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Quest Diagnostics (DGX)
NYSE:DGX
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Quest Diagnostics (DGX) AI Stock Analysis

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DGX

Quest Diagnostics

(NYSE:DGX)

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Outperform 70 (OpenAI - 5.2)
Rating:70Outperform
Price Target:
$213.00
▲(9.22% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:05/22/26
The score is driven primarily by solid underlying financial stability (steady margins, positive free cash flow, improving but still notable leverage) and a strong, guidance-raising earnings update pointing to continued growth and margin expansion. Technical signals are mixed/neutral and valuation is reasonable rather than compelling, keeping the overall rating in the solid-but-not-top-tier range.
Positive Factors
National scale and diversified customer base
A nationwide lab network and broad customer mix (physicians, hospitals, plans, employers, consumers) provide durable scale advantages: lower unit costs, bargaining leverage with payers, and multiple revenue channels that stabilize volumes across local demand cycles and support long-term margin resilience.
Negative Factors
Meaningful leverage despite improvement
Debt near parity with equity constrains financial flexibility for larger M&A, faster share repurchases, or step-up investments. Although leverage has improved from earlier levels, the still-meaningful debt load increases sensitivity to cash flow volatility and limits the firm’s ability to pursue opportunistic strategic moves without raising additional capital.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
National scale and diversified customer base
A nationwide lab network and broad customer mix (physicians, hospitals, plans, employers, consumers) provide durable scale advantages: lower unit costs, bargaining leverage with payers, and multiple revenue channels that stabilize volumes across local demand cycles and support long-term margin resilience.
Read all positive factors

Quest Diagnostics Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Any
Any
Revenue by Segment
Revenue by Segment
Shows the revenue contribution from each business segment, indicating which areas are the most lucrative and where the company might focus future growth efforts.
Chart InsightsDIS has meaningfully rebounded through 2024–25 and is the engine of Quest’s revenue recovery—driven by strong volume, consumer channel gains, advanced-diagnostics adoption and new CoLab/Fresenius business—while DS remains flat-to-down, contributing little to growth. Management’s 2026 guide anticipates continued top‑line momentum but flags that the Corewell CoLab ramp and some high-volume, lower rev-per-requisition relationships will be dilutive to near‑term margins even as automation and cost programs aim to expand operating margin overall.
Data provided by:The Fly

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)

Quest Diagnostics Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced cl...
How the Company Makes Money
Quest Diagnostics primarily makes money by performing diagnostic tests and related services and receiving reimbursement from commercial insurers, government payers (e.g., Medicare/Medicaid), hospitals/health systems, employers, and out-of-pocket p...

Quest Diagnostics Earnings Call Summary

Earnings Call Date:Apr 21, 2026
(Q1-2026)
|
% Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 28, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call reported broadly strong commercial and operational performance: double-digit volume growth, ~9% organic revenue growth, margin expansion on an adjusted basis, AI/automation-driven productivity gains, and raised full‑year guidance. Near-term headwinds include mix-driven revenue-per-requisition pressure from large collaboration ramps, lower Q1 cash flow, wage/weather/fuel cost impacts, Project Nova investment dilution, and ongoing regulatory/Medicare rate uncertainty. Overall, the positives (revenue/volume growth, EPS improvement, strategic partnerships and productivity gains) outweigh the described challenges.
Positive Updates
Strong Revenue Growth
Consolidated revenues of $2.9 billion, up 9.2% year-over-year; consolidated organic revenue growth of 9.0% in Q1.
Negative Updates
Revenue per Requisition Impacted by Business Mix
Total revenue per requisition declined 1.3% year-over-year due to a higher proportion of routine tests from Fresenius and Corewell collaborations; excluding those relationships, revenue per requisition rose ~2.5%.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Negative
Strong Revenue Growth
Consolidated revenues of $2.9 billion, up 9.2% year-over-year; consolidated organic revenue growth of 9.0% in Q1.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Quest raised full-year 2026 guidance to revenues of $11.78–$11.90 billion (growth 6.8%–7.8%), reported EPS $9.58–$9.78 and adjusted EPS $10.63–$10.83; cash from operations ~ $1.75 billion; capital expenditures ~ $550 million; share count and interest expense assumed consistent with 2025; operating margin expected to expand and guidance excludes prospective M&A. Management embedded contributions from Corewell (~$250M) and Fresenius (~$80–$100M) — together ~3.3% of revenue in the guide — and noted Project Nova dilution of ~$0.25 in 2026 (with >60% of Nova expenses in H2 and first wave rollout in fall 2027), an embedded fuel headwind of $7M–$10M (~$0.05–$0.07 EPS), and a continued Invigorate target of ~3% annual cost savings; the raise is supported by Q1 results (Q1 revenue $2.9B, +9.2%; organic revenue +9%; Q1 adjusted EPS $2.50, ~13% growth; adjusted operating margin 15.4%; total volume +10.9%).

