COR vs. CVS: Cencora vs. CVS Health Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS) 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

Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS) both belong to the Health Care Providers & Services industry, though COR is classified under Health Care Distributors while CVS falls under Health Care Services.

Company profile comparison for Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS)
Profile Item	COR	CVS
Name	Cencora Inc.	CVS Health Corporation Common Stock
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 Services
Market Capitalization	63.65 billion USD	107.28 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	April 4, 1995	February 21, 1973
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

COR

CVS

GSPC

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS), 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 Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	COR	CVS
Total Return (1Y)	-3.53%	11.41%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	21.62%	12.73%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	24.10%	1.70%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

COR

CVS

GSPC

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS), 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 Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	COR	CVS
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	31.90%	34.14%
Beta (5Y)	0.56	0.60
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-32.44%	-56.79%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.29M	8.60M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

COR and CVS 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 Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	COR	CVS
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.24	0.21
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.30	0.28

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Cencora (COR) at 129.01% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than CVS Health (CVS) at 14.36%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

COR

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

129.01%

COR: 129.01%
Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

14.36%

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

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Cencora (COR) at 1.03% and CVS Health (CVS) at 2.64% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

COR

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.03%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
COR: 1.03%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.64%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
CVS: 2.64%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Cencora (COR) at 1.27% and CVS Health (CVS) at 2.72% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

COR

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.27%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
COR: 1.27%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.72%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
CVS: 2.72%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	COR	CVS
ROE (TTM)	129.01%	14.36%
ROA (TTM)	3.57%	3.11%
Net Margin (TTM)	1.03%	2.64%
Operating Margin (TTM)	1.27%	2.72%
Gross Margin (TTM)	4.09%	13.72%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Only one side can be read here: CVS Health (CVS) reports revenue growth of 7.85%, ranked against its industry; Cencora (COR) has no revenue growth figure this period.

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Cencora (COR) at 125.50% delivers above-range EPS growth, while CVS Health (CVS) at -62.02% falls into the bottom quartile — a wide split in earnings momentum.

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	COR	CVS
Revenue Growth (YoY)	--	7.85%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	7.63%
EPS Growth (YoY)	125.50%	-62.02%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	28.15%	-24.73%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Cencora (COR) at 0.94 and CVS Health (CVS) at 0.85 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

COR

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.94

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
COR: 0.94
Min: 0.30

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.85

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
CVS: 0.85
Min: 0.30

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both balance sheets lean debt-heavy versus peers, but COR is more stretched: CVS Health (CVS) at 0.93 sits in the higher-leverage quartile and Cencora (COR) at 3.06 is above its industry benchmark range.

COR

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.06

COR: 3.06
Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.93

Max: 1.88
CVS: 0.93
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	COR	CVS
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.94	0.85
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	3.06	0.93
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.12	3.49

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Cencora (COR) at 0.71% and CVS Health (CVS) at 3.27% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

COR

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.71%

COR: 0.71%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.27%

CVS: 3.27%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Cencora (COR) at 17.45% and CVS Health (CVS) at 30.89% pay out more of their earnings than any of their industry peers — the thinnest cover in their groups, so dividend headroom deserves attention.

COR

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

17.45%

COR: 17.45%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

30.89%

CVS: 30.89%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	COR	CVS
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.71%	3.27%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	17.45%	30.89%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Cencora (COR) at 18.58 and CVS Health (CVS) at 9.74 sit in the cheaper earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, with the market paying less for a dollar of trailing earnings than it pays for typical peers.

COR

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

18.58

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
COR: 18.58
Min: 4.21

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.74

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
Q1: 21.19
CVS: 9.74
Min: 4.21

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Cencora (COR) at 0.19 and CVS Health (CVS) at 0.26 fetch a relatively low price per dollar of sales, landing in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

COR

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.19

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
COR: 0.19
Min: 0.03

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.26

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
CVS: 0.26
Min: 0.03

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

CVS Health (CVS) at 1.33 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile relative to book while Cencora (COR) at 17.29 prices above its industry range — a wide valuation gap against assets.

COR

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

17.29

COR: 17.29
Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

CVS

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.33

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
CVS: 1.33
Min: -1.31

Cencora (COR) vs. CVS Health (CVS): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Cencora (COR) and CVS Health (CVS)
Metric	COR	CVS
P/E Ratio (TTM)	18.58	9.74
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.19	0.26
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	17.29	1.33
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.81%	11.02%