Labcorp Raises 2026 Guidance as Q3 Adjusted EPS Climbs 14.5%

Labcorp Holdings reported revenue of $3.81 billion for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, up 6.9% from $3.56 billion a year earlier, and raised its full-year 2026 enterprise revenue and adjusted earnings-per-share guidance, according to the company’s third-quarter earnings release published October 28, 2026. Diluted EPS was $3.22, up 3.3% from $3.12, while adjusted EPS was $4.78, up 14.5% from $4.18. Net earnings attributable to the company were $262.8 million, compared with $261.1 million in the prior-year quarter.

The 6.9% revenue increase consisted of 5.5% organic growth, a 1.5% contribution from acquisitions net of divestitures, and a 0.1% negative foreign-exchange impact. On a constant-currency basis, enterprise revenue grew 7.0%, with foreign exchange reducing reported revenue by $5 million, per the company’s supplemental financial presentation. Operating income was $402.1 million, or 10.6% of revenue, versus $396.6 million, or 11.1%, a year earlier. Adjusted operating income rose to $570.0 million, or 15.0% of revenue, from $513.3 million, or 14.4%; the company attributed the increase to organic growth and operating efficiencies.

“Labcorp delivered another strong quarter with 7% revenue growth, continued margin expansion and 14.5% adjusted EPS growth, leading to a raise in our full-year guidance,” said Adam Schechter, chairman and CEO of Labcorp.

For the first nine months of 2026, revenue was $11,078.7 million versus $10,435.9 million, up 6.2%. Nine-month diluted EPS was $10.22 versus $8.48, and adjusted EPS was $14.02 versus $12.37, up 13.4%. Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $671.4 million, compared with $610.3 million in the same period of 2025, according to the supplemental presentation.

Diagnostics and Biopharma Segment Results

Diagnostics Laboratories revenue was $2,948.9 million, up 6.5% from $2,769.6 million, reflecting 4.4% organic growth, a 2.2% contribution from acquisitions net of divestitures, and a 0.1% negative foreign-exchange impact. Total requisition volume increased 4.8% and price/mix rose 1.7% versus the third quarter of 2025; organic volume grew 3.1% and organic price/mix 1.3%. Segment adjusted operating income was $491.6 million, a 16.7% margin versus 16.3% a year earlier. Esoteric tests represented 41.9% of Diagnostics revenue in the quarter, up from 41.4% a year earlier, and the quarter carried a favorable revenue-day variance of 0.25 day, per the supplemental presentation.

Biopharma Laboratory Services revenue was $866.7 million, up 8.5% from $799.1 million, with organic growth of 9.6%. Central Laboratories revenue grew 11.5% while Early Development revenue grew 0.4%; in dollar terms, Central Laboratories generated $645.9 million and Early Development $220.8 million. Segment adjusted operating income was $159.0 million, an 18.3% margin versus 16.5%, an improvement of 180 basis points that the company attributed to organic growth and operating efficiencies from strategic actions taken in Early Development.

Biopharma trailing-twelve-month net orders were $3.59 billion with a book-to-bill of 1.10, while quarterly net orders were $981.1 million with a quarterly book-to-bill of 1.13. Backlog stood at $8.92 billion as of September 30, 2026, up 3.9% from a year earlier, with $2.82 billion expected to convert to revenue over the next twelve months. Diagnostics accounted for 77.3% of third-quarter revenue and Biopharma 22.7%, with the United States representing 83.2% of revenue, per the supplemental presentation.

Operating cash flow was $563.8 million versus $387.2 million a year earlier, capital expenditures were $151.6 million versus $106.7 million, and free cash flow was $412.2 million versus $280.5 million. The company said the free cash flow increase was driven primarily by working-capital improvement, partially offset by planned capital-expenditure increases. At quarter end, cash and cash equivalents totaled $261.8 million and total debt was $5.85 billion; net debt to trailing-twelve-month adjusted EBITDA was 2.2x, per the supplemental presentation.

During the quarter, Labcorp invested $255.5 million in acquisitions and paid $58.2 million in dividends. On October 21, 2026, the company announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.72 per share, payable December 11, 2026, to stockholders of record at the close of business on November 24, 2026. The company reported $1.4 billion remaining under its board-authorized share repurchase program.

Labcorp raised full-year 2026 enterprise revenue guidance to a range of $14,779 million to $14,887 million, representing growth of 5.9% to 6.7%, from the prior range of $14,710 million to $14,827 million, or 5.4% to 6.3% growth, an increase of 50 basis points at the midpoint. Adjusted EPS guidance moved to $18.30 to $18.70 from $18.10 to $18.55, up 18 cents at the midpoint. Free cash flow guidance was unchanged at $1,240 million to $1,360 million. Diagnostics Laboratories revenue guidance was set at $11,475 million to $11,551 million, growth of 5.5% to 6.2%, while Biopharma Laboratory Services guidance rose to $3,328 million to $3,358 million, growth of 7.4% to 8.4%, from $3,269 million to $3,300 million. The guidance assumes foreign-exchange rates effective September 30, 2026, includes an estimated foreign-currency translation impact of 0.3% at the enterprise level and 1.3% in Biopharma, and bases growth on 2025 enterprise revenue of $13,952 million.

Acquisitions and Specialty Testing Developments

The company announced or closed four transactions in the period and said it expects each to be accretive to adjusted EPS in year one and to return cost of capital by year three. Labcorp acquired MLM Medical Labs, a central and specialty laboratory provider with operations in the United States, Germany and South Africa. Subsequent to quarter end, it signed three agreements, each subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions: one for select assets of BioReference Health’s laboratory testing businesses focused on clinical and women’s health testing services, urology, corrections and certain operational assets; one with Myriad Genetics (MYGN ) to acquire its Prenatal Health testing business, including the Prequel, Foresight, SneakPeek and FirstGene tests; and one to acquire Millennium Health, an accredited specialty laboratory with more than 15 years of experience in drug testing and surveillance.

On the regulatory and product side, Labcorp received FDA approval of PGDx elio tissue complete CDx as a companion diagnostic to help identify patients with advanced melanoma, announced a collaboration with the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University on a clinical study evaluating Plasma Detect Genome MRD Ultra in muscle-invasive bladder cancer, and added a hepatitis D reflex testing option to its hepatitis portfolio. Subsequent to the quarter, the company launched the FDA-cleared Elecsys pTau-217 blood test for Alzheimer’s disease testing and announced a collaboration with Waters Corporation (WAT ) that, the company said, positions Labcorp as the first commercial laboratory to offer the FDA-approved BD Onclarity HPV assay across clinician- and self-collected screening options. The Labcorp OnDemand consumer portfolio now includes over 140 panels and tests following the launch of the Advanced Health Panel, the Marker by Labcorp Genetic Health Panel, and the Thrive 5 Health Test with Thrive Global.