Revenue growth remains inconsistent, while operating margins have stayed range-bound between 12% and 17% despite a peak revenue of $4.4 billion in 2025Q4.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 16.63B | 16.31B | 15.4B | 14.98B | 14.41B | 13.87B | 11.36B | 11.09B | 10.41B | 9.7B | 6.82B | 5.74B | 5.46B | 5.1B | 4.87B | 4.33B |
| Revenue Growth % | 7.32% | 5.87% | 2.81% | 3.98% | 3.86% | 22.14% | 2.44% | 6.49% | 7.32% | 42.36% | 18.79% | 5.07% | 7.07% | 4.81% | 12.43% | - |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 12.29B | 12.02B | 10.03B | 9.74B | 9.38B | 9.23B | 7.5B | 7.3B | 6.75B | 6.3B | 4.75B | 4.12B | 3.96B | 3.76B | 3.63B | 3.19B |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 73.72% | 65.11% | 65.04% | 65.11% | 66.55% | 66.03% | 65.84% | 64.79% | 64.95% | 69.67% | 71.74% | 72.51% | 73.78% | 74.66% | 73.61% |
| Gross Profit | 4.34B | 4.29B | 5.38B | 5.24B | 5.03B | 4.64B | 3.86B | 3.79B | 3.67B | 3.4B | 2.07B | 1.62B | 1.5B | 1.34B | 1.23B | 1.14B |
| Gross Margin % | 26.11% | 26.28% | 34.89% | 34.96% | 34.89% | 33.45% | 33.97% | 34.16% | 35.21% | 35.05% | 30.33% | 28.26% | 27.49% | 26.22% | 25.34% | 26.39% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | -20.26% | 2.6% | 4.2% | 8.34% | 20.26% | 1.87% | 3.33% | 7.79% | 64.54% | 27.51% | 7.99% | 12.27% | 8.43% | 7.97% | - |
| Operating Expenses | 2.04B | 2B | 3.17B | 3.26B | 3.23B | 3.25B | 3.13B | 3.01B | 2.92B | 2.74B | 1.49B | 975M | 911M | 874.58M | 836.5M | 796.71M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 12.26% | 20.6% | 21.77% | 22.41% | 23.41% | 27.54% | 27.16% | 28.09% | 28.2% | 21.88% | 16.99% | 16.68% | 17.15% | 17.19% | 18.41% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 1.99B | 2B | 1.99B | 2.05B | 2.07B | 1.96B | 1.79B | 1.73B | 1.72B | 1.6B | 1.01B | 920.99M | 882.34M | 830.21M | 817.75M | 762.3M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 12.26% | 12.93% | 13.7% | 14.37% | 14.16% | 15.75% | 15.64% | 16.48% | 16.54% | 14.83% | 16.05% | 16.16% | 16.28% | 16.81% | 17.61% |
| Research & Development | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.34M | 0 | 4.96M | 10.43M | 0 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.06% | - | 0.1% | 0.21% | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 2M | 0 | 1.18B | 1.21B | 1.16B | 1.28B | 1.34B | 1.28B | 1.21B | 1.11B | 475M | 160M | 130M | 14.07M | 18.74M | 34.41M |
| Operating Income | 2.31B | 2.29B | 2.2B | 1.98B | 1.8B | 1.39B | 731M | 777M | 741M | 719M | 642M | 646.61M | 590.39M | 462.33M | 396.44M | 345.25M |
| Operating Margin % | 13.86% | 14.02% | 14.29% | 13.19% | 12.48% | 10.04% | 6.44% | 7.01% | 7.12% | 7.41% | 9.42% | 11.27% | 10.81% | 9.07% | 8.15% | 7.98% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 3.86% | 11.38% | 9.89% | 29.15% | 90.56% | -5.92% | 4.86% | 3.06% | 11.99% | -0.71% | 9.52% | 27.7% | 16.62% | 14.83% | - |
| EBITDA | 3.47B | 3.43B | 3.32B | 3.1B | 2.93B | 2.66B | 2.02B | 1.98B | 1.88B | 1.73B | 931M | 774.35M | 711.4M | 569.84M | 494.72M | 437.25M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 20.88% | 21.04% | 21.53% | 20.7% | 20.33% | 19.15% | 17.77% | 17.85% | 18.08% | 17.83% | 13.66% | 13.5% | 13.03% | 11.17% | 10.17% | 10.1% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 4.11% | 3.47% | 6.9% | 5.91% | 10.24% | 31.66% | 1.97% | 5.15% | 8.79% | 85.82% | 20.23% | 8.85% | 24.84% | 15.18% | 13.14% | - |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 1.17B | 1.14B | 1.11B | 1.13B | 1.13B | 1.26B | 1.29B | 1.2B | 1.14B | 1.01B | 289M | 127.74M | 121.01M | 107.5M | 98.29M | 92M |
