Cardinal Health

CAH

Medical - Distribution · Healthcare

Price

$228.52

-0.20 (-0.09%)

Market Cap

$53.52B

Winston Score

Winston is serious

Below-average fundamentals — multiple weak pillars.

Share count falling — buybacks

−17.7% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 294.0M (2021) → 242.0M (2025)

Cardinal Health is one of the largest distributors of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies in the United States. It moves drugs from manufacturers to hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics — acting like a giant middleman in the healthcare supply chain. The company also sells medical products like gloves, gowns, and surgical kits under its own brand.

Cardinal Health makes money by buying products in bulk and reselling them at a small markup, which explains its very thin profit margins. It operates mainly in the U.S., with some international presence, and generates over $200 billion in annual revenue, making it one of the largest companies in America by sales. Its size and deep relationships with thousands of healthcare customers create a real advantage, but the business depends heavily on a small number of large pharmacy chains for a significant portion of revenue, which is a meaningful concentration risk going forward.

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

7 trades / 12mo

2 Congressional buys and 5 sells on CAH in the last 12 months.

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Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+11.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

-19.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (18%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

0.2%ownership

→ Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$3.9B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

Cardinal Health is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 11%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Gross Margin

4.1%

Thin — 4.1% gross margin

Operating Margin

0.8%

Thin — 0.8% operating margin

ROCE

8.4%

Below par — 8.4% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales YoY

+3.2%

Slow sales growth (3.2% YoY)

EPS YoY

+21.7%

Earnings growing fast (21.7% YoY)

Healthy double-digit earnings growth — what compounders look like.

EPS Consistency

6/8 quarters

Earnings grew in most of the last 8 quarters

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

431%

Turns 431% of profit into real cash

FCF Margin

2.6%

Thin free cash flow (2.6%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

N/A

—

Data not available

Interest Cover

7.04x

Adequate interest coverage (7.0x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

33.7x

Pricey — P/E 33.7

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

P/E vs Forward

+16.5

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (33.7 → 17.2)

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Dividends

Dividend Yield

0.88%

Small dividend — 0.88% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend Growth

+1.0%

Dividend flat

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