Quest Diagnostics management check
DGX · Health Care · Health Care Services · CEO James E. Davis
Filings as of
4 good · 2 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $161, against $148 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.61 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- n/a
What does the CEO cost owners?
Not enough dataNo pay or net income figure for the latest year.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 1.9 years of payThe CEO holds 122,423 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 1.9 years of pay. Light activity: no buys, $11.9m sold in six months. 7 of 7 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed +0.0% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.8% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Stephen H. Rusckowski, James E. Davis. 3 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Health Care.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 60 | 26 | |
| Pay for performance | 80 | 85 | |
| CEO cost | — | — | 44 |
| Skin in the game | 49 | 46 | |
| Dilution | 50 | 68 | |
| Stable leadership | 60 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Health Care Services, by management score. Quest Diagnostics is 26th of 60 in its sector.
- 110CICigna76
- 124DVADaVita74
- 194LHLabcorp69
- 218MTDMettler Toledo67
- 219DGXQuest Diagnostics67
- 362CVSCVS Health57
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 6, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | James E. Davis | $15.5m | $26.5m | $3.3m | $161 | $148 | — |
| 2024 | James E. Davis | $14.4m | $24.3m | $3.0m | $137 | $129 | — |
| 2023 | James E. Davis | $12.7m | $9.4m | $2.9m | $123 | $126 | — |
| 2022 | Stephen H. Rusckowski, James E. Davis | $15.7m | $12.7m | $3.4m | $136 | $124 | — |
| 2021 | Stephen H. Rusckowski | $14.6m | $49.2m | $3.4m | $148 | $126 | — |
The board says pay is tied most to Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share. Its other key measures: Revenue, Patient Experience/Employee Experience, Community Impact Goals.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
J. E. Davis (CEO and President) held 122,423 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Sep 1, 2026, roughly $29.7m at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $11.9m sold in six months. 7 of 7 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldMichael E PrevoznikSVP & General Counsel · 10b5-1 plan$5.5mAug 28, 2026
- SoldJ. E. DavisCEO and President · 10b5-1 plan$4.4mSep 1, 2026
- SoldKarthik KuppusamySVP, Clinical Solutions · 10b5-1 plan$1.6mJun 4, 2026
- SoldMark E DelaneySVP & Chief Commercial Officer · 10b5-1 plan$376kJul 28, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Oct 6, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 12, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 21, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 29, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 18, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 1, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 28, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 1, 2022Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Jun 14, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 25, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 2, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 1, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 21, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $6.1bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 108% of net income, and $409.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $10.8bn | $9.9bn | $9.3bn | $9.9bn | $11.0bn |
| Net income | $2.0bn | $946.0m | $854.0m | $871.0m | $992.0m |
| Stock-based pay | $79.0m | $77.0m | $77.0m | $88.0m | $88.0m |
| Buybacks | $2.2bn | $1.4bn | $275.0m | $151.0m | $450.0m |
| Dividends | $309.0m | $305.0m | $314.0m | $331.0m | $353.0m |
| Diluted shares | 128m | 118m | 113m | 113m | 113m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.