CAI vs TEM: How Caris Life Sciences and Tempus AI Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CAI and TEM share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CAI and TEM exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Caris Life Sciences, Inc. is an Irving, Texas based precision-medicine company that sequences tumors and blood to guide cancer treatment. Its core service is comprehensive molecular profiling: the MI Profile platform runs whole exome and whole transcriptome sequencing on tissue, while the Caris Assure platform does blood-based profiling, and newer assays extend into whole genome sequencing, minimal residual disease monitoring (Caris WGS MRD), hematologic profiling (Caris ChromoSeq) and multi-cancer early detection (Caris Detect). Alongside the clinical lab business, Caris licenses access to its multi-modal molecular and clinical database and runs research services for pharmaceutical partners, which is the second revenue line and the reason the company describes itself as an AI or TechBio company rather than a lab.

Full CAI guide

Tempus AI (NASDAQ: TEM) is a Chicago-based technology company that applies artificial intelligence to precision medicine, primarily in oncology but increasingly across cardiology, neuropsychiatry, and hereditary conditions. It operates two interconnected business lines: a diagnostics segment that performs next-generation sequencing (NGS), PCR profiling, molecular pathology, and hereditary genetic tests through CAP-accredited, CLIA-certified laboratories, charging on a per-test basis; and a Data and Applications segment that licenses de-identified, linked clinical, molecular, and imaging datasets to life sciences companies (Insights), offers clinical trial matching (Trials), and deploys AI-powered algorithm products for physicians (Algos) and an AI platform called Next. Approximately 95% of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies use Tempus data or trial services, and the platform has integrations across more than 7,000 physicians and hundreds of research partners, creating a self-reinforcing network where clinical volume generates data that improves AI models and attracts more customers.

Full TEM guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• CAI drivers: Reimbursement-driven pricing (ASP); Volume growth and the shift to blood.
• TEM drivers: Explosive Revenue Growth with a Clear Path to Profitability; Data Licensing as a High-Margin Flywheel.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The clearest risk is reimbursement: a large share of recent revenue growth came from price rather than volume, and coverage decisions, rate resets, or payer pushback could reverse that quickly. For TEM, tempus remains unprofitable on a GAAP basis, with a full-year 2025 net loss of $245 million (which included $136 million in stock-based compensation), and the path to sustained GAAP profitability is long; Q1 2026 showed a net loss of $125.9 million, widening 85% year-over-year, and EPS missed analyst estimates by 34%.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CAI if you believe its drivers more; TEM if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CAI and TEM guides.

CAI. Caris has no meaningful earnings multiple because it is only now reaching breakeven on a GAAP basis, so the market prices it on sales and on the durability of the pricing gains behind them. At roughly 5 times trailing revenue the stock is far below where it traded shortly after the June 2025 IPO, when the 52-week high reached ~$42.50 against a recent ~$16 price. Gross margin has widened toward the mid-60s percent range from the high-40s a year earlier, which is the other half of why losses collapsed.

TEM. Tempus trades at roughly 6.6 times trailing twelve-month revenue, a premium that reflects the market pricing in a future where its data-licensing flywheel generates high-margin recurring revenue at scale. The P/E ratio is not meaningful today because the company is not yet GAAP profitable, but consensus estimates suggest the first meaningful earnings could arrive by 2028, and the company's own guidance calls for positive Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $65 million in 2026. The gross margin of approximately 63% is already at software-like levels and has expanded significantly as the higher-margin Data and Applications segment grows faster than diagnostics.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): CAI shows revenue (ttm) ~$907M (+~100% YoY), q1 2026 revenue ~$216M (+~79% YoY), 2026 revenue guidance ~$1.00B to $1.02B (+~23% to 26%), q1 2026 adjusted ebitda ~$26M (fourth straight positive quarter); TEM shows revenue (fy2025, reported) ~$1.27 billion, revenue (ttm, as of q1 2026) ~$1.36 billion, q1 2026 revenue (most recent quarter) ~$348 million (up 36% YoY), gross margin (fy2025) ~63%.

CAI and TEM are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CAI and TEM exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.