LH vs MYGN: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Last updated October 2026

Short answer

LH is the larger of the two ($25.79B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (16.03x forward earnings, beta 0.85). MYGN is the smaller challenger ($548.07M), priced similarly on forward earnings (-9.73x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.

LH vs MYGN: the tie-breaker metrics

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 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.

Metric	LH	MYGN	What it tells you
Market cap	$25.79B	$548.07M	Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove.
Forward P/E	16.03	-9.73	Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up.
Beta	0.85	1.64	Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through.
Price vs 52-week range	75% of range	52% of range	Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why.
Price / book	2.99	1.80	How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price.

Before you buy: how LH and MYGN affect your concentration

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. LH and MYGN 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 LH and MYGN 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.

What does Labcorp Holdings (LH) do?

Labcorp Holdings is a leading US healthcare diagnostics company that runs clinical laboratory tests for physicians, hospitals, health systems, and patients, and also provides laboratory services to pharmaceutical and biotech firms running clinical trials. Its two reporting segments are Labcorp Diagnostics, the routine and specialty testing business that processes millions of patient samples, and Labcorp Biopharma Laboratory Services, which supports drug development with central-lab and early-development testing. Alongside domestic rival Quest Diagnostics, Labcorp is one of the two dominant independent lab networks in the country. The company spun off its clinical-trial contract-research organization, Fortrea, in 2023 to focus on core testing.

Full LH guide

What does Myriad Genetics (MYGN) do?

Myriad Genetics runs a high-complexity laboratory business built on genetic and genomic tests. It reports three franchises. Cancer Care Continuum is the largest at ~$114 million of second-quarter 2026 revenue, anchored by the MyRisk hereditary cancer panel, Prolaris for prostate cancer, EndoPredict for breast cancer, MyChoice CDx (a companion diagnostic for PARP inhibitors) and the newer Precise MRD test that looks for residual cancer DNA in blood. Prenatal Health (~$40 million in the quarter) sells Prequel, Foresight, SneakPeek and FirstGene. Mental Health (~$37 million) is GeneSight, a pharmacogenomic test that helps clinicians choose psychiatric medications. Myriad is paid per test, mostly by commercial insurers and Medicare, so the price it collects matters as much as the number of tests it runs.

Full MYGN guide

LH vs MYGN: how do they differ?

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

LH drivers: Recurring diagnostics volume and scale; Hospital-lab acquisitions and outreach deals.
MYGN drivers: The Labcorp prenatal sale; Hereditary cancer volume versus price.

Which fits which kind of investor

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: Labcorp's biggest risk is reimbursement pressure, since a large share of revenue depends on rates set by Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payers, and legislated fee cuts under frameworks like PAMA can compress pricing. For MYGN, reimbursement is the central risk.

LH or MYGN: which should you pick?

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 LH if you believe its drivers more; MYGN 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 LH and MYGN guides.

LH vs MYGN: the full fundamentals

LH. As of October 16, 2026 Labcorp carried a market cap around $26 billion, up from about $24 billion in July, inside a 52-week range of roughly $245 to $342 per share. The trailing P/E near 26.5x compresses to roughly 16x on forward adjusted earnings, a valuation that sits below many healthcare peers and that reflects steady mid-single-digit revenue growth rather than rapid expansion. Analysts' mean target is about $345 with a buy consensus, and the October 28 third-quarter report is the next test of the full-year guidance.

MYGN. Myriad trades at a fraction of its sales because the market doubts the revenue base is stable. Trailing revenue of ~$807 million combines full-year 2025 revenue of ~$824.5 million with a weaker first half of 2026. There are no meaningful earnings to value: GAAP and adjusted results are both negative in 2026. Cash of ~$115 million roughly offsets ~$121 million of long-term debt, so enterprise value is close to market value. The $210 million Labcorp proceeds, if the deal closes, would equal roughly 40% of the post-announcement market value.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): LH shows revenue (ttm) ~$14.35 billion (Q2 2026 +5.8% YoY), revenue guidance (fy2026) ~$14.6-14.8 billion (consensus ~$14.75 billion), net income (ttm) ~$1.0 billion (EPS ~$12.09), adjusted eps (fy2026) guidance ~$17.70-18.35; consensus ~$18.35; MYGN shows revenue (ttm) ~$807 million, 2026 revenue guidance $770 to $790 million, net loss (first half 2026) ~$77 million, adjusted gross margin (q2 2026) ~67%.

The bottom line: LH vs MYGN

LH and MYGN 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 LH and MYGN exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.

Wondering how LH or MYGN fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.

Investing in Labcorp Holdings with AI

Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how LH fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.

Does LH fit me?

FAQ

What is the difference between LH and MYGN?

Is LH or MYGN the better stock?

Neither is universally better. LH is the larger incumbent; MYGN is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.

Which is cheaper, LH or MYGN?

On forward P/E (as of October 2026), LH trades at 16.03x and MYGN at -9.73x, so MYGN is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.

Should you own both LH and MYGN?

Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.

What are the risks of LH vs MYGN?

LH: Labcorp's biggest risk is reimbursement pressure, since a large share of revenue depends on rates set by Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payers, and legislated fee cuts under frameworks like PAMA can compress pricing. Payer mix and volume shifts, including the rise of at-home and point-of-care testing, could erode walk-in and routine-test revenue over time. The business is capital and labor intensive, so wage inflation and integration costs from acquisitions can weigh on margins. Biopharma demand is tied to pharma R&D budgets and clinical-trial activity, which can soften in a funding downturn. Regulatory changes around laboratory-developed tests and ongoing competition from Quest Diagnostics and hospital systems add further uncertainty. The balance sheet is more leveraged than the defensive label suggests, with about $6.8 billion of debt against about $142 million of cash at mid-2026, which limits room for large acquisitions without more borrowing. MYGN: Reimbursement is the central risk. Myriad's revenue fell ~11% in the second quarter on nearly flat volume, which shows how sensitive it is to what payers actually pay. CMS's proposed 2027 Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule includes cuts of up to ~15% on some codes Myriad uses; one analyst called the impact minimal, but the final numbers are not set. GeneSight lost UnitedHealthcare coverage in 2025, a reminder that a single payer decision can hit a franchise. The company is losing money: the first half of 2026 produced a ~$77 million GAAP net loss and ~$21 million of negative adjusted EBITDA, with cash down from ~$150 million to ~$115 million in six months. Competition in hereditary testing and MRD comes from larger, better funded labs. The prenatal sale may not close, or may close late, and losing ~$160 million of revenue makes the remaining company smaller and more concentrated. Law firms announced investigations after the July guidance cut; these are solicitations, not filed suits, but they can become one. The stock is highly volatile, with more than 40 daily moves above 5% in the past year.

Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell LH or MYGN; figures are approximate and dated (as of October 2026). Verify current data before investing.