Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH) Stock Price & How to Invest

Last updated July 2026

Short answer

You can invest in Labcorp Holdings (NYSE: LH) by buying shares or fractional shares at any major broker, through a healthcare ETF that holds it, or as one holding in a thematic basket. Labcorp is one of the two largest clinical laboratory and diagnostics companies in the United States, and owning it is a bet on the steady, high-volume business of running medical tests plus a growing biopharma lab-services arm.

LH stock price

As of 2026-07-24, Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH) last closed at $296.77, up 12.0% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $246.64 and $296.77.

LH last close
$296.77
1 day
+1.98%
1 month
+11.91%
1 year
+12.01%
52-week range
$246.64 to $296.77
Last close
2026-07-24

Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Labcorp Holdings Inc.'s investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.

What does Labcorp Holdings Inc. (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.

The investment picture is that of a defensive, cash-generative healthcare company rather than a high-growth name. Full-year 2025 revenue was about $13.95 billion with net income near $877 million, and management raised 2026 guidance to roughly $14.6 billion to $14.8 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of about $17.70 to $18.35. Growth comes from mid-single-digit organic testing gains, tuck-in acquisitions of hospital outreach labs, specialty and genomic test menus, and steady biopharma demand, while free cash flow funds a dividend and share buybacks. The trade-off is exposure to reimbursement rates, payer mix, and regulatory pricing that can cap the upside.

What's driving Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH)?

1. Recurring diagnostics volume and scale.

Labcorp Diagnostics processes an enormous, recurring stream of routine and specialty tests, which gives the company predictable demand that is relatively insulated from the economic cycle. In Q1 2026 the Diagnostics segment grew about 5.0% with improving margins. Scale advantages in logistics, automation, and payer contracts are hard for smaller labs to match.

2. Hospital-lab acquisitions and outreach deals.

A core part of Labcorp's strategy is acquiring hospital and health-system outreach lab businesses and managing lab operations under long-term agreements. These tuck-in deals add volume and geographic density without building new infrastructure from scratch. Because hospital labs still control more than half of US testing volume, this pipeline is a durable growth avenue.

3. Biopharma laboratory services.

The Labcorp Biopharma Laboratory Services segment supports drug developers with central-lab and early-development testing tied to clinical trials, and it grew about 8.2% in Q1 2026. This arm diversifies revenue beyond routine patient testing and links Labcorp to pharma and biotech research budgets. Demand here tracks industry R&D spending and clinical-trial activity.

4. Margin expansion and capital returns.

Management is targeting adjusted operating-margin improvement through automation, its Launchpad efficiency program, and menu mix toward higher-value specialty and genomic tests. Free cash flow funds a dividend and buybacks, including completion of a multi-year repurchase program in early 2026. Raised 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of roughly $17.70 to $18.35 reflects this combination of growth and cost discipline.

What are the risks to Labcorp Holdings Inc. (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.

How is Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH) valued? (approximate, JULY 2026)

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Labcorp Holdings Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.

  • Revenue (FY2025): ~$13.95 billion
  • Revenue guidance (FY2026): ~$14.6-14.8 billion
  • Net income (FY2025): ~$877 million
  • Adjusted EPS guidance (FY2026): ~$17.70-18.35
  • Market cap: ~$24 billion
  • P/E (trailing / forward): ~26x / ~16x

As of July 2026 Labcorp traded near $296 per share for a market cap around $24 billion, close to a 52-week high. The trailing P/E near 26x compresses to roughly 16x on 2026 adjusted EPS guidance, a valuation that sits below many healthcare peers. That reflects steady mid-single-digit revenue growth rather than rapid expansion, plus a modest dividend and buyback program.

Who competes with Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH)?

Independent clinical labs

Quest Diagnostics is Labcorp's closest peer, a similarly scaled national lab network competing for physician, hospital, and consumer testing volume. Sonic Healthcare and BioReference are additional independent competitors, with smaller players focusing on niche or regional testing.

Diagnostics and life-science tools

Companies like Abbott, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Roche supply testing platforms, instruments, and reagents, and some compete directly in molecular, point-of-care, and specialty diagnostics that overlap with Labcorp's menu.

Hospital and health-system labs

In-house hospital laboratories control more than half of US testing volume and are both competitors and acquisition targets. Labcorp often partners with or buys their outreach businesses rather than competing head-on.

How to invest in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH)

There are three common ways to get LH exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so LH sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where LH fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

The bottom line on Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH)

Labcorp is a defensive large-cap diagnostics operator whose investment picture rests on recurring testing volume, hospital-lab acquisitions, and margin expansion, with reimbursement pressure and payer dynamics as the main offsetting risks.

More on Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH)

Whether LH is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is LH a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the LH stock forecast.

For income investors, whether LH pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does LH pay a dividend?

Build a basket around LH with Walnut

Use Labcorp Holdings Inc. as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.

FAQ

What does Labcorp do?

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Labcorp runs clinical laboratory tests for doctors, hospitals, and patients through its Diagnostics segment, and provides central-lab and early-development testing for drug developers through its Biopharma Laboratory Services segment. It is one of the two largest independent lab networks in the United States.

What is Labcorp's ticker and where is it listed?

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Labcorp Holdings trades under the ticker LH on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It is a large-cap US healthcare company and a component of major indexes including the S&P 500.

How does Labcorp make money?

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The majority of revenue comes from routine and specialty clinical testing reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurers, plus patient payments. A meaningful additional slice comes from biopharma lab services tied to clinical trials and drug development.

How big is Labcorp?

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Labcorp reported about $13.95 billion in revenue for full-year 2025 and guides to roughly $14.6 to $14.8 billion for 2026. As of July 2026 its market capitalization was around $24 billion.

Who are Labcorp's main competitors?

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Its closest competitor is Quest Diagnostics, another national independent lab. It also competes with hospital and health-system labs, regional labs like BioReference and Sonic Healthcare, and diagnostics platform makers such as Abbott, Roche, and Thermo Fisher.

Does Labcorp pay a dividend?

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Yes, Labcorp pays a quarterly cash dividend, though the yield is modest at roughly 1%. The company also returns capital through share buybacks, having completed a multi-year repurchase program in early 2026.

What are the main risks of investing in Labcorp?

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Key risks include reimbursement and pricing pressure from government and commercial payers, competition from Quest and hospital labs, rising labor and integration costs, softer pharma R&D spending, and regulatory changes affecting laboratory-developed tests.

How can I invest in Labcorp?

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You can buy LH shares or fractional shares through any major brokerage, gain exposure through healthcare and diagnostics ETFs that hold it, or include it as one constituent in a thematic basket. Walnut is not an investment adviser, so any decision should fit your own goals and research.

Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Labcorp Holdings Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.