Cardinal Health (CAH) Stock Analysis

November 11, 2026

This is a peer-relative look at Cardinal Health (CAH): its performance, risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividend, and valuation are each measured against its Health Care Equipment & Services peers, so every number reads in context rather than in isolation.

Company Profile

Company profile fields for Cardinal Health (CAH)
Profile Item	CAH
Name	Cardinal Health, Inc.
Country/Region	United States
GICS Sector	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Health Care Equipment & Services
GICS Industry	Health Care Providers & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Distributors
Market Capitalization	62.80 billion USD
Currency	USD
Exchange	NYSE
Listing Date	August 4, 1983
Security Type	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CAH

GSPC

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. S&P 500 (GSPC): Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for Cardinal Health (CAH) and S&P 500 (GSPC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

Calendar-year total returns for Cardinal Health (CAH) and S&P 500 (GSPC). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Cardinal Health (CAH) metric values compared with Health Care Equipment & Services industry-group medians
Metric	Current stock: CAH	Industry group median
Total Return (1Y)	35.44%	21.53%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	40.52%	9.81%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	43.73%	-2.76%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CAH

GSPC

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. S&P 500 (GSPC): Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

Loading price history…

Distribution of monthly total returns for Cardinal Health (CAH) and S&P 500 (GSPC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Cardinal Health (CAH) metric values compared with Health Care Equipment & Services industry-group medians
Metric	Current stock: CAH	Industry group median
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	25.91%	50.93%
Beta (5Y)	0.49	0.85
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-20.95%	-70.34%

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Each dot is a stock plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. CAH is highlighted; the dashed line is the Capital Allocation Line from the risk-free rate through the industry median — dots above it are stronger on a risk-adjusted basis.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Cardinal Health (CAH) metric values compared with Health Care Equipment & Services industry-group medians
Metric	Current stock: CAH	Industry group median
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.20	0.34
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.90	0.54

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

No usable ROE is available for Cardinal Health (CAH) this period, so the shareholder-equity return read is skipped.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Group distribution

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%
CAH: --

Largest peers

ISRG: 17.93%
SYK: 16.02%
UNH: 15.77%
MDT: 10.65%
ABT: 9.14%
CAH: --
MCK: --

Cardinal Health (CAH) doesn’t report ROE this period; the box shows the Health Care Equipment & Services group’s distribution and the dots its largest members.

Net Margin (TTM)

Cardinal Health (CAH) keeps 0.71% of revenue as net profit, roughly in line with the peer group’s normal net margin range. Its full cost stack is taking a typical share of sales for the industry.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.71%

Group distribution

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
CAH: 0.71%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Largest peers

ISRG: 25.54%
MDT: 13.93%
SYK: 13.78%
ABT: 9.75%
UNH: 3.53%
MCK: 1.12%
CAH: 0.71%

Where Cardinal Health (CAH) stands on net margin within its Health Care Equipment & Services peer group — the box is the group’s distribution and the dots its largest members.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Cardinal Health (CAH) turns 1.34% of revenue into operating profit, roughly in line with the peer group’s normal operating margin range. Its core cost structure looks typical for the industry.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.34%

Group distribution

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
CAH: 1.34%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Largest peers

ISRG: 33.29%
SYK: 22.96%
MDT: 19.33%
ABT: 11.66%
UNH: 5.82%
MCK: 1.48%
CAH: 1.34%

Where Cardinal Health (CAH) stands on operating margin within its Health Care Equipment & Services peer group — the box is the group’s distribution and the dots its largest members.

Profitability Metrics

Cardinal Health (CAH) metric values compared with Health Care Equipment & Services industry-group medians
Metric	Current stock: CAH	Industry group median
ROE (TTM)	--	5.45%
ROA (TTM)	3.72%	3.17%
Net Margin (TTM)	0.71%	2.18%
Operating Margin (TTM)	1.34%	6.81%
Gross Margin (TTM)	3.90%	55.21%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Cardinal Health (CAH) grew revenue 14.23%, roughly around the peer group's normal range. Top-line momentum looks broadly typical for the industry.

Cardinal Health (CAH): Revenue Growth across different time periods, set against Health Care Equipment & Services industry-group medians.

EPS Growth

Cardinal Health (CAH) grew earnings per share 12.09%, roughly around the peer group's normal range. Bottom-line momentum looks broadly typical for the industry.

Cardinal Health (CAH): EPS Growth across different time periods, set against Health Care Equipment & Services industry-group medians.

