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Cencora

COR
48
Medical - Distribution · Healthcare
Price
$307.90
-0.09 (-0.03%)
Market Cap
$59.91B
Winston Score
48
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Share count falling — buybacks

−6.4% over 4y

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

Diluted shares outstanding: 208.5M (2021) → 195.2M (2025)

Cencora is one of the largest drug distributors in the United States. It buys medicines from pharmaceutical manufacturers and delivers them to pharmacies, hospitals, and doctors' offices. The company does not make drugs itself — it moves them through the supply chain to the places where patients actually get their medications.

Cencora makes money by buying drugs in bulk and selling them at a slightly higher price, which is why its profit margins are very thin. It operates mainly in the United States but also has a smaller international business through its Alliance Healthcare segment in Europe. Its size is its main advantage — handling enormous volumes of drugs gives it negotiating power with both suppliers and customers. The biggest risk the company faces is drug pricing pressure, since any policy changes that lower drug prices or cut distribution fees could squeeze its already narrow margins further.

Winston Score History

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Growth Profile

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

Revenue Growth

+3.8% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+128.1% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (18%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

5.4%ownership

→ Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$2.2B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

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

Growth context

Cencora is growing revenue at 4% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

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.

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Quality

Gross Margin
4.2%
Thin — 4.2% gross margin
Operating Margin
1.7%
Thin — 1.7% operating margin
ROCE
8.5%
Below par — 8.5% 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
+3.4%
Slow sales growth (3.4% YoY)
EPS YoY
+87.2%
Earnings growing fast (87.2% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

EPS Consistency
6/8 quarters
Earnings grew in most of the last 8 quarters

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
293%
Turns 293% of profit into real cash
FCF Margin
2.3%
Thin free cash flow (2.3%)

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

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Stability

Debt / Equity
3.65
Heavy debt load (3.65)
Interest Cover
8.19x
Comfortably covers interest (8.2x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
22.1x
Growth-priced — P/E 22.1

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

P/E vs Forward
+9.7
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (22.1 → 12.4)

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Dividends

Dividend Yield
0.86%
Small dividend — 0.86% yield

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

Dividend Growth
+8.8%
Dividend growing modestly (8.8% YoY)

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