Charles River Laboratories management check
CRL · Health Care · Life Sciences Tools & Services · CEO Birgit Girshick (since the last proxy; previously Mr. Foster)
Filings as of
3 good · 2 to watch · 2 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Flag
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $81, 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 0.86 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Flag
What does the CEO cost owners?
Paid in a loss-making year$15.4m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, a year the company lost $144.3m.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
New CEO since the proxyBirgit Girshick filed as Chief Executive Officer after the last proxy (which named Mr. Foster) and holds 35,485 shares. Their pay will be in the next proxy. 6 insiders sold $42.9m in the last six months, against $3k bought. 8 of 19 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -1.9% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 1.8% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
New CEO: Birgit GirshickBirgit Girshick has filed as CEO since the last proxy. CEO in the pay table: Mr. Foster. 9 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 | 0 | 26 | |
| Pay for performance | 93 | 85 | |
| CEO cost | 0 | 44 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 46 |
| Dilution | 73 | 68 | |
| Stable leadership | 70 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Life Sciences Tools & Services, by management score. Charles River Laboratories is 47th of 60 in its sector.
- 104WATWaters Corporation76
- 173IQVIQVIA71
- 218MTDMettler Toledo67
- 297DHRDanaher Corporation62
- 301TMOThermo Fisher Scientific61
- 374CRLCharles River Laboratories56
- 397AAgilent Technologies53
- 422TECHBio-Techne50
- 444ILMNIllumina, Inc.47
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 31, 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 | Mr. Foster | $15.4m | $24.9m | $3.6m | $81 | $148 | −$144.3m |
| 2024 | — | $13.5m | $3.1m | $3.5m | $74 | $129 | $10.3m |
| 2023 | — | $14.1m | $20.5m | $3.7m | $94 | $126 | $474.6m |
| 2022 | — | $13.4m | $10.7m | $3.3m | $87 | $124 | $486.2m |
| 2021 | — | $13.7m | $41.2m | $4.4m | $147 | $126 | $391.0m |
The board says pay is tied most to Non- GAAP EPS. Its other key measures: Revenue, Non-GAAP EPS, Non-GAAP Operating Income.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Birgit Girshick (Chief Executive Officer) held 35,485 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Aug 19, 2026.
6 insiders sold $42.9m in the last six months, against $3k bought. 8 of 19 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- BoughtGlenn ColemanEVP & Chief Financial Officer$3kSep 30, 2026
- SoldJames C FosterDirector · 10b5-1 plan$34.8mAug 25, 2026
- SoldShannon M ParisottoCEVP, Disc & Safety Assessment · 10b5-1 plan$3.3mOct 5, 2026
- SoldBirgit GirshickChief Executive Officer · 10b5-1 plan$1.8mAug 11, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- May 11, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 18, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 9, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 19, 2025Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Sep 16, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 23, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 7, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 24, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 16, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 6, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 28, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 11, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 11, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $583.4m returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 47% of net income, and $358.1m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.5bn | $4.0bn | $4.1bn | $4.0bn | $4.0bn |
| Net income | $391.0m | $486.2m | $474.6m | $22.2m | −$144.3m |
| Stock-based pay | $71.5m | $73.6m | $72.0m | $69.9m | $71.1m |
| Buybacks | $40.7m | $38.7m | $24.2m | $119.2m | $360.7m |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 51m | 51m | 51m | 52m | 50m |
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.