CAH
Cardinal Health
$239.32
▲ 0.7%Updated Aug 7, 11:30 AM ET
CAH at a glance — five pillars scored 0–100 from real filed financials.
Overall: Weak · 39/100. A wider, greener shape means more pillars look healthy. Dividends scores 0 when a company pays none — that is a choice, not a flaw.
▲ Up 34.1% over the last 12 months
Market Cap
$55.96B
P/E
36.28x
Forward P/E (est.)
35.48x
ROE
37.2%
Revenue Growth
12.9%
EPS Growth
2.3%
Profit Margin
0.6%
FCF Yield
1.5%
Debt / Equity
3.48x
ROIC
—
Interest Coverage
10.58x
Current Ratio
0.91x
Dividend Yield
0.9%
Implied Growth (rev. DCF)
5.5%
Rating Score
39/100
Cardinal Health (CAH) is a large-cap company in the Health Care Distributors industry, part of the Health Care sector of the S&P 500, with a market value around $55.96B.
In its latest reported year it generated about $222.58B in revenue and $1.56B in net profit.
Our model rates CAH Weak (39/100) on growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation. The summary below is built from its filed financials and current ratios and refreshes automatically.
Evidence of durable competitive advantage in the filed financials (10 years of history).
Some durable-advantage evidence, but not across the board — dig into which ingredient is weak and whether it's cyclical or structural.
3.4% average over the last 3 years
±0.8 pts around 4.3% across 10 years
grew in 8 of the last 9 year-over-year periods
positive in 10 of 10 years
A moat can't be proven by numbers alone — this scores the evidence a durable advantage leaves behind (pricing power, consistency, returns on capital), computed the same way for every stock. Pair it with the business overview before concluding anything.
Technical analysis reads price and volume to judge momentum and timing. It complements the fundamentals above — it does not replace them. Here is what CAH's chart says today, with each tool explained.
Trend — moving averages. A moving average is the average closing price over a window, which smooths out daily noise. CAH trades near $239.32, above its 50-day average ($207.57) and 200-day average ($201.04). Price above both averages, with the shorter one above the longer, is the textbook definition of an uptrend — momentum favours buyers.
Momentum — RSI. The Relative Strength Index runs 0–100 and measures how strong recent gains are versus losses. Above 70 is "overbought", below 30 "oversold". At 77 it is overbought — the recent rally is stretched and can cool off.
MACD. MACD compares two moving averages to flag shifts in momentum. Its histogram is currently positive — short-term momentum is improving.
Volatility — ATR. Average True Range is the typical daily move. CAH's is $5.44 (~2.3% of price), so swings of about that size each day are normal — handy for setting a stop that isn't too tight.
Support & resistance. Over the last month CAH found buyers near $197.53 (support) and sellers near $240.93 (resistance); its 52-week range is $137.75–$240.93. A decisive break beyond either edge often marks the next move.
Volume. The latest session traded 0.8× the 20-day average — about normal. Rising volume on up-days suggests real buying; on down-days, real selling.
Educational information to help you read a chart — not a recommendation or a forecast. It updates daily as the price and indicators change.
4Y CAGR
8.2%
Revenue moved from $121.55B in 2016 to $222.58B in 2025, a 7.0% compound annual growth rate. The most recent year grew a steady 12.9% year over year. Consistent top-line growth is one sign of healthy demand.
Gross Margin
3.7%
Operating Margin
1.0%
Net Margin
0.7%
ROE
37.2%
Cardinal Health keeps about 0.6% of each sales dollar as net profit, with a 3.7% gross margin and 1.0% operating margin. Return on equity is 37.2%. Thin margins leave less cushion if costs rise.
Total Debt
$2.50B
Net Debt
-$275.00M
Net cash position
Net Debt / EBITDA
-0.12x
Debt / Equity
3.48x
Leverage: debt-to-equity is 3.5x, and operating profit covers interest about 10.6x, with a current ratio of 0.9x. That is elevated leverage, which raises risk if earnings or rates move against it. It carries roughly $2.50B of total debt against $2.78B of cash.
Operating CF
$2.40B
Free Cash Flow
$1.85B
FCF Margin
0.8%
In the latest year Cardinal Health produced about $2.40B of operating cash flow and $1.85B of free cash flow after capital spending. That is a free-cash-flow yield of about 1.5% on today's price. Cash flow is what ultimately pays shareholders, so it is worth tracking over time.
Can the payout survive a bad year? Scored from filed cash flow, earnings coverage, and the raise/cut record.
The dividend is being paid, but coverage or consistency is thinner than an income investor should rely on without a closer look.
Dividend yield
0.9%
Per share (latest FY)
$2.02
Total paid (latest FY)
$494.00M
History on record
10 years
dividend uses 27% of free cash flow
32% of net income paid out
no current raise streak
payout was cut at least once in the last 10 years
Coverage uses the latest fiscal year as filed with the SEC; the streak counts total dollars paid (per-share figures can carry split artifacts). Educational information, not income advice.
P/E
36.28x
P/S
0.24x
P/B
9.72x
EV / EBITDA
—
CAH trades at 36.3x trailing earnings (about 35.5x on estimated forward earnings), 0.2x sales, and 9.7x book value. Reverse-engineering today's price implies the market expects roughly 5.5% long-term free-cash-flow growth. That is a premium multiple that needs growth to justify it.
