Seek Returns

CAH vs. GH: Cardinal Health vs. Guardant Health Stock Comparison

How do Cardinal Health (CAH) and Guardant Health (GH) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Cardinal Health (CAH) and Guardant Health (GH) both belong to the Health Care Providers & Services industry, though CAH is classified under Health Care Distributors while GH falls under Health Care Services.

Company profile comparison for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Guardant Health (GH)
Profile ItemCAHGH
NameCardinal Health, Inc.Guardant Health, Inc.
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorHealth CareHealth Care
GICS Industry GroupHealth Care Equipment & ServicesHealth Care Equipment & Services
GICS IndustryHealth Care Providers & ServicesHealth Care Providers & Services
GICS Sub-IndustryHealth Care DistributorsHealth Care Services
Market Capitalization62.80 billion USD20.41 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENasdaq
Listing DateAugust 4, 1983October 4, 2018
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CAH
GH
GSPC
Loading price history…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: 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 Guardant Health (GH). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…
Calendar-year total returns for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Guardant Health (GH). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Guardant Health (GH)
MetricCAHGH
Total Return (1Y)35.44%66.53%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)40.52%92.76%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)43.73%8.36%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CAH
GH
GSPC
Loading price history…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: 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 Guardant Health (GH). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Guardant Health (GH) has an aggressive beta of 1.69, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Cardinal Health (CAH) is defensive at 0.49 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Guardant Health (GH)
MetricCAHGH
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)25.91%53.23%
Beta (5Y)0.491.69
Max Drawdown (5Y)-20.95%-85.09%
Avg. Volume (3M)1.77M1.97M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Loading chart…
CAH and GH are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Guardant Health (GH)
MetricCAHGH
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)1.201.17
Sortino Ratio (1Y)1.901.84

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Neither Cardinal Health (CAH) nor Guardant Health (GH) reports a ROE value for this period, so a direct comparison isn’t possible.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

--

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

GH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

--

Max
47.61%
Q3
14.36%
Median
5.45%
Q1
-10.67%
Min
-47.01%
GH
--
Loading chart…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH): Neither stock reports ROE, so the chart shows available benchmark boxes without value markers.

Net Margin (TTM)

Guardant Health (GH) reports a negative net margin of -37.93%, usually indicating a net loss over the period. Meanwhile Cardinal Health (CAH) reports 0.71%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.71%

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

GH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

-37.93%

Max
29.35%
Q3
9.33%
Median
2.18%
Q1
-6.29%
Min
-28.46%
GH
-37.93%
Loading chart…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Guardant Health (GH) reports a negative operating margin of -37.06%, usually indicating that operating costs exceeded revenue at the operating-income line. Meanwhile Cardinal Health (CAH) reports 1.34%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.34%

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

GH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

-37.06%

Max
35.43%
Q3
14.14%
Median
6.81%
Q1
-0.28%
Min
-16.29%
GH
-37.06%
Loading chart…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Guardant Health (GH)
MetricCAHGH
ROE (TTM)----
ROA (TTM)3.72%-19.92%
Net Margin (TTM)0.71%-37.93%
Operating Margin (TTM)1.34%-37.06%
Gross Margin (TTM)3.90%65.19%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Guardant Health (GH) at 32.88% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Cardinal Health (CAH) at 14.23% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for GH.

Loading chart…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: Cardinal Health (CAH) reports EPS growth of 12.09%, ranked against its industry; Guardant Health (GH) has no EPS growth figure this period.

Loading chart…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Guardant Health (GH)
MetricCAHGH
Revenue Growth (YoY)14.23%32.88%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)7.44%29.75%
EPS Growth (YoY)12.09%--
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)93.37%--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Guardant Health (GH) at 3.60 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Cardinal Health (CAH) at 0.89 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for CAH.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.89

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

GH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.60

Max
7.59
Q3
4.00
GH
3.60
Median
1.98
Q1
1.37
Min
0.30
Loading chart…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Neither Cardinal Health (CAH) nor Guardant Health (GH) reports a debt-to-equity ratio value for this period, so a direct comparison isn’t possible.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

--

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

GH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

--

Max
1.88
Q3
0.91
Median
0.58
Q1
0.16
Min
0.00
GH
--
Loading chart…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH): Neither stock reports debt-to-equity ratio, so the chart shows available benchmark boxes without value markers.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Guardant Health (GH)
MetricCAHGH
Current Ratio (MRQ)0.893.60
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA0.81--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Guardant Health (GH) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Cardinal Health (CAH) reports a yield of 0.77%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.77%

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

GH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

GH
0.00%
Max
0.00%
Q3
0.00%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
Loading chart…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Guardant Health (GH) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Cardinal Health (CAH) reports a payout of 26.56%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

26.56%

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

GH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

GH
0.00%
Max
0.00%
Q3
0.00%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
Loading chart…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Guardant Health (GH)
MetricCAHGH
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.77%0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)26.56%0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

An earnings multiple is available for just one side: Cardinal Health (CAH) trades at 35.15 times trailing earnings, ranked against its peers, while Guardant Health (GH) has no P/E ratio this period.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

35.15

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

GH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

--

Max
80.41
Q3
47.62
Median
29.93
Q1
21.19
Min
4.21
GH
--
Loading chart…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH): GH does not report P/E ratio, so it has no value marker; CAH is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Cardinal Health (CAH) at 0.24 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Guardant Health (GH) at 15.96 prices above its industry range — a wide gap in sales valuation between them.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.24

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

GH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.96

GH
15.96
Max
8.80
Q3
4.32
Median
2.13
Q1
1.10
Min
0.03
Loading chart…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at -20.84 and Guardant Health (GH) at -73.67 report negative P/B ratio values, meaning both companies have negative book equity — neither multiple is meaningful for valuation.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

-20.84

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

GH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

-73.67

Max
11.68
Q3
6.12
Median
3.00
Q1
1.73
Min
-1.31
GH
-73.67
Loading chart…
Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Guardant Health (GH): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Guardant Health (GH)
MetricCAHGH
P/E Ratio (TTM)35.15--
P/S Ratio (TTM)0.2415.96
P/B Ratio (MRQ)-20.84-73.67
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)7.99%-0.30%