Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health, Inc. operates as a healthcare services and products company in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments: Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions, and Global Medical Products and Distribution. The company offers customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare…
Cardinal Health, Inc. operates as a healthcare services and products company in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments: Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions, and Global Medical Products and Distribution. The company offers customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients in the home. It distributes branded and generic pharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical, and over-the-counter healthcare and consumer products. The company also provides services to pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers for specialty pharmaceutical products; pharmacy management services to hospitals; operates pharmacies, including pharmacies in community health centers; and repackages generic pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter healthcare products. In addition, it manufactures, sources, and distributes Cardinal Health branded medical, surgical, and laboratory products and devices that include exam and surgical gloves; needles, syringe, and sharps disposals; compression, incontinence, nutritional delivery, and wound care products; single-use surgical drapes, gowns, and apparel products; fluid suction and collection systems; urology products; operating room supply products; and electrode product lines. Further, the company distributes a range of national brand products, including medical, surgical, and laboratory products; provides supply chain services and solutions to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, and other healthcare providers; and assembles and sells sterile and non-sterile procedure kits. Additionally, it manufactures, prepares, and delivers radiopharmaceuticals; and optimizes direct shipments through integrated technology solutions. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.Priced within the modelled range
5-year outlook: Not shown because confidence is low: Earnings-based DCF disagrees strongly.
Other models: USD 97.92–237.02 (median 154.62). The recommended value is in line with them.
Why: Latest free cash flow is depressed by heavy investment or one-off items, so a three-year average is used instead.
Details and the full model are below.
Market price within modeled range
Normalised free-cash-flow DCF using a three-year average of free cash flow, because the latest figure is depressed by heavy investment or one-off items, with cash, debt, and shares from the latest report. Base assumptions are 6.93% growth, 2.9% terminal growth, and 10.5% discount. Low/high cases vary growth by 2 and terminal growth/discount by 1 percentage point; this illustrative range is not a statistical confidence interval or investment advice.
Assumptions: growth 6.93%, discount rate 10.50%, terminal growth 2.90% (sector defaults). See a worked example.
Blended growth assumption: 6.9% (sector default 6.8%, own revenue history 8.8%, analyst revenue consensus 6.0%).
Analyst consensus expects revenue growth of 6.1% a year; the growth assumption used is 6.9%.
Adjust assumptions
Why this model: Latest free cash flow is depressed by heavy investment or one-off items, so a three-year average is used instead.
Compare models- Recommended: Normalised free-cash-flow DCF — USD 195.47 (-27.0%)
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EPS-based Gordon proxy
— USD 97.92 (-63.4%)
Not used: Treats all earnings as if paid out and ignores the cash kept for reinvestment, so it overstates value for companies that retain most profit.
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DCF (trailing free cash flow)
— USD 284.48 (+6.2%)
Not used: Free cash flow is 2.6x net income, which usually means costs such as lease payments sit outside operating cash flow, so it may be overstated.
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FCFF (steady state)
— USD 237.02 (-11.5%)
Not used: Free cash flow is 2.6x net income, which usually means costs such as lease payments sit outside operating cash flow, so it may be overstated.
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EV/EBITDA (12x)
— USD 154.62 (-42.3%)
Not used: Used only when free cash flow is far below earnings even after averaging three years; a fixed 12x multiple also ignores sector differences.
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Fade DCF (10-year growth fade)
— USD 282.71 (+5.6%)
Not used: Free cash flow is 2.6x net income, which usually means costs such as lease payments sit outside operating cash flow, so it may be overstated.
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EV/Sales (Rule of 40)
— USD 1758.88 (+556.7%)
Not used: Used only for technology and communication companies whose cash-flow value is far below the price.
| Bear USD 141.21 | -89.7% |
| Base USD 195.47 | -37.0% |
| Bull USD 289.88 | 7.6% |
Margin = (value − price) / value, so it is measured against the value and reads lower than the upside to value, which is measured against the price. Positive means the price is below that case.
