IQVIA (IQV) Q3 2025: Revenue Grows, but Margins Feel the Squeeze

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: IQV), a major player in data, analytics, and clinical research for the life sciences industry, recently filed its financial results for the third quarter of 2025. In this post, we'll break down the numbers from the company's latest 10-Q filing to understand its performance and what it signals about its operational health.

Steady Growth at the Top Line

IQVIA reported total revenues of $4.1 billion for the third quarter, a solid 5.2% increase from the $3.9 billion generated in the same period last year. This growth was distributed across all of its business segments:

• Research & Development Solutions: The largest segment, which handles clinical trial services, grew 4.5% to $2.26 billion.
• Technology & Analytics Solutions: This division, providing data and tech platforms, saw revenues increase by 5.0% to $1.63 billion.
• Contract Sales & Medical Solutions: While the smallest segment, it posted the fastest growth at 16.1%, with revenues reaching $209 million.

For the first nine months of the year, the company's revenue reached $11.9 billion, a 4.4% rise year-over-year, indicating a consistent growth trajectory.

A Closer Look at Profitability

While revenue growth is a positive sign, the story becomes more nuanced when we look at profitability. The flow diagram below visualizes how IQVIA’s quarterly revenue is transformed into profit, detailing the various costs and expenses along the way.

A key takeaway is the pressure on margins. The cost of revenues (excluding depreciation and amortization) jumped 8.3% to $2.7 billion. This outpaced revenue growth, causing this expense to climb from 64.6% of revenue in Q3 2024 to 66.5% in Q3 2025.

As a result, income from operations remained essentially flat at $553 million, compared to $550 million in the prior year. This suggests that while the company is bringing in more business, the cost of delivering its services is rising faster, squeezing its core operational profitability.

The Bottom Line: What's Driving Net Income?

Despite the flat operating income, IQVIA's net income attributable to shareholders saw a healthy increase to $331 million from $285 million a year ago. So, what explains this disconnect? The filing points to a few key factors:

• Other Income: The company recorded "Other income" of $31 million this quarter, a significant swing from a $44 million expense in the same period last year. This was primarily driven by favorable foreign currency exchange gains.
• Share Repurchases: IQVIA's diluted earnings per share (EPS) rose to $1.93 from $1.55. This was helped by a reduction in the number of outstanding shares. The company repurchased over $1 billion of its stock in the first nine months of 2025, which has the effect of increasing EPS.

These elements, while beneficial to the bottom line, are not directly tied to the company's core operational performance.

Concluding Thoughts

IQVIA’s Q3 2025 report paints a picture of a company successfully expanding its revenue base in a competitive market. However, the rising cost of services is a critical trend to monitor. The flat operating income underscores the challenge of maintaining margins in the current environment.

While favorable currency movements and an aggressive share buyback program have boosted net income and EPS, investors will be keenly watching whether IQVIA can improve its operational efficiency and translate its top-line growth into stronger core profitability in the quarters ahead.