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Side-by-side financial comparison of ICON PLC (ICLR) and SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC (SAH). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($3.7B vs $2.0B, roughly 1.8× ICON PLC). SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC runs the higher net margin — 1.6% vs 0.1%, a 1.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (1.0% vs 0.6%). Over the past eight quarters, SONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC's revenue compounded faster (3.4% CAGR vs 0.6%).

ICON plc is an Irish headquartered multinational healthcare intelligence and clinical research organisation. As of February 2025 had approximately 41,900 employees in 55 countries.

Sonic Automotive is a Fortune 500 company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is the fifth largest automotive retailer in the United States as measured by total revenues. The company was founded by O Bruton Smith and completed its initial public offering on the NYSE in 1997.

ICLR vs SAH — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
SAH
SAH
1.8× larger
SAH
$3.7B
$2.0B
ICLR
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
SAH
SAH
+0.4% gap
SAH
1.0%
0.6%
ICLR
Higher net margin
SAH
SAH
1.5% more per $
SAH
1.6%
0.1%
ICLR
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SAH
SAH
Annualised
SAH
3.4%
0.6%
ICLR

Income Statement — Q3 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Revenue
$2.0B
$3.7B
Net Profit
$2.4M
$60.8M
Gross Margin
16.2%
Operating Margin
4.2%
3.1%
Net Margin
0.1%
1.6%
Revenue YoY
0.6%
1.0%
Net Profit YoY
-98.8%
EPS (diluted)
$0.03
$1.79

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
$3.7B
Q4 25
$3.9B
Q3 25
$2.0B
$4.0B
Q2 25
$2.0B
$3.7B
Q1 25
$2.0B
$3.7B
Q4 24
$3.9B
Q3 24
$2.0B
$3.5B
Q2 24
$2.1B
$3.5B
Net Profit
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
$60.8M
Q4 25
$46.9M
Q3 25
$2.4M
$46.8M
Q2 25
$183.0M
$-45.6M
Q1 25
$154.2M
$70.6M
Q4 24
$58.6M
Q3 24
$197.1M
$74.2M
Q2 24
$146.9M
$41.2M
Gross Margin
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
16.2%
Q4 25
15.5%
Q3 25
15.5%
Q2 25
16.5%
Q1 25
15.5%
Q4 24
14.7%
Q3 24
15.6%
Q2 24
15.6%
Operating Margin
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
3.1%
Q4 25
3.2%
Q3 25
4.2%
3.1%
Q2 25
10.4%
-0.6%
Q1 25
11.0%
4.0%
Q4 24
3.4%
Q3 24
14.1%
3.3%
Q2 24
10.8%
3.1%
Net Margin
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
1.6%
Q4 25
1.2%
Q3 25
0.1%
1.2%
Q2 25
9.1%
-1.2%
Q1 25
7.7%
1.9%
Q4 24
1.5%
Q3 24
9.7%
2.1%
Q2 24
6.9%
1.2%
EPS (diluted)
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
$1.79
Q4 25
$1.39
Q3 25
$0.03
$1.33
Q2 25
$2.30
$-1.34
Q1 25
$1.90
$2.04
Q4 24
$1.67
Q3 24
$2.36
$2.13
Q2 24
$1.76
$1.18

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$468.9M
Total DebtLower is stronger
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$9.3B
Total Assets
$16.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
Q4 25
$6.3M
Q3 25
$468.9M
$89.4M
Q2 25
$390.4M
$110.4M
Q1 25
$526.7M
$64.6M
Q4 24
$44.0M
Q3 24
$695.5M
$17.6M
Q2 24
$506.6M
$67.2M
Total Debt
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.6B
Q3 25
$1.5B
Q2 25
$1.5B
Q1 25
$1.6B
Q4 24
$1.6B
Q3 24
$1.7B
Q2 24
$1.7B
Stockholders' Equity
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.1B
Q3 25
$9.3B
$1.1B
Q2 25
$9.6B
$1.0B
Q1 25
$9.5B
$1.1B
Q4 24
$1.1B
Q3 24
$9.8B
$1.0B
Q2 24
$9.6B
$944.7M
Total Assets
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
Q4 25
$6.0B
Q3 25
$16.5B
$6.0B
Q2 25
$16.6B
$5.9B
Q1 25
$16.7B
$5.9B
Q4 24
$5.9B
Q3 24
$17.2B
$5.8B
Q2 24
$17.0B
$5.8B
Debt / Equity
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.51×
Q3 25
1.39×
Q2 25
1.48×
Q1 25
1.44×
Q4 24
1.49×
Q3 24
1.67×
Q2 24
1.81×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$387.6M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$333.9M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
16.3%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
164.59×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.0B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
Q4 25
$66.9M
Q3 25
$387.6M
$167.9M
Q2 25
$146.2M
$136.8M
Q1 25
$268.2M
$195.8M
Q4 24
$87.7M
Q3 24
$402.7M
$87.8M
Q2 24
$218.6M
$-136.4M
Free Cash Flow
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-195.6M
Q3 25
$333.9M
$134.4M
Q2 25
$113.9M
$102.7M
Q1 25
$239.3M
$150.8M
Q4 24
$-245.5M
Q3 24
$359.3M
$34.5M
Q2 24
$182.3M
$-185.2M
FCF Margin
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
Q4 25
-5.1%
Q3 25
16.3%
3.4%
Q2 25
5.6%
2.8%
Q1 25
12.0%
4.1%
Q4 24
-6.3%
Q3 24
17.7%
1.0%
Q2 24
8.6%
-5.4%
Capex Intensity
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
Q4 25
6.8%
Q3 25
2.6%
0.8%
Q2 25
1.6%
0.9%
Q1 25
1.4%
1.2%
Q4 24
8.6%
Q3 24
2.1%
1.5%
Q2 24
1.7%
1.4%
Cash Conversion
ICLR
ICLR
SAH
SAH
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.43×
Q3 25
164.59×
3.59×
Q2 25
0.80×
Q1 25
1.74×
2.77×
Q4 24
1.50×
Q3 24
2.04×
1.18×
Q2 24
1.49×
-3.31×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ICLR
ICLR

Other Customers$681.3M33%
Clients1125$549.4M27%
Clients15$503.3M25%
Clients610$308.8M15%

SAH
SAH

Retail new vehicles$1.6B44%
Used vehicles$1.3B34%
Parts, service and collision repair$516.6M14%
Finance, insurance and other, net$202.4M5%
Wholesale vehicles$71.8M2%
Fleet new vehicles$20.7M1%

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