Laboratory of America Holdings (Laboratory of America Holdings) Predictability Rank

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Warren Buffett said many times that the companies he likes are:

1. Simple businesses that he understands
2. that have predictable and proven earnings and
3. with economic moat
4. those can be bought at a reasonable price.

It is hard to quantify "simple businesses that he (Buffett) understands", so we will focus on the other three characteristics instead. In GuruFocus Research: What worked in the market from 1998-2008? Part I: Introduction of Predictability Rank, we will show that the businesses that have predictable and proven earnings are usually also simple businesses that an average person could understand.

GuruFocus conducted a back test study of Warren Buffett's strategy of "buying good companies at fair prices" for the years from 1998-2008.

Laboratory of America Holdings Predictability Rank Calculation

In our database there are 2403 stocks that have been traded from Jan. 2, 1998 to Aug. 31, 2008. We have the complete 10-year financial data and trading prices of these companies for this period. We rank the predictability of these companies based on the consistency of their revenue per share and EBITDA (earning before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) per share over the past ten fiscal years, and study the correlation between the stock performances and the predictability of the business.

Our study may be subject to these biases and assumptions:

Dividend yields are not counted for investment returns
Effects of price changes due to spin-offs may not be fully adjusted
Study is subjected to survivorship bias due to de-listing, bankruptcy, LBO, M&A, etc.

The correlation between business predictability and investment returns of a company is showed below.

Correlation Between Business Predictability and Investment Returns

	Predictables	Non-Predictable	All stocks
Total Number of stocks	570	1833	2403
Total Lost Money	61	830	891
Total Lost More Than 50%	18	412	430
Total Lost More Than 90%	4	86	90
Average Gain	260.6%	100.0%	138.1%
Median Gain	150.0%	13.0%	39.0%
Maximum Gain	2852.0%	11483.0%	11483.0%
Maximum Loss	-100.0%	-100.0%	-100.0%
Annualized Average Gain	12.7%	6.7%	8.4%
Annualized Median Gain	8.9%	1.1%	3.1%

For the 570 predictable companies, we have seen strong correlation between the predictability of businesses and the stock performances over the past 10 years, regardless of the valuation of business at 1998. Accordingly, we have ranked the business predictability from 5-star to 1-star, as shown in this table.

Predictability Rank	5-Star	4.5-Star	4-Star	3.5-Star	3-Star	2.5-Star	2-Star	1-Star (non-predictable)	Average among all
% Out of All 2403 Stocks	3.3%	2.9%	3.7%	3.3%	3.3%	3.7%	3.3%	76.3%	100%
% that are in Loss (10y)	3%	10%	8%	9%	11%	18%	16%	45%	37%
Average Gain (10y)	364.6%	330.9%	278.0%	235.1%	243.5%	227.8%	154.8%	100.0%	138.1%
Median Gain (10y)	238.5%	193.5%	171.0%	159.0%	132.5%	113.5%	87.0%	13.0%	39.0%
Maximum Gainer	2228.0%	2547.0%	2452.0%	2852.0%	2432.0%	1892.0%	1807.0%	11483.0%	11483.0%
Maximum Loser	-82.0%	-53.0%	-67.0%	-100.0%	-83.0%	-100.0%	-78.0%	-100.0%	-100.0%
Annualized Average Gain	15.4%	14.6%	13.2%	12.0%	12.2%	11.7%	9.1%	6.7%	8.4%
Annualized Median Gain	12.1%	10.6%	9.8%	9.3%	8.2%	7.3%	6.0%	1.1%	3.1%

For detailed information about each predictability rank, please go to GuruFocus Research: What worked in the market from 1998-2008? Part I: Introduction of Predictability Rank

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Laboratory of America Holdings (Laboratory of America Holdings) Business Description

Industry

GURUFOCUS.COM » STOCK LIST » Healthcare » Medical Diagnostics & Research » Laboratory Corp of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) » Definitions » Predictability Rank

Comparable Companies

Traded in Other Exchanges

LH:Mexico L1CA34:Brazil

Address

358 South Main Street, Burlington, NC, USA, 27215

Website

https://www.labcorp.com

Laboratory Corp. of America is one of the nation's two largest independent clinical laboratories, with roughly 20% of the independent lab market. The company operates approximately 2,000 patient-service centers, offering a broad range of 5,000 clinical lab tests, ranging from routine blood and urine screens to complex oncology and genomic testing.

Executives

Peter J Wilkinson	officer: SVP, Chief Accounting Officer	C/O PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, 929 NORTH FRONT STREET, WILMINGTON NC 28401
Kerrii B Anderson	director	WENDY'S INTERNATIONAL, INC, 4288 WEST DUBLIN-GRANVILLE RD., DUBLIN OH 43017
Van Der Vaart Sandra D	officer: SVP, Global General Counsel	531 SOUTH SPRING STREET, BURLINGTON NC 27215
Paul Rothman	director	6 MEADOW ROAD, BALTIMORE MD 21212
Paul R Kirchgraber	officer: CEO, Covance Drug Development	531 SOUTH SPRING STREET, BURLINGTON NC 27215
Mark S Schroeder	officer: EVP, President-Diagnostics Lab	531 SOUTH SPRING STREET, BURLINGTON NC 27215
Megan D. Bailey	officer: EVP, Chief Strategy Officer	531 SOUTH SPRING STREET, BURLINGTON NC 27215
Jonathan P. Divincenzo	officer: EVP, Pres, Central Labs & Intl	940 WINTER STREET, PERKINELMER, INC. LEGAL DEPARTMENT, WALTHAM MA 02451
Anita Z Graham	officer: EVP, CHRO	C/O THE ADT CORPORATION, 1501 YAMATO ROAD, BOCA RATON FL 33431
Thomas Pike	officer: Pres & CEO Clinical Business	C/O ACCENTURE, 161 N. CLARK STREET, 23RD FLOOR, CHICAGO IL 60601
Kirsten Marie Kliphouse	director	531 SOUTH SPRING STREET, BURLINGTON NC 27215
Glenn A Eisenberg	officer: Chief Financial Officer, EVP	P O BOX 1017, CHARLOTTE NC 28201-1017
Brian J Caveney	officer: SVP, Chief Medical Officer	531 SOUTH SPRING STREET, BURLINGTON NC 27215
R Sanders Williams	director	DUKE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, TRENT DRIVE, DURHAM NC 27706
Amy B. Summy	officer: EVP, Chief Marketing Officer	531 SOUTH SPRING STREET, BURLINGTON NC 27215