At USD 267.82 the market implies about this annual free-cash-flow growth for 5 years (terminal 2.9%, discount 10.5%).
Compare: the market implies 14.1% a year, this model assumes 6.9%. The market expects more than this model does, which is why it reads as overvalued.
How the Normalised free-cash-flow DCF value changes with growth (rows) and discount rate (columns). Green cells are above the current price.
| Growth \ Discount | 8.5% | 9.5% | 10.5% | 11.5% | 12.5% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.9% | 227.62 | 189.87 | 162.05 | 140.71 | 123.81 |
| 4.9% | 250.26 | 208.75 | 178.17 | 154.71 | 136.15 |
| 6.9% | 274.61 | 229.03 | 195.47 | 169.73 | 149.37 |
| 8.9% | 300.76 | 250.80 | 214.03 | 185.83 | 163.54 |
| 10.9% | 328.80 | 274.13 | 233.90 | 203.07 | 178.70 |
Track record: see the methodology page for how this model has performed historically, including its limits. Treat it as a screen, not a forecast.
Price history and fair value
No chartable saved daily price history is available for this range. The chart uses stored EODHD prices only and will appear after history is saved.
More detail: quality, peers, price history, dividends and financials
Quality score: 80 / 100
Five equal checks on reported history: profitability, cash generation, revenue growth, balance sheet and margins. It describes business quality, not whether the price is attractive.
| Profitability | 5 of 5 years profitable | 20 / 20 |
| Cash generation | free cash flow positive in 5 of 5 years | 20 / 20 |
| Growth | revenue +5.5% a year | 20 / 20 |
| Balance sheet | net debt 1.5x EBITDA | 20 / 20 |
| Margins | EBITDA margin 1% | 0 / 20 |
Peers in Health Care
Same-sector companies with a valuation, most undervalued first. Compare the margin of safety, yield and quality score side by side.
| Company | Price | Margin of safety | P/E | P/B | Yield | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAH (this company) | USD 267.82 | -37.0% | 37.0 | – | 0.8% | 80 |
| CNC Centene Corporation | USD 74.17 | 41.6% | 25.1 | 1.7 | – | 72 |
| ZEAL.CO Zealand Pharma A/S | DKK 235.70 | 35.7% | 6.1 | 0.9 | – | 72 |
| CI Cigna | USD 301.48 | 28.8% | 12.4 | 1.9 | 2.0% | 70 |
| CVS CVS Health | USD 81.33 | 12.4% | 9.5 | 1.3 | 3.3% | 70 |
| BAVA.CO Bavarian Nordic A/S | DKK 239.80 | 12.4% | 11.8 | 1.4 | – | 92 |
| AMP.MI Amplifon S.p.A. | EUR 11.17 | 8.7% | 41.1 | – | 2.6% | 72 |
| ZBH Zimmer Biomet | USD 106.85 | 0.5% | 26.6 | 1.6 | 0.9% | 90 |
| GSK.L GSK plc | GBP 18.50 | -3.2% | 17.3 | 4.0 | 3.6% | 92 |
| Peer median | 14.9 | 1.6 | ||||
Dividends
Paid in the last 12 months: USD 2.05 per share · yield 0.77% at the current price.
| Year | Dividends per share |
|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | 2.054 |
| 2025 | 2.034 |
| 2024 | 1.513 |
| 2023 | 1.999 |
| 2022 | 1.979 |
| 2021 | 1.959 |
Trailing 12-month financials
TTM through 30 Jun 2026 · quarterly EODHD data · data downloaded 06 Nov 2026 13:02
| Revenue | USD 254,248,000,000 |
|---|---|
| EBITDA | USD 3,478,000,000 |
| EBIT | USD 2,522,000,000 |
| Net income | USD 1,714,000,000 |
| Free cash flow | USD 4,525,000,000 |
| Capital expenditures | USD 649,000,000 |
| Debt | USD 9,948,000,000 |
| Cash | USD 4,856,000,000 |
| Working capital | USD -5,151,000,000 |
| Shares outstanding | 237,000,000 |
| Reported dividends per share | USD 2.0717 |