Cardinal Health (CAH)
Health Care · $52.5B market cap · SEC CIK 0000721371
$222.04
▼-1.64% on the day
close of Sep 22, 2026
51
Mixed
fundamentals score out of 100
fundamentals score out of 100
Next reports on Oct 28, 2026, with analysts expecting $2.96 in earnings per share.
The case for CAH
- Revenue growing 14.2% year over year.
- Moves less than the market (beta 0.55).
- Pays a modest 1.9% dividend.
- Up 50.9% over the past year.
- Price/sales of 0.2× is lower than 97% of Health Care companies.
The case against
- Pricey at 30.6× earnings, against a long-run market average nearer 20×.
- Net margin of 0.7% leaves very little room for error.
- Owes more than it owns: shareholder equity is -$2.9B, usually the result of buybacks funded with debt. ROE and price-to-book mean little here.
- Current liabilities exceed current assets (ratio 0.88).
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Health Care companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings, sales, assets and cash | 58 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 66 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 24 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 69 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 36 |
- Shareholder equity is negative, so return on equity, price-to-book and debt-to-equity are left out.
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 59 Health Care companies.
Key numbers
| Price / earnings | 30.6× |
|---|---|
| Price / book | n/m (negative equity) |
| Price / sales | 0.2× |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +14.2% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | +12.4% |
| Gross margin | 4% |
| Operating margin | 1% |
| Net margin | 1% |
| Return on assets | 3.0% (ROE not meaningful: negative equity) |
| Debt / equity | n/m (negative equity) |
| Current ratio | 0.88 |
| Dividend yield | 1.88% |
| Beta | 0.55 |
| 52-week range | $145.87 – $258.30 |
| Position in that range | 68% of the way up |
| 3-month return | +1.8% |
| 1-year return | +50.9% |
Five years of financials, as filed
Pulled from Cardinal Health's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are derived from the rows above.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $223B | $227B | $205B | $181B | $162B |
| Gross profit | $8.2B | $7.4B | $6.9B | $6.5B | $6.8B |
| Operating income | $2.3B | $1.2B | $752M | -$607M | $472M |
| Net income | $1.6B | $852M | $330M | -$938M | $611M |
| Operating cash flow | $2.4B | $3.8B | $2.8B | $3.2B | $2.4B |
| Capital expenditure | $547M | $511M | $481M | $387M | $400M |
| Total assets | $58.1B | $47.0B | $46.6B | $44.5B | $43.7B |
| Shareholder equity | -$2.9B | -$3.0B | -$3.4B | -$2.2B | $998M |
| Cash | $2.8B | $3.8B | $4.6B | $3.7B | $3.2B |
| Free cash flow | $1.9B | $3.3B | $2.4B | $2.8B | $2.0B |
| Gross margin | 3.7% | 3.3% | 3.4% | 3.6% | 4.2% |
| Operating margin | 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.4% | -0.3% | 0.3% |
| Net margin | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.2% | -0.5% | 0.4% |
| Diluted shares | 242M | 247M | 262M | 279M | 294M |
Share count is down 17.7% over 4 years. Buybacks have been shrinking the pie.
Risk factors CAH lists in its 10-K
- References to Cardinal Health and Fiscal Years
- Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
- Important Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
- Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
- Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions Segment
- Global Medical Products and Distribution Segment
- GAAP and Non-GAAP Operating Earnings
- Significant Developments in Fiscal 2026 and Trends
- Management Service Organization Platforms
- International Emergency Economic Powers Act ("IEEPA")Tariffs
- Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions
- Global Medical Products and Distribution
- Distribution, Selling, General, and Administrative ("SG&A") Expenses
- Segment Profit and Operating Earnings