Charles River Laboratories Intl. Inc vs Yum! Brands, Inc. — how do they compare? Charles River Laboratories Intl. Inc trades at $229.36 (market cap $11.14B), while Yum! Brands, Inc. trades at $154.65 (market cap $43.60B). The key difference: Yum! Brands, Inc. is far larger — about 3.9× Charles River Laboratories Intl. Inc's market cap, and Yum! Brands, Inc. pays a 1.9% dividend while Charles River Laboratories Intl. Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| CRL | YUM | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $11.14B | $43.60B |
Sector | Health | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $233.60 | $168.16 |
52-Week Low | $145.57 | $138.21 |
Enterprise Value | $14.00B | $54.86B |
Dividend Yield | — | 1.9% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Charles River Laboratories (CRL) trades at $229.75, down 1.57% on the day, near its consensus price target of $229.80. The stock shows a bullish technical trend with strong moving average signals and support at $225. Fundamentally, CRL has beaten EPS estimates for three consecutive quarters but reported a net loss of $144.34 million in 2025, with negative profit margins. Recent news highlights collaborations in AI and NGS services, supporting growth prospects.
Outlook remains mixed: analyst consensus is strongly bullish with 72% buy ratings and a high target of $260, but profitability challenges and high P/E of 684.85 pose risks. Cash flow stability and strategic partnerships offer upside, while margin pressures and debt levels require monitoring for sustained recovery.
YUM Brands trades at $161.69, down 1.13% today, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages and key resistance at $163. The company reported Q1 2026 EPS of $1.50, beating expectations, while revenue grew to $8.21B in 2025. Recent news includes a Taco Bell health investigation and the $2.7B Pizza Hut sale, which may streamline operations.
YUM's outlook is supported by strong cash flow and margin stability, but high debt and competitive pressures pose risks. Analysts maintain a $174.60 price target with a mixed buy/hold consensus. The stock offers growth potential post-Pizza Hut divestiture, though investor sentiment is cautious amid near-term headwinds.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
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 →Yum Brands is a U.S.-based restaurant operator featuring a portfolio of four brands: KFC (26,930 global units), Pizza Hut (18,380 units), Taco Bell (7,790 units), and The Habit Burger (310 units) at year-end 2021. With $58 billion in 2021 systemwide sales, the firm is the second-largest restaurant company in the world, behind McDonald's ($112.5 billion) but ahead of Restaurant Brands International ($36 billion) and Starbucks ($25 billion). Yum is 98% franchised, with the largest franchisee, Yum China, created via a 2016 spinoff transaction (after which Yum China agreed to pay 3% royalties to Yum Brands in perpetuity). Yum is the newest evolution of Tricon Brands, formerly a division of PepsiCo, and generates the bulk of its revenue from franchise royalties and marketing contributions.
Read more on YUM →