Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH) AI Stock Analysis

Cardinal Health operates as a global healthcare services and products provider organized into two primary segments: Pharmaceutical and Medical. The Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded, generic, specialty, and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, while operating nuclear pharmacies and radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. It also provides medication therapy management and patient outcomes services. The Medical segment manufactures, sources, and distributes medical, surgical, and laboratory products under the Cardinal Health brand, including exam and surgical gloves, nutritional delivery systems, and wound care products. In addition, the segment delivers supply chain services, assembles procedure kits, and distributes national brand medical and surgical supplies.

Between FY2021 and FY2026, Cardinal Health achieved a 5-year revenue compound annual growth rate of 9.4%. Revenue rose 14.2% in FY2026 to $254.25B after declining 1.9% in FY2025 to $222.58B. Net income reached $1.71B in FY2026, up from $1.56B in FY2025 and an improvement from a net loss of $938.0M in FY2022. Gross margin stood at 3.8% in FY2026, with an operating margin of 1.0% and net margin of 0.7%. For the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2026, revenue was $254.25B with diluted EPS of $7.23, while quarterly revenue grew 5.8% and quarterly earnings rose 68.8% year-over-year.

As of June 30, 2026, Cardinal Health held $4.86B in cash and short-term investments against total debt of $9.95B, resulting in net debt of $5.09B. Total assets stood at $57.30B, while the current ratio was 0.88 and shareholders' equity was -$2.88B. In FY2026, operating cash flow reached $5.17B. The company directed cash toward capital expenditures of $649.0M, share buybacks of $1.36B, and dividends paid of $491.0M. The share count decreased 15.7% over five years.

At a last close of $254.06, Cardinal Health has a market capitalization of $58.83B and an enterprise value of $55.27B. The stock trades at a trailing P/E of 35.1x and a forward P/E of 17.7x, compared to the median of its S&P 500 Healthcare peers at 27.2x and 16.5x, respectively. Its price-to-sales multiple is 0.2x versus the peer median of 3.4x, and EV/EBITDA is 15.9x versus 15.0x. Over the past year, CAH gained 67.3% compared to 16.8% for the S&P 500 benchmark, and over five years returned 479.4% versus 83.0% for the index.

Cardinal Health pays a quarterly dividend with an annualized forward rate of $2.06, yielding 0.81%. The dividend payout ratio is 18.2%, and the company has paid dividends for 42 consecutive years. The annualized 5-year dividend growth rate is 1.0%, and the last ex-dividend date was October 1, 2026.

Wall Street coverage consists of 11 Strong Buy, 3 Buy, and 3 Hold recommendations, with no Sell or Strong Sell ratings. The mean price target of $271.47 sits 6.9% above the last close of $254.06. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, consensus estimates call for revenue of $265.77B and EPS of $12.56, representing 14.8% EPS growth. Cardinal Health beat EPS estimates in each of the last 4 quarters, with the next earnings release scheduled for November 5, 2026.

This page is an AI-written research summary of Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH). The text was generated on October 30, 2026 from Quotelinks data as of October 16, 2026 (company profile, annual results, latest balance sheet, valuation, price performance and analyst estimates). An automatic check rejects any draft that contains a figure not found in that data. It is not investment advice; verify figures on the linked tabs before making decisions.

Related: CAH income statement, CAH balance sheet, CAH key metrics, CAH analyst forecast, CAH chart. See the CAH stock overview for the latest quote and news.