CAH vs. UNH: Cardinal Health vs. UnitedHealth Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Cardinal Health (CAH) and UnitedHealth (UNH) 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 UnitedHealth (UNH) both belong to the Health Care Providers & Services industry, though CAH is classified under Health Care Distributors while UNH falls under Managed Health Care.

Company profile comparison for Cardinal Health (CAH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Profile Item	CAH	UNH
Name	Cardinal Health, Inc.	UnitedHealth Group Inc.
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	Managed Health Care
Market Capitalization	62.80 billion USD	353.17 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	August 4, 1983	October 17, 1984
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CAH

UNH

GSPC

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH), 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 UnitedHealth (UNH). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CAH	UNH
Total Return (1Y)	35.44%	26.08%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	40.52%	-7.69%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	43.73%	-1.26%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CAH

UNH

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CAH	UNH
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	25.91%	34.76%
Beta (5Y)	0.49	0.52
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-20.95%	-61.39%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.77M	5.13M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CAH and UNH 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 UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CAH	UNH
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.20	0.63
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.90	0.86

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: UnitedHealth (UNH) earns 15.77% 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: --

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.77%

Max: 47.61%
UNH: 15.77%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at 0.71% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 3.53% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

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%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.53%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
UNH: 3.53%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at 1.34% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 5.82% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

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%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

5.82%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
UNH: 5.82%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CAH	UNH
ROE (TTM)	--	15.77%
ROA (TTM)	3.72%	5.24%
Net Margin (TTM)	0.71%	3.53%
Operating Margin (TTM)	1.34%	5.82%
Gross Margin (TTM)	3.90%	20.05%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at 14.23% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 11.81% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at 12.09% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at -14.70% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CAH	UNH
Revenue Growth (YoY)	14.23%	11.81%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.44%	11.35%
EPS Growth (YoY)	12.09%	-14.70%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	93.37%	-14.52%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at 0.89 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.74 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

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.74

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
UNH: 0.74
Min: 0.30

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): 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: UnitedHealth (UNH) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70 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: --

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.70

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
UNH: 0.70
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

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

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CAH	UNH
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.89	0.74
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	0.70
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.81	1.58

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at 0.77% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 2.29% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

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%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.29%

UNH: 2.29%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at 26.56% and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 51.71% pay out more of their earnings than any of their industry peers — the thinnest cover in their groups, so dividend headroom deserves attention.

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%

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

51.71%

UNH: 51.71%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Cardinal Health (CAH) and UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CAH	UNH
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.77%	2.29%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	26.56%	51.71%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Cardinal Health (CAH) at 35.15 and UnitedHealth (UNH) at 22.50 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

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

22.50

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
UNH: 22.50
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): 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 UnitedHealth (UNH) at 0.78 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

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.78

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
UNH: 0.78
Min: 0.03

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): 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 UnitedHealth (UNH) reports 3.60, 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

UNH

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.60

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
UNH: 3.60
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

Cardinal Health (CAH) vs. UnitedHealth (UNH): 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 UnitedHealth (UNH)
Metric	CAH	UNH
P/E Ratio (TTM)	35.15	22.50
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.24	0.78
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	-20.84	3.60
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	7.99%	7.50%