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CAH vs. IDXX: Cardinal Health vs. IDEXX Laboratories Stock Comparison

How do Cardinal Health (CAH) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) 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 IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) both fall under the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group, but CAH is classified in Health Care Providers & Services while IDXX is classified in Health Care Equipment & Supplies.

Company profile comparison for Cardinal Health (CAH) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
Profile ItemCAHIDXX
NameCardinal Health, Inc.IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorHealth CareHealth Care
GICS Industry GroupHealth Care Equipment & ServicesHealth Care Equipment & Services
GICS IndustryHealth Care Providers & ServicesHealth Care Equipment & Supplies
GICS Sub-IndustryHealth Care DistributorsHealth Care Equipment
Market Capitalization62.80 billion USD53.26 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENasdaq
Listing DateAugust 4, 1983June 21, 1991
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CAH
IDXX
GSPC
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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX), 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

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Trailing total returns for Cardinal Health (CAH) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Cardinal Health (CAH) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
MetricCAHIDXX
Total Return (1Y)35.44%-1.84%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)40.52%18.42%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)43.73%2.02%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CAH
IDXX
GSPC
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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX), 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

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Cardinal Health (CAH) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) has an aggressive beta of 1.44, 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 IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
MetricCAHIDXX
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)25.91%37.02%
Beta (5Y)0.491.44
Max Drawdown (5Y)-20.95%-50.91%
Avg. Volume (3M)1.77M564.80K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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CAH and IDXX 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 IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
MetricCAHIDXX
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)1.20-0.17
Sortino Ratio (1Y)1.90-0.28

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) earns 68.93% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; Cardinal Health (CAH) has no ROE this period.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

--

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

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

68.93%

IDXX
68.93%
Max
47.61%
Q3
14.36%
Median
5.45%
Q1
-10.67%
Min
-47.01%
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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): CAH does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; IDXX is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 25.36% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Cardinal Health (CAH) at 0.71%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

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%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.36%

Max
29.35%
IDXX
25.36%
Q3
9.33%
Median
2.18%
Q1
-6.29%
Min
-28.46%
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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 33.14% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Cardinal Health (CAH) at 1.34%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

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%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

33.14%

Max
35.43%
IDXX
33.14%
Q3
14.14%
Median
6.81%
Q1
-0.28%
Min
-16.29%
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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
MetricCAHIDXX
ROE (TTM)--68.93%
ROA (TTM)3.72%26.70%
Net Margin (TTM)0.71%25.36%
Operating Margin (TTM)1.34%33.14%
Gross Margin (TTM)3.90%62.72%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at 14.23% and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 10.42% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at 12.09% and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 22.59% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
MetricCAHIDXX
Revenue Growth (YoY)14.23%10.42%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)7.44%8.52%
EPS Growth (YoY)12.09%22.59%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)93.37%17.66%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at 0.89 and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 1.19 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

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

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.19

Max
7.59
Q3
4.00
Median
1.98
Q1
1.37
IDXX
1.19
Min
0.30
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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52 against its industry range, while Cardinal Health (CAH) reports no figure this period.

CAH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

--

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

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.52

Max
1.88
Q3
0.91
Median
0.58
IDXX
0.52
Q1
0.16
Min
0.00
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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): CAH does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; IDXX is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
MetricCAHIDXX
Current Ratio (MRQ)0.891.19
Debt / Equity (MRQ)--0.52
Net Debt / EBITDA0.810.46

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) 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%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

IDXX
0.00%
Max
0.00%
Q3
0.00%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) 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%

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

IDXX
0.00%
Max
0.00%
Q3
0.00%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
MetricCAHIDXX
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.77%0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)26.56%0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at 35.15 and IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 45.56 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

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

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

45.56

Max
80.41
Q3
47.62
IDXX
45.56
Median
29.93
Q1
21.19
Min
4.21
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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Cardinal Health (CAH) at 0.24 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) at 11.42 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

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

11.42

IDXX
11.42
Max
8.80
Q3
4.32
Median
2.13
Q1
1.10
Min
0.03
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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Cardinal Health (CAH) reports a negative P/B ratio of -20.84, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) reports 28.50, ranking against industry peers normally.

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

IDXX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

28.50

IDXX
28.50
Max
11.68
Q3
6.12
Median
3.00
Q1
1.73
Min
-1.31
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Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): 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 IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
MetricCAHIDXX
P/E Ratio (TTM)35.1545.56
P/S Ratio (TTM)0.2411.42
P/B Ratio (MRQ)-20.8428.50
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)7.99%2.00%