Growth Metrics

Cardinal Health (CAH) metric values compared with Health Care Equipment & Services industry-group medians
Metric	Current stock: CAH	Industry group median
Revenue Growth (YoY)	14.23%	11.55%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.44%	10.83%
EPS Growth (YoY)	12.09%	4.88%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	93.37%	14.59%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Cardinal Health (CAH) has current ratio of 0.89, in the tighter-liquidity quartile for its industry. The short-term cushion is thinner than most peers carry, even if the absolute comfort level still depends on the business model.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.89

Group distribution

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
CAH: 0.89
Min: 0.30

Largest peers

ISRG: 3.33
SYK: 2.18
MDT: 2.07
ABT: 1.46
MCK: 0.90
CAH: 0.89
UNH: 0.74

Where Cardinal Health (CAH) stands on current ratio within its Health Care Equipment & Services peer group — the box is the group’s distribution and the dots its largest members.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

No usable debt-to-equity ratio is available for Cardinal Health (CAH) this period, so the balance-sheet leverage read is skipped.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

Group distribution

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00
CAH: --

Largest peers

UNH: 0.70
SYK: 0.66
ABT: 0.61
MDT: 0.55
CAH: --
ISRG: --
MCK: --

Cardinal Health (CAH) doesn’t report debt-to-equity ratio this period; the box shows the Health Care Equipment & Services group’s distribution and the dots its largest members.

Financial Strength Metrics

Cardinal Health (CAH) metric values compared with Health Care Equipment & Services industry-group medians
Metric	Current stock: CAH	Industry group median
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.89	1.98
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	0.58
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.81	2.04

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Cardinal Health (CAH) has dividend yield of 0.77%, above the entire industry range. That headline income is large, but yields this far above peers often come from a falling share price or an at-risk payout, so dividend safety matters more than the percentage itself.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.77%

Group distribution

CAH: 0.77%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Largest peers

MDT: 2.72%
UNH: 2.29%
ABT: 2.22%
SYK: 1.05%
CAH: 0.77%
MCK: 0.32%
ISRG: 0.00%

Where Cardinal Health (CAH) stands on dividend yield within its Health Care Equipment & Services peer group — the box is the group’s distribution and the dots its largest members.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Cardinal Health (CAH) has payout ratio of 26.56%, above the peer distribution for its industry. The dividend consumes more reported earnings than peers normally do, leaving unusually thin earnings cover.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

26.56%

Group distribution

CAH: 26.56%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Largest peers

ABT: 92.54%
MDT: 70.02%
UNH: 51.71%
SYK: 37.49%
CAH: 26.56%
MCK: 8.77%
ISRG: 0.00%

Where Cardinal Health (CAH) stands on payout ratio within its Health Care Equipment & Services peer group — the box is the group’s distribution and the dots its largest members.

Dividend Metrics

Cardinal Health (CAH) metric values compared with Health Care Equipment & Services industry-group medians
Metric	Current stock: CAH	Industry group median
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.77%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	26.56%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Cardinal Health (CAH) trades at P/E ratio of 35.15, near the industry’s usual earnings multiple. The stock is not showing a clear peer discount or premium on trailing earnings.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

35.15

Group distribution

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
CAH: 35.15
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

Largest peers

ISRG: 54.75
ABT: 41.02
CAH: 35.15
SYK: 34.70
MCK: 27.36
MDT: 25.01
UNH: 22.50

Where Cardinal Health (CAH) stands on P/E ratio within its Health Care Equipment & Services peer group — the box is the group’s distribution and the dots its largest members.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Cardinal Health (CAH) trades at 0.24 on P/S ratio, in the lower sales-valuation quartile for its industry. That points to a cheaper revenue stream than most peers, with margin quality still doing the heavy lifting.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.24

Group distribution

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
CAH: 0.24
Min: 0.03

Largest peers

ISRG: 13.82
SYK: 4.72
ABT: 3.95
MDT: 3.47
UNH: 0.78
MCK: 0.29
CAH: 0.24

Where Cardinal Health (CAH) stands on P/S ratio within its Health Care Equipment & Services peer group — the box is the group’s distribution and the dots its largest members.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Cardinal Health (CAH) has negative P/B ratio of -20.84, which means reported book equity is negative. Price-to-book breaks down in this situation and should not be used as a valuation signal.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

-20.84

Group distribution

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31
CAH: -20.84

Largest peers

ISRG: 9.82
SYK: 5.29
ABT: 3.73
UNH: 3.60
MDT: 2.59
CAH: -20.84
MCK: -30.85

Where Cardinal Health (CAH) stands on P/B ratio within its Health Care Equipment & Services peer group — the box is the group’s distribution and the dots its largest members.

Valuation Metrics

Cardinal Health (CAH) metric values compared with Health Care Equipment & Services industry-group medians
Metric	Current stock: CAH	Industry group median
P/E Ratio (TTM)	35.15	29.93
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.24	2.13
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	-20.84	3.00
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	7.99%	3.50%