Quest Diagnostics Financial Statement Overview

Summary
Fundamentals are resilient but not accelerating: revenue has returned to modest growth and margins are stable (TTM net margin ~9%, EBIT margin ~14.6%). Balance sheet leverage remains meaningful (debt-to-equity ~0.96) though improving, and cash flow is consistently positive but with softer recent conversion (OCF below net income; FCF ~72% of net income) and slightly negative TTM FCF growth.
Income Statement
74
Positive
Balance Sheet
68
Positive
Cash Flow
63
Positive
BreakdownTTMDec 2025Dec 2024Dec 2023Dec 2022Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue11.28B11.04B9.87B9.25B9.88B10.79B
Gross Profit3.75B3.52B3.24B3.07B3.43B4.21B
EBITDA1.98B2.19B1.89B1.73B1.82B3.16B
Net Income1.02B992.00M871.00M854.00M946.00M2.00B
Balance Sheet
Total Assets16.67B16.23B16.15B14.02B12.84B13.61B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments393.00M420.00M549.00M686.00M315.00M872.00M
Total Debt6.98B6.92B7.09B5.50B4.71B4.77B
Total Liabilities9.01B8.94B9.26B7.60B6.83B7.05B
Stockholders Equity7.37B7.17B6.78B6.31B5.89B6.44B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow1.33B1.36B909.00M864.00M1.31B1.83B
Operating Cash Flow1.85B1.89B1.33B1.27B1.72B2.23B
Investing Cash Flow-668.00M-631.00M-2.55B-1.06B-543.00M21.00M
Financing Cash Flow-979.00M-1.39B1.08B160.00M-1.73B-2.54B

Quest Diagnostics Technical Analysis

Technical Analysis Sentiment
Positive
Last Price195.02
Price Trends
50DMA
194.08
Positive
100DMA
193.75
Positive
200DMA
186.97
Positive
Market Momentum
MACD
-0.03
Negative
RSI
56.39
Neutral
STOCH
75.56
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For DGX, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 195.02 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 191.40, above the 50-day MA of 194.08, and above the 200-day MA of 186.97, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of -0.03 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 56.39 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 75.56 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for DGX.

Quest Diagnostics Risk Analysis

Quest Diagnostics disclosed 27 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Quest Diagnostics reported the most risks in the "Tech & Innovation" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks

Quest Diagnostics Peers Comparison

Overall Rating
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (51)
Financial Indicators
Name
Overall Rating
Market Cap
P/E Ratio
ROE
Dividend Yield
Revenue Growth
EPS Growth
70
Outperform
$21.47B21.0814.11%1.80%11.03%14.34%
69
Neutral
$33.60B67.048.04%26.39%-28.79%
65
Neutral
$7.45B18.8611.28%3.31%4.79%333.61%
63
Neutral
$29.09B-133.76-15.13%36.59%-11.94%
56
Neutral
$16.91B-40.37184.27%39.56%-0.63%
51
Neutral
$7.86B-0.30-43.30%2.27%22.53%-2.21%
* Healthcare Sector Average
Performance Comparison
Ticker
Company Name
Price
Change
% Change
DGX
Quest Diagnostics
196.20
25.93
15.23%
QGEN
Qiagen
36.64
-8.33
-18.53%
WAT
Waters
366.67
17.43
4.99%
NTRA
Natera
213.94
56.21
35.64%
GH
Guardant Health
133.22
92.60
227.97%

Quest Diagnostics Corporate Events

Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board ChangesShareholder Meetings
Quest Diagnostics Shareholders Back Board, Pay and Auditor
Positive
May 21, 2026
At its May 20, 2026 annual meeting of stockholders, Quest Diagnostics shareholders elected all nominated directors to serve until the 2027 annual meeting, with candidates including Robert B. Carter, James E. Davis, Luis A. Diaz, Jr., M.D., and CEO...
Private Placements and Financing
Quest Diagnostics Issues $500 Million Senior Unsecured Notes
Neutral
May 8, 2026
On May 6, 2026, Quest Diagnostics issued $500 million of 5.000% senior unsecured notes due June 30, 2036, with interest payable semiannually beginning December 30, 2026. The notes, which rank equally with the company’s other senior unsecured...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Quest Diagnostics Prices $500 Million Senior Notes Offering
Positive
May 1, 2026
On April 27, 2026, Quest Diagnostics priced a $500 million public offering of 5.000% senior notes due 2036 under its shelf registration statement. The company entered into an underwriting agreement with Goldman Sachs Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securiti...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Quest Diagnostics Adds Veteran Healthcare Leader to Board
Positive
Mar 12, 2026
On March 9, 2026, Quest Diagnostics’ board elected Timothy Wentworth, former CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Evernorth Health Services and Express Scripts, as an independent director, expanding the board to 11 members. Wentworth, who receiv...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Disclaimer

This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.Date of analysis: May 22, 2026