A two-stage discounted cash flow on real SEC-filed free cash flow — the intrinsic-value anchor professional analysts triangulate from.
DCF fair value / share
$221.50
Current price
$239.32
Starting FCF (latest 10-K)
$1.85B
Growth, years 1–5
12.9%
Fade to terminal, years 6–10
2.5%
Discount rate
9.0%
Cash flows grow at the stage-1 rate (trailing revenue growth, capped at 20%) for five years, fade to 2.5% by year 10, and continue at that rate forever (Gordon terminal value), all discounted at 9.0%. Small changes in assumptions move the result a lot — treat this as one reference point, not a target price. Educational only, not investment advice.
Where CAH sits versus its Health Care sector peers in the S&P 500.
Bands show the middle half (25th–75th percentile) of the 83 Health Care companies in the S&P 500 — the peer-relative anchor professional comps analysis uses. Context only — not investment advice.
How CAH stacks up against its Health Care peers — valuation, profitability, and growth versus the sector median.
In the Health Care sector (324 S&P 500 companies), CAH ranks #64 of 324 by our overall rating. It trades at a premium versus the sector on earnings (36.3x P/E vs. 27.3x median) with a higher return on equity (37.2% vs. 14.1%) and faster revenue growth (12.9% vs. 7.6%).
P/E vs sector
36.3x
median 27.3x
ROE vs sector
37.2%
median 14.1%
Growth vs sector
12.9%
median 7.6%
Sector rank
#64
of 324 by rating
Valuation vs. quality map
The sweet spot is upper-left: more profitable (higher ROE) for a lower P/E. Dashed lines mark the sector median.
Peers are the closest Health Care companies by sub-industry and size. Sector median is across all 324 S&P 500 names in the sector. Educational, not a recommendation.
Project revenue → earnings → price. Edit the assumptions to build your own case.
2030 price target (Base Case)
$0.00 – $0.00
vs. $239.32 today · expected CAGR 37% – 51%
| Metric | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $251.51B | $284.21B | $321.16B | $362.91B | $410.09B |
| Net income | $7.55B | $8.53B | $9.63B | $10.89B | $12.30B |
| EPS | $32.27 | $36.46 | $41.20 | $46.56 | $52.61 |
| Share price (low) | $709.90 | $802.19 | $906.47 | $1,024.31 | $1,157.47 |
| Share price (high) | $1,161.65 | $1,312.67 | $1,483.32 | $1,676.15 | $1,894.05 |
| CAGR (low–high) | 197% / 385% | 83% / 134% | 56% / 84% | 44% / 63% | 37% / 51% |
Educational model on sample fundamentals — not a forecast or investment advice. Outputs are only as good as your assumptions.
The case for CAH:
- Revenue is growing 12.9% a year, a sign of real demand.
- Strong return on equity (37.2%) shows capital is put to work well.
The case against CAH:
- Thin net margins (0.6%) leave little room for error.
- Elevated leverage (debt/equity 3.5x) adds financial risk.
- Our model's overall read is Weak (39/100).
Valuation risk — at 36.3x earnings, disappointing results could compress the multiple.
Balance-sheet risk — debt/equity of 3.5x magnifies the impact of higher rates or weaker earnings.
Margin risk — thin profitability (0.6%) is vulnerable to cost or pricing pressure.
Market risk — sector rotation, the economic cycle, and broad sentiment move the stock regardless of fundamentals.
On balance, the fundamentals screen weakly: Cardinal Health is a large-cap health care business still growing nicely, with modest profitability, and a heavier debt load to watch. It trades at 36.3x earnings, which our model scores Weak (39/100). Weigh this against your own goals and time horizon — this is educational information, not a recommendation.
Analyst Ratings
What 23 Wall Street analysts covering CAH recommend (August 2026). Consensus is a useful sanity check — not a substitute for your own homework.
Latest SEC Filings
CAH's most recent filings, straight from SEC EDGAR. Annual and quarterly reports are the deep dives; 8-Ks flag material events the moment they happen.
CAH — frequently asked questions
Is CAH a good stock to buy?
We don't give buy or sell advice. Our model rates Cardinal Health Weak (39/100) based on its growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation — use that as a research starting point and make your own decision.
What is CAH's rating on The Stocks School?
Cardinal Health currently scores 39/100 (Weak) on our transparent model, which weighs real fundamentals: growth, margins, returns on capital, balance-sheet strength, and valuation.
How our ratings work →Where does CAH's data come from?
Live price data plus real fundamentals and 5-year financials pulled directly from Cardinal Health's SEC filings — refreshed automatically, not hand-entered.
How is the 5-year projection for CAH calculated?
It's a scenario model: it grows revenue at an assumed rate, applies a profit margin and a valuation multiple, and shows the resulting share-price range. The assumptions are yours to change — it's a tool for thinking, not a prediction.
Is this CAH analysis financial advice?
No. Everything on this page is educational research, not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell CAH. Always do your own research and consider a licensed professional.
Data notice. Fundamentals and financial statements are sourced from company filings (SEC EDGAR) and market-data providers; prices and market caps refresh on trading days and may be delayed. Ratings, projections, technical signals, and written summaries are model- or rule-generated for education and may simplify or lag the latest filings.
Not advice. Nothing on this page is investment advice or a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any security. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial professional before investing.