 0.91 |
| Inventory Turnover | — | — | — | — | 782.54 | — | — | 616.92 | 794.04 | 468.85 | 400.56 |
| Days Sales Outstanding | — | 121.61 | 125.66 | 130.32 | 132.09 | 138.05 | 157.55 | 131.85 | 117.78 | 146.58 | 145.04 |
Earnings, FCF, buyback, and dividend yields — total returns to shareholders
Full dividend history and growth charts are on the Dividend History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Payout Ratio | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings Yield | 1.7% | 1.6% | 4.5% | 2.6% | 3.2% | 0.7% | 3.2% | 3.9% | 4.6% | 4.6% | 6.2% |
| FCF Yield | 6.5% | 6.0% | 6.4% | 4.4% | 2.6% | 3.5% | 5.2% | 3.9% | 3.0% | 0.8% | 5.1% |
| Buyback Yield | 5.7% | 5.2% | 2.9% | 0.0% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 2.2% | 2.6% |
| Total Shareholder Yield | 5.7% | 5.2% | 2.9% | 0.0% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 2.2% | 2.6% |
| Shares Outstanding | — | $79M | $83M | $83M | $82M | $68M | $53M | $54M | $55M | $55M | $56M |
Margin compression from labor
According to current market data, ICON trades at a TTM P/E of 58.57, which appears significantly disconnected from its recent revenue stagnation and suggests that investors are pricing in a recovery that is not yet supported by the company's reported quarterly financial performance metrics.
The forward P/E of 16.01 implies a market expectation of rapid earnings normalization, yet this valuation fails to account for the persistent margin pressure observed in recent quarters. Investors should monitor whether this valuation gap reflects a mispricing of the company's long-term competitive moat or an overestimation of its ability to convert backlog into high-margin revenue.
As reported in financial statements, ICON's operating margin has compressed to 12.27%, a trend that highlights the difficulty of maintaining profitability in a labor-intensive service model where rising costs for specialized clinical research talent are not being fully offset by current contract pricing structures.
The significant spread between operating margins and the 2.78% net margin suggests that non-operating expenses, likely related to acquisition integration and debt servicing, are heavily weighing on bottom-line results. This level of profitability appears weak compared to peers like Medpace, indicating that ICON's scale may be creating complexity rather than the intended operating leverage.
Based on the provided figures, ICON's ROIC has trended downward to 1.1% in 2026Q1, a decline that suggests the company is struggling to generate adequate returns on the massive capital deployed for the PRA Health Sciences acquisition, failing to meet the cost of capital threshold.
The persistent decay in ROIC indicates that the company's M&A-heavy strategy has yet to yield the expected synergies, resulting in a bloated asset base that is not contributing to improved earnings power. Analysts should investigate whether this trend is a temporary integration artifact or a structural issue with the company's capital allocation strategy.
According to recent quarterly filings, ICON's Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) remains elevated at 121 days, reflecting significant friction in the cash conversion cycle that limits the company's ability to efficiently turn clinical trial service delivery into realized cash flow for reinvestment or debt reduction.
The lack of improvement in DSO suggests that ICON lacks the leverage to accelerate payments from its pharmaceutical clients, potentially due to the complex, milestone-based nature of its contracts. This inefficiency forces the company to rely more heavily on external financing to manage its working capital needs during periods of stagnant growth.
The most commonly misapplied metric for ICON is the 'contracted backlog,' which investors frequently treat as a guarantee of future revenue, failing to account for the high probability of shadow cancellations in the current volatile biotechnology funding environment as reported in recent industry analysis.
Relying on the backlog figure obscures the reality that these contracts are subject to client-side funding constraints and project delays that do not appear on the balance sheet. A more accurate assessment of ICON's health would focus on the 'Net Book-to-Bill' ratio and the actual rate of conversion, rather than the gross backlog total.
Includes 30+ ratios · 28 years · Updated daily
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Quick answers to the most common questions about buying ICLR stock.
ICON Public Limited Company's current P/E ratio is 59.7x. The historical average is 25.7x. This places it at the 93th percentile of its historical range.
ICON Public Limited Company's current EV/EBITDA is 11.6x. This enterprise value multiple compares the company's total value (equity + debt - cash) to its EBITDA. The historical average is 11.2x.
ICON Public Limited Company's return on equity (ROE) is 2.5%. The historical average is 14.2%.
Based on historical data, ICON Public Limited Company is trading at a P/E of 59.7x. This is at the 93th percentile of its historical P/E range. Compare with industry peers and growth rates for a complete picture.
ICON Public Limited Company has 26.4% gross margin and 12.3% operating margin. Operating margin between 10-20% is typical for established companies.
ICON Public Limited Company's Debt/EBITDA ratio is 2.5x, indicating moderate leverage. A ratio between 2-4x is manageable but warrants monitoring.