Quest Diagnostics' Q4 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Stock Up

Quest Diagnostics Inc.’s DGX fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.42 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.85%. The metric also exceeded the year-ago adjusted figure by 8.5%.

Certain one-time expenses, like the ones related to amortization expenses, certain restructuring and integration charges, other expenses and excess tax benefits associated with stock-based compensations, were excluded from the quarter’s adjusted figures. GAAP earnings came in at $2.18 per share, up 11.8% from last year’s comparable figure.

For 2025, the company reported an adjusted EPS of $9.85, up 10.3% from the year-ago period’s levels. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.5%.

DGX’s Revenues in Detail

Revenues reported in the fourth quarter rose 7.1% year over year to $2.81 billion. The metric surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.08%.

Diagnostic Information Services revenues in the quarter were up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis to $2.74 billion.

Volumes (measured by the number of requisitions) were up 8.5% year over year in the fourth quarter. Revenue per requisition dropped 0.1% year over year.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Quest Diagnostics Incorporated Quote

For full-year 2025, the company’s revenues were $11.04 billion, reflecting an 11.8% increase from the year-ago period. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1%

DGX shares have gained nearly 2% in pre-market trading following the earnings report.

DGX’s Q4 Margin Performance

The cost of services during the reported quarter was $1.90 billion, up 7.5% year over year. The gross profit came in at $910 million, rising 6.1% year over year. The gross margin decreased 30 basis points (bps) to 32.4%.

SG&A expenses were $504 million in the quarter under review, increasing 8.2% from the fourth quarter of 2024. The adjusted operating margin of 14.5% represented a 49 bps contraction year over year.

DGX’s Financial Position

Quest Diagnostics exited the fourth quarter of 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $420 million compared with $549 million at the end of 2024.

The cumulative net cash provided by operating activities at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025 was $1.89 billion compared with $1.33 billion at the end of 2024.

The company has a five-year annualized dividend growth rate of 6.88%.

DGX’s 2026 Guidance

Quest Diagnostics provided its full-year 2026 outlook. Revenues are expected in the range of $11.70 billion-$11.82 billion, which indicates a year-over-year increase of 6%-7.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $11.35 billion.

Adjusted EPS is expected in the band of $10.50-$10.70. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the metric is pegged at $10.45.

Our View on DGX Stock

Quest Diagnostics ended the fourth quarter of 2025 with better-than-expected earnings and revenues. The performance reflects the company’s ongoing strategic execution to deliver clinical innovations that fulfill customers' needs and to form collaborations supporting growth.

Throughout the year, Quest Diagnostics continued to deploy AI and automation across lab, customer and administrative systems and added innovations to its Advanced Diagnostics portfolio. It also secured a breakthrough device designation for the Haystack MRD test for monitoring patients treated for solid-tumor cancers. The company delivered 3% annual cost savings and productivity improvements through its Invigorate program.

That said, the contraction of both margins in the quarter is discouraging.

DGX’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Quest Diagnostics currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Intuitive Surgical ISRG, Envista NVST and Align Technology ALGN.

Intuitive Surgical, currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), reported a fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of $2.53, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 12.4%. Revenues of $2.87 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.7%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

ISRG has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 15.7% compared with the industry’s 12.7% growth. The company beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 13.24%.

Envista,sporting a Zacks Rank #1 at present, posted a fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of 38 cents, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 18.23%. Revenues of $750.6 million topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 411.16%.

NVST has an earnings yield of 4.7% compared with the industry’s 2.5% yield. The company’s earnings outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.4%.

Align Technology,carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, posted a fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of $3.29, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.1%. Revenues of $1.05 billion outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.3%.

ALGN has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 10.1% compared with the industry’s 9.5% growth. The company’s earnings outpaced estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 6.16%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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