Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat, what do you think of Laboratory Corporation of America as a buy? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

A: Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, or LabCorp, $250.91, symbol LH on New York (Shares outstanding: 97.6 million; Market cap: $24.6 billion; www.labcorp.com), provides comprehensive clinical laboratory services from locations throughout North America. It also offers drug development services such as research and clinical trial management. LabCorp employs nearly 75,000 people at its base in Burlington, North Carolina, and across the U.S. The company’s Diagnostics segment accounts for 67% of its total revenue, while its Drug Development segment contributes the remaining 33%. Sales in North America comprise 81% of LabCorp’s total revenue, with Canada contributing a fraction of U.S. sales. Europe accounts for 12% overall sales, with the rest of the world contributing the remaining 7%. The diagnostics laboratory market in the U.S. is fragmented and decentralized. Currently, half of the market is controlled by small, hospital-based labs. LabCorp has steadily acquired regional labs with the goal of cutting costs through sharing administrative expenses. That strategy also lets the company share financing, purchasing…