CAH vs. THC: Cardinal Health vs. Tenet Healthcare Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Cardinal Health (CAH) and Tenet Healthcare (THC) 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 Tenet Healthcare (THC) both belong to the Health Care Providers & Services industry, though CAH is classified under Health Care Distributors while THC falls under Health Care Facilities.

Company profile comparison for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Tenet Healthcare (THC)
Profile Item	CAH	THC
Name	Cardinal Health, Inc.	Tenet Healthcare Corp.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Health Care Equipment & Services	Health Care Equipment & Services
GICS Industry	Health Care Providers & Services	Health Care Providers & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Health Care Distributors	Health Care Facilities
Market Capitalization	62.80 billion USD	22.55 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	August 4, 1983	March 17, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CAH

THC

GSPC

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC), 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 Tenet Healthcare (THC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Tenet Healthcare (THC)
Metric	CAH	THC
Total Return (1Y)	35.44%	43.40%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	40.52%	77.47%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	43.73%	29.92%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CAH

THC

GSPC

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC), 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 Tenet Healthcare (THC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Tenet Healthcare (THC)
Metric	CAH	THC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	25.91%	43.80%
Beta (5Y)	0.49	1.17
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-20.95%	-58.88%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.77M	768.24K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CAH and THC 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 Tenet Healthcare (THC)
Metric	CAH	THC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.20	0.89
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.90	1.71

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Tenet Healthcare (THC) earns 41.70% 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: --

THC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

41.70%

Max: 47.61%
THC: 41.70%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC): CAH does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; THC is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

Tenet Healthcare (THC) at 13.09% 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%

THC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

13.09%

Max: 29.35%
THC: 13.09%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Tenet Healthcare (THC) at 19.04% 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%

THC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

19.04%

Max: 35.43%
THC: 19.04%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Tenet Healthcare (THC)
Metric	CAH	THC
ROE (TTM)	--	41.70%
ROA (TTM)	3.72%	8.68%
Net Margin (TTM)	0.71%	13.09%
Operating Margin (TTM)	1.34%	19.04%
Gross Margin (TTM)	3.90%	42.47%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Cardinal Health (CAH) at 14.23% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Tenet Healthcare (THC) at 3.07% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Cardinal Health (CAH) at 12.09% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Tenet Healthcare (THC) at -52.63% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Tenet Healthcare (THC)
Metric	CAH	THC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	14.23%	3.07%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.44%	3.58%
EPS Growth (YoY)	12.09%	-52.63%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	93.37%	59.88%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Tenet Healthcare (THC) at 1.59 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

THC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.59

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
THC: 1.59
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC): 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: Tenet Healthcare (THC) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38 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: --

THC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.38

Max: 1.88
THC: 1.38
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC): CAH does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; THC is benchmarked against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Tenet Healthcare (THC)
Metric	CAH	THC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.89	1.59
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	1.38
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.81	2.06

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Tenet Healthcare (THC) 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%

THC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

THC: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Tenet Healthcare (THC) 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%

THC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

THC: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and Tenet Healthcare (THC)
Metric	CAH	THC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.77%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	26.56%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Tenet Healthcare (THC) at 8.26 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Cardinal Health (CAH) at 35.15 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for THC, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

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

THC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

8.26

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
THC: 8.26
Min: 4.21

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at 0.24 and Tenet Healthcare (THC) at 1.02 fetch a relatively low price per dollar of sales, landing in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

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

THC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.02

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
THC: 1.02
Min: 0.03

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC): 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 Tenet Healthcare (THC) reports 4.14, 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

THC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

4.14

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
THC: 4.14
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. Tenet Healthcare (THC): 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 Tenet Healthcare (THC)
Metric	CAH	THC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	35.15	8.26
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.24	1.02
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	-20.84	4.14
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	7.99%	8.99%