| EBIT | 2.35B | 2.32B | 2.34B | 2.13B | 1.78B | 1.5B | 789M | 799M | 742M | 640M | 560M | 640M | 602M | 446.62M | 401.8M | 293.74M |
| Net Interest Income | -716M | -684M | -623M | -636M | -403M | -369M | -410M | -438M | -406M | -339M | -140M | -97M | -97M | -119.57M | -131.3M | -105.13M |
| Interest Income | 40M | 45M | 47M | 36M | 13M | 6M | 6M | 9M | 8M | 7M | 4M | 4.32M | 3.41M | 3.94M | 3.07M | 3.94M |
| Interest Expense | 756M | 729M | 670M | 672M | 416M | 375M | 416M | 447M | 414M | 346M | 144M | 101.79M | 100.59M | 123.51M | 134.37M | 109.06M |
| Other Income/Expense | -674M | -674M | -533M | -518M | -448M | -259M | -351M | -434M | -398M | -361M | -164M | -99M | -89M | -139.22M | -145.18M | -126.13M |
| Pretax Income | 1.63B | 1.61B | 1.67B | 1.46B | 1.35B | 1.13B | 380M | 343M | 343M | 304M | 412M | 547M | 506M | 323.12M | 270M | 255.43M |
| Pretax Margin % | 9.81% | 9.89% | 10.83% | 9.74% | 9.38% | 8.17% | 3.35% | 3.09% | 3.29% | 3.13% | 6.05% | 9.53% | 9.27% | 6.34% | 5.55% | 5.9% |
| Income Tax | 250M | 252M | 296M | 101M | 260M | 163M | 72M | 116M | 59M | -987M | 345M | 158.99M | 150.06M | 95.97M | 93.36M | 15.11M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 15.33% | 15.62% | 17.74% | 6.92% | 19.25% | 14.37% | 18.95% | 33.82% | 17.2% | -324.67% | 83.74% | 29.07% | 29.66% | 29.7% | 34.58% | 5.91% |
| Net Income | 1.39B | 1.36B | 1.37B | 1.36B | 1.09B | 966M | 279M | 191M | 259M | 1.31B | 115M | 387.2M | 356.38M | 226.59M | 177.55M | 241.77M |
| Net Margin % | 8.33% | 8.34% | 8.91% | 9.06% | 7.57% | 6.96% | 2.46% | 1.72% | 2.49% | 13.49% | 1.69% | 6.75% | 6.53% | 4.44% | 3.65% | 5.59% |
| Net Income Growth % | 3.82% | -0.95% | 1.1% | 24.47% | 12.94% | 246.24% | 46.07% | -26.25% | -80.21% | 1038.26% | -70.3% | 8.65% | 57.28% | 27.62% | -26.56% | - |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 1.38B | 1.36B | 1.37B | 1.36B | 1.09B | 971M | 308M | 227M | 284M | 1.3B | 87M | 388M | 357M | 226.03M | 176.63M | 240.33M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 128M | 127M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 279M | 260M | 240M | 249M | 227M | 228.54M | 49K | -72K | 479K | 788K |
| EPS (Diluted) | 8.16 | 7.84 | 7.49 | 7.29 | 5.72 | 4.95 | 1.43 | 0.96 | 1.24 | 5.88 | 0.76 | 3.08 | 2.72 | 1.77 | 1.39 | 1.90 |
| EPS Growth % | 9.95% | 4.67% | 2.74% | 27.45% | 15.56% | 246.15% | 48.96% | -22.58% | -78.91% | 673.68% | -75.32% | 13.24% | 53.67% | 27.34% | -26.84% | - |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 7.91 | 7.57 | 7.39 | 5.82 | 5.05 | 1.46 | 0.98 | 1.27 | 6.01 | 0.77 | 3.15 | 2.78 | 1.83 | 1.42 | 1.93 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 169.8M | 173.5M | 183.4M | 186.3M | 190.6M | 195M | 195M | 199.6M | 208.2M | 222.6M | 152M | 125.63M | 131.08M | 127.86M | 127.55M | 127.55M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 168.4M | 171.9M | 181.3M | 183.8M | 187.6M | 191.4M | 191.3M | 195.1M | 203.7M | 217.8M | 149.1M | 123.04M | 127.99M | 124.15M | 125.47M | 125.47M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 319.83% | 119.25% |
Clinical trial backlog volatility
According to the provided quarterly income statements, IQVIA's revenue growth has fluctuated significantly, ranging from a low of 2.3% in 2024 to a peak of 10.3% in 2025, suggesting that the company's top-line expansion remains sensitive to broader pharmaceutical R&D spending cycles and project-based contract timing.
