How does Trendshare evaluate IQV as a worked example?

This example shows how we apply the Trendshare checklist to IQV: earnings power, cash generation, valuation, and margin of safety. We look at business quality, free cash flow trends, price to earnings, and whether there is a reasonable margin of safety at the current price of 271.96.

IQVIA Holdings Stock Price and Value Analysis

IQVIA Holdings (NYSE:IQV) in our automated value investing analysis, with the cash flow history and price comparison below.

Key Facts

Ticker: IQV (NYSE)
Current price: $271.96
Sector: Healthcare
Industry: Diagnostics & Research

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Hold-time calculator

Estimate how long you need to hold IQVIA Holdings to reach your target.

Target type Target price Target total return %

Current price

Expected annual return (compound annual growth rate, CAGR)

Margin of safety (%)

Target price (Trendshare FV)

Include dividend yield
N/A

IQV Free Cash Flow Trend

Free Cash Flow trendline for IQVIA Holdings

CSV

Based on historical returns, we believe that IQVIA Holdings can grow its free cash at a rate of about 10%. That's positive!

Advantages	Disadvantages	Neutral
This company has stable growth. This company is making money at a great rate!	This company is less known than others. This stock looks overpriced.	This company pays no dividend.

Inside the IQV Numbers

	IQV Price (IQVIA Holdings stock price per share)	$271.96
× PE Ratio Versus Sector The PE ratio measures the reported earnings of a company to its current stock price. While earnings are easy to manipulate on the balance sheet, this ratio gives you a sense of what buyers are willing to pay for the stock—what they believe it will do in the future. Comparing a stock's PE to the average PE of companies in its industry gives you a sense of market sentiment about the stock and how well it fares financially. It's not the only number, nor the most important, but comparing similar companies is valuable. A ratio far above or below that of its peers is significant. Industries are more specific than sectors, so companies within most industries are more similar than are companies within an industry. Be aware that the size and customers of companies are important to their prospects. Close ^[?]	PE Ratio versus Sector	63% higher than other Healthcare stocks
× PE Ratio Versus Industry The PE ratio measures the reported earnings of a company to its current stock price. While earnings are easy to manipulate on the balance sheet, this ratio gives you a sense of what buyers are willing to pay for the stock—what they believe it will do in the future. Comparing a stock's PE to the average PE of companies in its sector gives you a sense of market sentiment about the stock and how well it fares financially. It's not the only number, nor the most important, but comparing similar companies is valuable. A ratio far above or below that of its peers is significant. Be aware that sectors are very broad, with many types of companies in the same sector. Close ^[?]	PE Ratio versus Industry	0% lower than other Diagnostics & Research stocks
× Free Cash Flow Jitter The free cash flow jitter of a stock measures how much the company's free cash flow varies from its historical trend, on average. While it's always nice to make more money than you expected, a company with predictable free cash flow is stable and good. A company with wild swings in its free cash flow warrants further research. In general, the lower this number, the better. Close ^[?]	Free Cash Flow Jitter	24%

Insider Activity Summary

No open-market insider buys or sells are recorded for the last 12 months.

This stock has short interest! This means that people have shorted it.

Why does that matter? They've made a bet that price will decrease from where they bought it. Maybe there are financial problems, or maybe there's a value play.

As of the latest analysis, there are 3,041,916 shares shorted. With 156,451,232 shares available for purchase and an average trading volume over the past 10 trading days of 1,361,910, it would take at least 2.2 days for all of the short holders to cover their shorts.

Estimate Intrinsic Value (DCF)

Project future free cash flow and discount it back to today to compare market price vs intrinsic value. See how compound returns work over time.

📊 Intrinsic Value Calculator (DCF Method)

Calculate the present value of future cash flows to determine stock intrinsic value.

Annual Free Cash Flow ($):

Current or most recent year free cash flow (operating cash - capex)

Expected Annual Growth Rate (%):

Conservative estimate (3-7% for mature companies, 10-20% for growth)

Discount Rate (%):

Required rate of return (8-10% stable, 12-15% growth, 15%+ speculative)

Projection Period (Years):

Longer projections are less certain but may reveal more value

Terminal Value Multiple:

Exit multiple for terminal value (10-15x typical for mature companies)

Calculation Results

Total Intrinsic Value:

Discounted Cash Flows:

Terminal Value (PV):

Year	Future CF	Present Value

How to use this result: Compare the intrinsic value to the current stock price. If intrinsic value is significantly higher than market price (30-50% margin of safety), the stock may be undervalued. Remember, these are estimates based on your assumptions.

Learn to Evaluate IQV

Learn how to evaluate stocks, understand expected returns, and build a value investing strategy.

See How Returns Compound →

Free Cash Flow by Fiscal Year

Each year names the SEC filer that reported it, so a change of filer shows up here.

Fiscal year	SEC filer (CIK)	Free cash flow (USD millions)
2011	1478242	85.3
2012	1478242	262.2
2013	1478242	314.9
2014	1478242	353.4
2015	1478242	396.7
2016	1478242	763.1
2017	1478242	813.5
2018	1478242	1023.4
2019	1478242	1086.6
2020	1478242	1521.0
2021	1478242	2408.8
2022	1478242	1665.8
2023	1478242	1516.8
2024	1478242	2079.8
2025	1478242	2020.4

Download the yearly data as CSV.

Price Versus Our Estimated Value

Every one of the 15 fiscal years we have for IQVIA Holdings under its current filer shows positive free cash flow.

Free cash flow from the first three years of data averaged $220.8 million, and from the last three $1872.3 million: a sharp rise.

Free cash flow is fairly steady from year to year, with a variability measure of 24%.

At $271.96, IQVIA Holdings trades above our fair value estimate of $39.46.

We do not have a dividend yield for IQVIA Holdings.

These numbers change when new filings or prices arrive, so treat this page as a snapshot and check the company's own filings.

Compared With Its Sector and Industry

Its trailing P/E ratio is 63% above the average for stocks in the Healthcare sector.

Its trailing P/E ratio is in line with the average for stocks in the Diagnostics & Research industry.

A P/E ratio depends on trailing earnings, which one-time items can distort, so a lower P/E is not by itself evidence of value.

SEC Filer History

Every fiscal year on this page is reported by one SEC filer, CIK 1478242.

Each figure on this page comes from that filer.

Risks to This Analysis

These figures are automated calculations from SEC filings and the recent price. They may contain errors, and they do not reflect lawsuits, management changes, or other events the filings do not show.

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Questions to Answer Before You Invest in IQV

Does IQVIA Holdings have a coherent story? Does it have a plan to continue to make money? Is it worth your time? Only you can decide where to go from here. Our investment guide helps you ask the right questions, including how to buy stocks. Use these research links for more information.

Step 1 — Snapshot
- Price: 271.96
- Market cap: $45B
- EPS: 8.22
Step 2 — Valuation checks
- P/E: 33.085
- FCF yield: —
- Date checked: Nov 12, 2026
Step 3 — Margin of safety
- Compare price to fair value and safety price.
- Look for durable cash generation and reasonable leverage.
- Decide if it passes your personal checklist.