Want a new job? There's a good chance you'll be drug-tested. A little worried about that mole on your calf? Get it removed and it will be sent to a lab for further analysis. Want a life insurance policy? Prepare to visit your friendly neighborhood phlebotomist and give up some blood.
That's the business of Laboratory Corp
Business continues to move along at a positive, albeit not rapid, pace. Revenue rose more than 7% in the quarter, with volume growth of about 1%. Although Lab Corp wasn't really able to achieve much in the way of operating leverage (operating income excluding restructuring charges was up less than 5%), a better tax rate and lower shares outstanding boosted the per-share earnings by about 10%.
As a large national player second in size only to Quest Diagnostics
Likewise in dealing with managed care companies. Lab Corp certainly has room to boost the percentage of business that it gets from companies like UnitedHealth
While there are definite cost advantages from the sheer size of the company and there will likely continue to be new tests and procedures (like the ThinPrep from Cytyc
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Laboratory Corp and UnitedHealth are Motley Fool Stock Advisor picks.
Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).