IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) Issues Earnings Results

Key Points

• Beat and raised guidance: IQVIA reported Q1 EPS of $2.90 (vs. $2.83 consensus) and revenue of $4.15B (+8.4% YoY), and raised FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $12.65–$12.95.
• R&D momentum: R&DS net new bookings were $2.5B and backlog reached $34.2B, with $8.9B expected to convert to revenue over the next 12 months.
• AI adoption and cash returns: Management highlighted accelerating AI rollout via IQVIA.ai (192 industry‑specific agents used by 19 of the top 20 pharma companies) as a commercial growth driver; the company repurchased $552M in Q1 and generated $491M FCF, while net leverage remains ~3.62x EBITDA.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 8.34%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. IQVIA updated its FY 2026 guidance to 12.650-12.950 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from IQVIA's conference call:

• Record Q1 results — revenue of $4.151B and adjusted diluted EPS of $2.90 exceeded the high end of guidance, and the company raised full‑year adjusted EPS guidance to $12.65–$12.95.
• R&D bookings and backlog strengthened — R&DS net new bookings were $2.5B (double‑digit growth) and backlog hit $34.2B with $8.9B expected to convert to revenue over the next 12 months.
• Accelerating AI adoption — launched IQVIA.ai and deployed 192 industry‑specific AI agents (64 use cases) with 19 of the top 20 pharma companies using agents, which management says is driving commercial pipeline growth.
• Lower pass‑throughs impacted quarterly book‑to‑bill (1.04) — management attributes the weaker pass‑throughs to trial mix (more full‑service studies) and says cancellations/margins were normal, leaving some short‑term reporting noise.
• Strong cash return but elevated leverage — repurchased $552M of shares in Q1 with ~$1.2B authorization remaining and delivered $491M free cash flow, while net leverage remains ~3.62x trailing EBITDA.

IQVIA Price Performance

IQVIA stock traded up $9.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $170.86. 1,853,884 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,935,242. The company has a market cap of $29.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. IQVIA has a twelve month low of $134.65 and a twelve month high of $247.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $169.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $201.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IQV. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of IQVIA from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays upgraded shares of IQVIA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on IQVIA from $255.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of IQVIA from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised IQVIA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IQVIA has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $226.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IQVIA

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Compound Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of IQVIA in the 4th quarter valued at $312,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 106.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 26,803 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,042,000 after purchasing an additional 13,828 shares in the last quarter. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IQVIA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of IQVIA by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 22,768 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,132,000 after purchasing an additional 5,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of IQVIA by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.62% of the company's stock.

About IQVIA

IQVIA NYSE: IQV is a global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions and contract research services to the life sciences industry. The company combines clinical research capabilities with large-scale health data and analytics to support drug development, regulatory reporting, commercial strategy and real‑world evidence generation. IQVIA traces its current form to the combination of Quintiles and IMS Health announced in 2016 and subsequently rebranded as IQVIA, bringing together long-established clinical research operations and extensive healthcare information assets.

IQVIA's principal activities include outsourced clinical development services (acting as a contract research organization for phases I–IV), real‑world evidence and observational research, regulatory and safety services, and a suite of technology platforms that enable data integration, analytics and operational management.

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