Analyzing Cencora (NYSE:COR) & Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR)

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) and Cencora (NYSE:COR) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Icon has a beta of 1.22, suggesting that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cencora has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Icon and Cencora”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Icon	$8.10 billion	1.64	$791.47 million	$7.39	22.27
Cencora	$638.56 million	110.99	$1.51 billion	$7.95	45.98

Cencora has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Icon. Icon is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cencora, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Icon and Cencora, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Icon	1	9	8	2	2.55
Cencora	0	3	9	0	2.75

Icon presently has a consensus price target of $205.00, suggesting a potential upside of 24.57%. Cencora has a consensus price target of $371.09, suggesting a potential upside of 1.51%. Given Icon’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Icon is more favorable than Cencora.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.6% of Icon shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.5% of Cencora shares are owned by institutional investors. 44.0% of Icon shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.8% of Cencora shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Icon and Cencora’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Icon	7.40%	10.58%	6.01%
Cencora	0.60%	267.36%	4.31%

Summary

Cencora beats Icon on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Icon

ICON Public Limited Company, a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. It also offers clinical development services, including all phases of development, peri and post approval, data solutions, and site and patient access services; clinical trial management, consulting, and contract staffing services; and commercial services comprising clinical development strategy, planning and trial design, full study execution, and post-market commercialization. In addition, the company provides laboratory services, including bionanalytical, biomarker, vaccine, good manufacturing practice, and central laboratory services, as well as full-service and functional service partnerships to customers. Further, it offers adaptive trials, cardiac safety solutions, clinical and scientific operations, consulting and advisory, commercial positioning, decentralized and hybrid clinical trials, early clinical, laboratories, language services, medical imaging, real world intelligence, site and patient, and strategic solutions. The company serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries, as well as government and public health organizations. ICON Public Limited Company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

About Cencora

Cencora, Inc. sources and distributes pharmaceutical products. The company's U.S. Healthcare Solutions segment distributes pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and alternate site pharmacies, and other customers; provides pharmacy management, staffing, and other consulting services; supply management software to retail and institutional healthcare providers; packaging solutions to various institutional and retail healthcare providers; clinical trial support, product post-approval, and commercialization support services; data analytics, outcomes research, and additional services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers; pharmaceuticals, vaccines, parasiticides, diagnostics, micro feed ingredients, and other products to the companion animal and production animal markets; and sales force services to manufacturers. This segment also distributes plasma and other blood products, injectable pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other specialty products; and provides other services to physicians who specialize in various disease states, such as oncology, as well as to other healthcare providers, including hospitals and dialysis clinics. Its International Healthcare Solutions segment offers international pharmaceutical wholesale and related service, and global commercialization services; distributes pharmaceuticals, other healthcare products, and related services to pharmacies, doctors, health centers, and hospitals primarily in Europe; and provides specialty transportation and logistics services for the biopharmaceutical industry. The company was formerly known as AmerisourceBergen Corporation and changed its name to Cencora, Inc. in August 2023. Cencora, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.