The variability in quarterly revenue growth indicates that IQVIA's reliance on large-scale clinical trial contracts may be creating lumpy performance rather than steady, compounding growth. Investors should monitor whether the recent 8.4% growth in 2026Q1 represents a sustainable recovery or merely a temporary acceleration driven by the timing of milestone recognition.
As reported in financial statements, IQVIA's gross margin experienced a notable contraction to 6.7% in 2025Q4, deviating sharply from its typical range of 27% to 35%, which warrants further investigation into potential cost overruns or shifts in the mix of high-margin versus low-margin service delivery.
The sharp dip in 2025Q4 gross margin suggests that the company's cost structure may be less resilient to operational disruptions than previously assumed. This volatility implies that the firm's ability to maintain pricing power is currently being challenged by either rising labor costs or inefficiencies in executing its complex clinical trial backlog.
Based on the reported figures, IQVIA's operating margin has remained largely range-bound between 12% and 17% over the last ten quarters, indicating that the company has struggled to achieve meaningful operating leverage despite the scale of its integrated data and clinical research service offerings.
The persistent gap between gross and operating margins suggests that high SG&A requirements are absorbing much of the gross profit generated by the business. This may indicate that the company is forced to reinvest heavily in administrative and sales infrastructure just to maintain its current market position, limiting bottom-line scalability.
Analysis of the income statement reveals that IQVIA consistently utilizes stock-based compensation, with quarterly expenses reaching as high as $72 million in 2025Q1, which suggests that reported net income may be partially supported by non-cash accounting adjustments rather than purely operational cash generation.
The reliance on stock-based compensation as a recurring expense item warrants caution, as it dilutes shareholders and masks the true cash cost of talent retention. Investors should evaluate whether the company's net income growth is being driven by core operational improvements or if it is being artificially bolstered by these non-cash items.
While the company emphasizes its data-driven moat, the recent income statement data suggests that IQVIA's profitability is highly vulnerable to cost inflation, as evidenced by the 2025Q4 margin compression that occurred despite the company generating its highest quarterly revenue of $4.4 billion in that period.
This disconnect between record revenue and margin contraction provides a strong argument for skeptics who believe the company's business model is becoming increasingly capital-intensive. It appears that the competitive landscape in clinical research is forcing IQVIA to sacrifice margins to secure volume, which may indicate a long-term erosion of its pricing power.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying IQV stock.
For fiscal year 2025, IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) reported total revenue of $16.31B. This represents a 276.9% increase compared to $4.33B in 2011.
IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) is profitable, generating $1.36B in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 8.3%.
IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) reported an operating income of $2.29B, resulting in an operating profit margin of 14.0%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) generated $4.29B in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 26.3%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.