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Side-by-side financial comparison of IQVIA (IQV) and Southern Company (SO). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Southern Company is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($8.4B vs $4.4B, roughly 1.9× IQVIA). Southern Company runs the higher net margin — 15.9% vs 11.8%, a 4.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, IQVIA posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (10.3% vs 8.0%). Over the past eight quarters, Southern Company's revenue compounded faster (14.0% CAGR vs 8.1%).

IQVIA Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, is an American company focused on health information technology and clinical research.

Southern Company is an American gas and electric utility holding company based in the Southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with executive offices located in Birmingham, Alabama. As of 2021 it is the second largest utility company in the U.S. in terms of customer base. Through its subsidiaries it serves 9 million gas and electric utility customers in 6 states. Southern Company's regulated regional electric utilities serve a 120,000-square-mile (310,000 km2) territor...

IQV vs SO — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
SO
SO
1.9× larger
SO
$8.4B
$4.4B
IQV
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
IQV
IQV
+2.3% gap
IQV
10.3%
8.0%
SO
Higher net margin
SO
SO
4.2% more per $
SO
15.9%
11.8%
IQV
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SO
SO
Annualised
SO
14.0%
8.1%
IQV

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Revenue
$4.4B
$8.4B
Net Profit
$514.0M
$1.3B
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
14.4%
24.0%
Net Margin
11.8%
15.9%
Revenue YoY
10.3%
8.0%
Net Profit YoY
17.6%
5.4%
EPS (diluted)
$2.97

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
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
$8.4B
Q4 25
$4.4B
$7.0B
Q3 25
$4.1B
$7.8B
Q2 25
$4.0B
$7.0B
Q1 25
$3.8B
$7.8B
Q4 24
$4.0B
$6.3B
Q3 24
$3.9B
$7.3B
Q2 24
$3.8B
$6.5B
Net Profit
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
$1.3B
Q4 25
$514.0M
$341.0M
Q3 25
$331.0M
$1.7B
Q2 25
$266.0M
$880.0M
Q1 25
$249.0M
$1.3B
Q4 24
$437.0M
$466.0M
Q3 24
$285.0M
$1.5B
Q2 24
$363.0M
$1.2B
Gross Margin
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
23.5%
Q2 24
22.6%
Operating Margin
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
24.0%
Q4 25
14.4%
13.1%
Q3 25
13.5%
33.2%
Q2 25
12.6%
25.3%
Q1 25
13.0%
25.9%
Q4 24
15.8%
16.7%
Q3 24
14.1%
32.6%
Q2 24
13.6%
30.0%
Net Margin
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
15.9%
Q4 25
11.8%
4.9%
Q3 25
8.1%
21.9%
Q2 25
6.6%
12.6%
Q1 25
6.5%
16.3%
Q4 24
11.0%
7.3%
Q3 24
7.3%
21.1%
Q2 24
9.5%
18.6%
EPS (diluted)
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$2.97
$0.38
Q3 25
$1.93
$1.54
Q2 25
$1.54
$0.79
Q1 25
$1.40
$1.21
Q4 24
$2.41
$0.48
Q3 24
$1.55
$1.39
Q2 24
$1.97
$1.09

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$2.1B
Total DebtLower is stronger
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$6.5B
Total Assets
$29.9B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$2.1B
$1.6B
Q3 25
$2.0B
$3.3B
Q2 25
$2.2B
$1.3B
Q1 25
$1.9B
$2.3B
Q4 24
$1.8B
$1.1B
Q3 24
$1.7B
$1.0B
Q2 24
$1.7B
$1.2B
Total Debt
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$65.6B
Q3 25
$64.6B
Q2 25
$63.0B
Q1 25
$62.9B
Q4 24
$58.8B
Q3 24
$61.3B
Q2 24
$59.9B
Stockholders' Equity
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$6.5B
$36.0B
Q3 25
$6.2B
$38.3B
Q2 25
$5.8B
$37.3B
Q1 25
$6.0B
$37.2B
Q4 24
$6.1B
$33.2B
Q3 24
$7.0B
$36.9B
Q2 24
$6.7B
$36.1B
Total Assets
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$29.9B
$155.7B
Q3 25
$28.7B
$153.2B
Q2 25
$28.6B
$148.9B
Q1 25
$27.3B
$148.1B
Q4 24
$26.9B
$145.2B
Q3 24
$27.2B
$144.0B
Q2 24
$26.4B
$141.9B
Debt / Equity
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.82×
Q3 25
1.69×
Q2 25
1.69×
Q1 25
1.69×
Q4 24
1.77×
Q3 24
1.66×
Q2 24
1.66×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$735.0M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$561.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
12.9%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
4.0%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.43×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$2.1B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$735.0M
$2.6B
Q3 25
$908.0M
$3.8B
Q2 25
$443.0M
$2.2B
Q1 25
$568.0M
$1.3B
Q4 24
$885.0M
$2.2B
Q3 24
$721.0M
$3.6B
Q2 24
$588.0M
$2.7B
Free Cash Flow
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$561.0M
$-1.7B
Q3 25
$772.0M
$559.0M
Q2 25
$292.0M
$-619.0M
Q1 25
$426.0M
$-1.2B
Q4 24
$721.0M
$-576.0M
Q3 24
$571.0M
$1.3B
Q2 24
$445.0M
$563.0M
FCF Margin
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
12.9%
-24.2%
Q3 25
18.8%
7.1%
Q2 25
7.3%
-8.9%
Q1 25
11.1%
-15.3%
Q4 24
18.2%
-9.1%
Q3 24
14.7%
17.9%
Q2 24
11.7%
8.7%
Capex Intensity
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
4.0%
61.4%
Q3 25
3.3%
41.1%
Q2 25
3.8%
40.2%
Q1 25
3.7%
31.3%
Q4 24
4.1%
43.4%
Q3 24
3.9%
31.8%
Q2 24
3.7%
32.9%
Cash Conversion
IQV
IQV
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.43×
7.62×
Q3 25
2.74×
2.21×
Q2 25
1.67×
2.48×
Q1 25
2.28×
0.98×
Q4 24
2.03×
4.66×
Q3 24
2.53×
2.36×
Q2 24
1.62×
2.23×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

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