Here's What Key Metrics Tell Us About Charles River (CRL) Q4 Earnings

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) reported $994.23 million in revenue for the quarter ended December 2025, representing a year-over-year decline of 0.8%. EPS of $2.39 for the same period compares to $2.66 a year ago.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $985.92 million, representing a surprise of +0.84%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +2.51%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $2.33.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Charles River performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Revenue- Research Models and Services: $206.26 million versus $202.12 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +1% change.
• Revenue- Manufacturing Solutions: $196.4 million compared to the $199.51 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +0.7% year over year.
• Revenue- Discovery and Safety Assessment: $591.57 million versus $585.53 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -2% change.
• Operating income- Research Models and Services- Non-GAAP: $45.22 million compared to the $42.04 million average estimate based on three analysts.
• Operating income- Discovery and Safety Assessment- Non-GAAP: $118.86 million compared to the $142.16 million average estimate based on three analysts.
• Operating income- Manufacturing Solutions- Non-GAAP: $63.07 million versus $50.75 million estimated by three analysts on average.
• Operating income- Unallocated Corporate Overhead: $-71.08 million versus $-53.5 million estimated by three analysts on average.
• Operating income- Research Models and Services: $-69.38 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $30.77 million.
• Operating income- Discovery and Safety Assessment: $84.67 million versus $107.95 million estimated by two analysts on average.
• Operating income- Manufacturing Solutions: $-227.65 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $35.21 million.

View all Key Company Metrics for Charles River here>>>

Shares of Charles River have returned -27.3% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -1.3% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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

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