Clinical research company IQVIA (NYSE: IQV) reported Q2 CY2025 results topping the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 5.3% year on year to $4.02 billion. The company’s full-year revenue guidance of $16.2 billion at the midpoint came in 0.8% above analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $2.81 per share was 1.4% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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IQVIA delivered strong financial results, with revenue above target and profit towards the high-end of expectations,” said Ari Bousbib, chairman and CEO of IQVIA.

Company Overview

Created from the 2016 merger of Quintiles (a clinical research organization) and IMS Health (a healthcare data specialist), IQVIA (NYSE: IQV) provides clinical research services, data analytics, and technology solutions to help pharmaceutical companies develop and market medications more effectively.

Revenue Growth

Examining a company’s long-term performance can provide clues about its quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years. Regrettably, IQVIA’s sales grew at a mediocre 7.5% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This fell short of our benchmark for the healthcare sector and is a rough starting point for our analysis.

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within healthcare, a half-decade historical view may miss recent innovations or disruptive industry trends. IQVIA’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its annualized revenue growth of 3.4% over the last two years was below its five-year trend.

We can better understand the company’s sales dynamics by analyzing its constant currency revenue, which excludes currency movements that are outside their control and not indicative of demand. Over the last two years, its constant currency sales averaged 3.4% year-on-year growth. Because this number aligns with its normal revenue growth, we can see that IQVIA has properly hedged its foreign currency exposure.

This quarter, IQVIA reported year-on-year revenue growth of 5.3%, and its $4.02 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 1.2%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 4.9% over the next 12 months, similar to its two-year rate. Although this projection implies its newer products and services will spur better top-line performance, it is still below average for the sector.

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Operating Margin

Operating margin is a key measure of profitability. Think of it as net income - the bottom line - excluding the impact of taxes and interest on debt, which are less connected to business fundamentals.

IQVIA has done a decent job managing its cost base over the last five years. The company has produced an average operating margin of 12.2%, higher than the broader healthcare sector.

Looking at the trend in its profitability, IQVIA’s operating margin rose by 5.3 percentage points over the last five years, as its sales growth gave it operating leverage. Zooming in on its more recent performance, we can see the company’s trajectory is intact as its margin has also increased by 1.3 percentage points on a two-year basis.

This quarter, IQVIA generated an operating margin profit margin of 12.6%, down 1 percentage points year on year. This reduction is quite minuscule and indicates the company’s overall cost structure has been relatively stable.

Earnings Per Share

Revenue trends explain a company’s historical growth, but the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) points to the profitability of that growth – for example, a company could inflate its sales through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.

IQVIA’s EPS grew at a spectacular 13.7% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years, higher than its 7.5% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became more profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.

We can take a deeper look into IQVIA’s earnings to better understand the drivers of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, IQVIA’s operating margin declined this quarter but expanded by 5.3 percentage points over the last five years. Its share count also shrank by 9.3%, and these factors together are positive signs for shareholders because improving profitability and share buybacks turbocharge EPS growth relative to revenue growth.

In Q2, IQVIA reported EPS at $2.81, up from $2.64 in the same quarter last year. This print beat analysts’ estimates by 1.4%. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects IQVIA’s full-year EPS of $11.47 to grow 7.9%.

Key Takeaways from IQVIA’s Q2 Results

It was good to see IQVIA provide full-year revenue and EPS guidance that slightly beat analysts’ expectations. We were also happy this quarter's revenue and EPS narrowly outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this print had some key positives. The stock traded up 8.4% to $172.24 immediately following the results.

So should you invest in IQVIA right now? What happened in the latest quarter matters, but not as much as longer-term business quality and valuation, when deciding whether to invest in this stock. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it’s free.