COR vs. MDLN: Cencora vs. Medline Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Cencora (COR) and Medline (MDLN) both fall under the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group, but COR is classified in Health Care Providers & Services while MDLN is classified in Health Care Equipment & Supplies.

Cencora (COR) has been public since April 4, 1995, giving it decades of market history across multiple cycles, while Medline (MDLN) listed only on December 17, 2025 and lacks comparable through-cycle data.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Medline (MDLN) reports a negative beta of -0.93, suggesting inverse market sensitivity over the measurement window. That is uncommon for ordinary equities and can reflect commodity-linked or hedge-like exposure, but it can also come from statistical noise. Cencora (COR) has a non-negative beta of 0.56.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Both COR and MDLN need 1-year volatility and 1-year return to plot risk-return positioning.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Cencora (COR) at 129.01% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Medline (MDLN) at 4.85%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

Both Cencora (COR) at 1.03% and Medline (MDLN) at 1.85% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

Both Cencora (COR) at 1.27% and Medline (MDLN) at 5.22% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Neither Cencora (COR) nor Medline (MDLN) reports a revenue growth value for this period, so a direct comparison isn't possible.

Both Cencora (COR) at 125.50% and Medline (MDLN) at 117.38% grew per-share earnings faster than their entire industry benchmark ranges for EPS growth — a strong showing on both sides, though a depressed base year can exaggerate the percentage, so the level of earnings matters too.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Medline (MDLN) at 4.04 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while Cencora (COR) at 0.94 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

Medline (MDLN) at 0.65 is near its industry mid-range for debt-to-equity ratio, while Cencora (COR) at 3.06 sits above its benchmark range, pointing to a heavier debt load relative to equity.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Medline (MDLN) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Cencora (COR) reports a yield of 0.71%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Medline (MDLN) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Cencora (COR) reports a payout of 17.45%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Cencora (COR) at 18.58 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Medline (MDLN) at 90.09 trades above its peer range — a wide earnings-valuation gap relative to industry peers.

Cencora (COR) at 0.19 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Medline (MDLN) at 1.70 prices around its industry’s middle — COR costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

Medline (MDLN) at 2.95 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Cencora (COR) at 17.29 prices above its benchmark range — COR looks rich relative to book.

Valuation Metrics