Charles River Laboratories Intl. Inc vs United Microelectronics Corp — how do they compare? Charles River Laboratories Intl. Inc trades at $286.16 (market cap $13.46B), while United Microelectronics Corp trades at $19.45 (market cap $47.81B). The key difference: United Microelectronics Corp is far larger — about 3.6× Charles River Laboratories Intl. Inc's market cap, and United Microelectronics Corp pays a 2.12% dividend while Charles River Laboratories Intl. Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| CRL | UMC | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $13.46B | $47.81B |
Sector | Health | Technology |
52-Week High | $282.00 | $28.02 |
52-Week Low | $145.57 | $6.58 |
Enterprise Value | $16.30B | $44.93B |
Dividend Yield | — | 2.12% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Charles River Laboratories (CRL) trades at $286.36, up 3.38% today and near its 52-week high of $277.07. The stock shows strong technical momentum with bullish moving averages and has beaten earnings estimates for three consecutive quarters. Recent Q2 2026 results exceeded expectations with EPS of $3.02 versus $2.77 estimate, driving positive sentiment. However, valuation metrics remain elevated with P/E at 684.85 and negative profitability margins.
While technical indicators and analyst consensus (72% buy ratings) support near-term upside, fundamental concerns persist with negative net income margin (-5.96%) and ROE (-7.7%). The stock faces execution risks in maintaining earnings momentum amid competitive pressures. Current price exceeds consensus target of $277.29, suggesting limited near-term upside potential despite positive business inflection.
UMC trades at $19.40, up 3.25% with a neutral technical signal. The company reported strong Q2 2026 earnings, beating estimates with $0.54 EPS, and announced fab expansions in Singapore and Taiwan to meet AI demand. Revenue growth is projected to rise to $250.7 billion in 2026, with net income margin improving to 32.75%. Cash flow turned positive in 2025 at $5.66 billion, supporting strategic investments.
Outlook is positive due to AI-driven demand and operational execution, but risks include competitive pressures and capital expenditure volatility. Analysts show mixed sentiment with 26.7% buy ratings, highlighting cautious optimism amid expansion plans.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Charles River Laboratories was founded in 1947 and is a leading provider of drug discovery and development services. The company's research model & services segment is the leading provider of animal models for laboratory testing, which breeds and delivers animal research models with specific genetic characteristics for preclinical studies around the world. The discovery & safety assessment segment includes services required to take a drug through the early development process, including discovery services. The manufacturing support segment includes microbial solutions, which provides in vitro (non-animal) testing products, biologics testing services, and avian vaccine services.
Read more on CRL →Founded in 1980, United Microelectronics is the world's third-largest dedicated chip foundry, with 7% market share in 2021, according to Gartner, after TSMC and GlobalFoundries. UMC's headquarters are in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and it operates 12 fabs in Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan and Singapore, with additional sales offices in Europe, the U.S. and South Korea. UMC features a diverse customer base including Texas Instruments, MediaTek, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Xilinx and Realtek, supplying a wide range of products applied in communications, display, memory, automotive and more. UMC employs about 20,000 people.
Read more on UMC →