Start here if you're new
what it is
IDXX sells diagnostic tests and software for vets, livestock, poultry, dairy, and water labs worldwide.
how it gets paid
Last year Idexx Laboratories made $4.3B in revenue. Companion Animal Group was the main engine at $4.0B, or 92% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 10.4% last year. Recent performance has been fueled by strong momentum in the company’s cornerstone companion animal group business.
what just happened
IDXX posted $3.08 in EPS versus $2.96 expected.
At a glance
A balance sheet — strong enough to weather a downturn
85/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
53.9x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
50.0% return on capital — every dollar works hard here
xvary composite: 75/100 — average
What they do
IDXX sells diagnostic tests and software for vets, livestock, poultry, dairy, and water labs worldwide.
IDXX gets 92% of revenue from companion-animal diagnostics. That means your vet buys the tests, the software, and the workflow from one vendor. Return on capital (profit on money invested) is 50.0%, so each dollar the company puts back to work throws off a lot of profit.
How they make money
$4.3B
annual revenue · their business grew +10.4% last year
Companion Animal Group
$4.0B
Water
$0.2B
Livestock, Poultry & Dairy
$0.1B
The products that matter
diagnostics, consumables, and software
Companion Animal Diagnostics
$4.3B revenue · 100% of sales shown here
it generated $4.3B in revenue last year, which is the whole company in this snapshot, and the business still posted a 34.0% operating margin. When one engine drives everything, execution there is not just important. It's the entire story.
entire story
Key numbers
$607
18-mo target
That is $90.82 below the current $697.82 price. You are paying more than the 18-month target says it is worth.
53.9x
trailing P/E
53.9x means you pay $53.90 for $1 of past profit. That is a steep price for a company already worth $56B.
35.0%
operating margin
35.0% means 35 cents of every sales dollar stays after operating costs. That is a lot of room compared with a plain-vanilla industrial.
50.0%
return on capital
50.0% means the company gets 50 cents of operating profit for every $1 it puts back to work. That is why the market keeps paying up.
Financial health
A
strength
- balance sheet grade A — very strong financial position
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 50 / 100
- long-term debt $375M (1% of capital)
- net profit margin 25.8% — keeps 26 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 57% — $0.57 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A with balance sheet grade and net profit margin standing out. your money faces less risk here than at most public companies.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in IDXX 3 years ago → it's now worth $14,330.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
IDXX posted $3.08 in EPS versus $2.96 expected.
Revenue was $1.09B, and gross margin held at 62.3%. EPS beat by 4.05%, which is the kind of quarter the market still rewards.
$1.09B
revenue
$3.08
eps
62.3%
gross margin
EPS surprise
The $3.08 print topped $2.96 by 4.05%, so the quarter landed on the good side of the tape.
-
idexx laboratories is coming off a strong 2025 campaign.
-
through the first nine months, earnings were up 24% versus the comparable period of 2024.recent performance has been fueled by strong momentum in the company’s cornerstone companion animal group (cag) business, accelerated adoption of its cloud-based software, and a series of successful new product launches.
-
for full-year 2025, leadership was targeting earnings of $12.81-$13.01 a share on reported revenue growth of 9.6%-10.3%.
-
idexx was scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results just as this issue was going to press.
-
the setup seems favorable for continued improvement in 2026.
source: company earnings report, 2026
Get this snapshot in your inbox
This page, delivered free — plus weekly updates when the numbers change. plain english, no spam.
weekly updates
earnings alerts
plain english
no spam
What could go wrong
idexx's risk profile is not about survival. It's about disappointment. A business this consistent, this profitable, and this expensive gets judged on small cracks like they are big ones.
med
valuation compression
The business is excellent. The stock is expensive. Those are two separate facts. IDXX trades at 53.9x trailing earnings and sits above the $607 analyst midpoint.
You do not need the business to break for the stock to fall. A cooler multiple does the job on its own.
med
antitrust overhang
A U.S. judge dismissed most of a consumer lawsuit accusing idexx of anticompetitive practices. That lowered the immediate legal heat, but it did not erase the headline risk around how the company competes in a concentrated niche.
When a $697.82 stock already assumes quality, even legal noise matters more than it would for an average business.
med
margin pressure
The page flags tariff exposure on imported components. We are not given cost splits here, so we are not going to pretend otherwise. The clean version: if input costs rise, a 34.0% operating margin has less room to stay pristine.
This is a margin risk more than a volume risk. Premium multiples notice margin slippage fast.
med
single-engine concentration
This snapshot shows one revenue bucket: $4.3B total revenue. That does not mean the business lacks product depth, but it does mean the visible story here is highly concentrated.
If the core companion-animal diagnostics engine slows, you are not looking at a page full of offsetting segments.
At $697.82, you are paying for durability and clean execution. If growth cools, costs creep, or legal pressure gets louder, the stock has less room for excuses than the business does.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
whether growth stays above 10%
Revenue grew 10.4% last year. At 53.9x trailing earnings, you need that pace to hold up, not fade into something slower.
calendar
FY2026 EPS against $14.45
The stock already assumes more profit next year. If earnings do not reach the $14.45 estimate, the valuation argument gets harder fast.
risk
any new antitrust developments
Most of the consumer lawsuit was dismissed, but the broader issue has not fully disappeared. You own a niche leader, which is usually nice until regulators agree.
trend
price vs. the $607 midpoint
The market is at $697.82 while the street's midpoint is $607. Same business. Different opinion. That gap is the tension in the stock right now.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
top 20%
momentum score 2. Analysts expect above-average price performance in the year ahead. in human-speak: they still like the stock.
risk profile
average
stability score 3. This is not a bunker stock and not a rollercoaster. The business is steadier than the valuation.
chart momentum
top 20%
technical score 2. The tape still looks better than average even with the stock near the high end of its 52-week range.
earnings predictability
85 / 100
Management tends to deliver close to guidance. If you own IDXX, surprises are more likely to come from valuation than from the operating model.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
553 buyers vs. 556 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 72.8M shares.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$351
$863
$698
current price
$607
target midpoint · 13% from current · 3-5yr high: $1055 (+50% · 11% ann'l return)
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
see plans from $5/moThe deep dive