Should You Continue to Hold CRL Stock in Your Portfolio for Now?

December 18, 2025 — 08:36 am EST Written by Zacks Equity Research for Zacks-> Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.’s CRL solid prospects in the Research Models and Services (“RMS”) segment are supported by consistent demand for its research model services. The company expands the scope of its offerings across the drug discovery and early-stage development continuum through focused partnerships and acquisitions. Solid financial health is another advantage. However, macroeconomic impacts and fierce competitive pressures may pose operational risks for Charles River.In the past year, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has rallied 7% compared with the industry’s 7.7% growth. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 composite has risen 18% during the same period.The renowned, non-clinical global drug development company has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion. Charles River has an earnings yield of 5.2% compared with the industry’s 3.4% yield. It surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average earnings surprise of 12.4%.Let’s delve deeper.RMS Prospects Seem Bright: Charles River continues to maintain its position as a global leader in the production and sale of the most widely used research models. In the third quarter of 2025, revenues increased 6.5% on an organic basis, driven by a surge in large research model product revenues, notably from Noveprim and within China. Revenues from both academic and government client segments also climbed, including a slight rise in North America.Historically, the CRADL (Charles River Accelerator and Development Lab) service has been one of the largest growth drivers for RMS. However, of late, it has been impacted by the overall biopharma demand environment. Despite this, CRADL’s business model continues to resonate with clients to access flexible vivarium space without having to invest in internal infrastructure, offering a strong value proposition for those looking to reduce costs and conserve capital. Also, in the quarter, contributions from the GEMS business drove research model services revenues.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchStrategic Deals Drive Growth: During the third quarter of 2025, the company teamed up with Elly’s Team to support fast-track production of therapeutic targeting ultra-rare neurodevelopmental disease. Another two strategic collaborations across its contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) — the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles — are aimed at advancing novel oncology research and development. This year, Charles River extended its multi-decade collaboration with CHDI Foundation to progress options for the treatment of Huntington’s disease and also Deciphex, the AI-powered digital pathology leader. Additionally, Charles River and Akron Bio collaborated to enhance operations with the integration of CGMP materials into the cell therapy platform.Stable Solvency Structure: Charles River exited the third quarter of 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $207 million, while short-term debt payable was nil. This is good news in terms of the company’s solvency position, particularly during the time of worldwide macroeconomic complications. Meanwhile, long-term debt dropped 6.3% sequentially, reaching $2.19 billion. The debt-to-capital ratio was 39.1% compared with 41% in the second quarter. The times interest ratio remained flat at 0.8%.Macroeconomic Condition: Charles River is experiencing a cautious spending environment, particularly among its global biopharmaceutical and biotechnology clients, as they reassess their budgets, reprioritize their drug pipelines and manage their cost structures. In the third quarter of 2025, revenues for small and mid-sized biotech clients declined, reflecting tighter budgets. Moreover, the RMS segment derives certain revenues from academic institutions and research laboratories that depend on funding from agencies like the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).Additionally, the company is exposed to a difficult operating environment, including heightened geopolitical pressure. Charles River is now subject to tariffs on imports from its major supplier countries such as Vietnam, Mauritius and China.Competitive Landscape: Charles River competes in the marketplace on the basis of its therapeutic and scientific expertise in early-stage drug research, quality, reputation, flexibility, responsiveness, pricing, innovation and global capabilities. The company primarily faces a broad range of competitors of different sizes and capabilities in each of its three business segments. This fiercely competitiveglobal marketimpacts the company’s market capitalization scenario.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRL’s 2025 earnings has increased 1 cent to $10.22 in the past 30 days.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2025 revenues is pegged at $4.01 billion, suggesting a 1% decrease from the year-ago reported number.Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are BrightSpring Health Services BTSG, lllumina ILMN and Insulet PODD.BrightSpring Health Serviceshas an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 53.3% compared with the industry’s 15.5% growth. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 45.1%. BTSG shares have surged 108.8% compared with the industry’s 7.6% growth in the past year. BTSG sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Illumina, sporting a Zacks Rank #1, has an earnings yield of 3.7% compared to the industry’s -17.9% yield. Shares of the company have dropped 3.3% in the past year against the industry’s 16.9% growth. ILMN’s earnings outpaced estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 6.7%.Insulet, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), has an earnings yield of 3.9% against the industry’s -0.9% yield. Shares of the company have increased 12.9% compared with the industry’s 1.9% growth. PODD’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 17.8%. Want to be tipped off early to our 10 top picks for the entirety of 2026? History suggests their performance could be sensational. From 2012 (when our Director of Research Sheraz Mian assumed responsibility for the portfolio) through November, 2025, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks gained +2,530.8%, more than QUADRUPLING the S&P 500’s +570.3%. Now Sheraz is combing through 4,400 companies to handpick the best 10 tickers to buy and hold in 2026. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these stocks when they’re released on January 5. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportIllumina, Inc. (ILMN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCharles River Laboratories International, Inc. (CRL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportInsulet Corporation (PODD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBrightSpring Health Services, Inc. (BTSG) : Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchThe views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.This data feed is not available at this time.