Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.49 EPS

Key Points

• Cardinal Health beat earnings expectations: Fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted EPS was $2.91, up from $2.08 a year earlier and $0.49 above consensus, while revenue rose 5.8% year over year to $63.67 billion but fell short of estimates.
• Fiscal 2027 outlook was raised: The company guided adjusted EPS to $12.40–$12.60, implying 13%–15% growth, supported by continued strength in specialty pharmaceuticals and both major business segments.
• Capital returns increased, but earnings included a one-time boost: Cardinal authorized an additional $5 billion in share repurchases, while approximately $0.31 of quarterly EPS came from a non-recurring tariff refund and ongoing tariff, fuel, commodity, foreign-exchange and geopolitical risks remain.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.49, FiscalAI reports. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.62% and a negative return on equity of 92.61%. The business had revenue of $63.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $65.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Cardinal Health updated its FY 2027 guidance to 12.400-12.600 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Cardinal Health's conference call:

• Fiscal 2026 results exceeded expectations: fourth-quarter operating earnings rose 30% and EPS increased 40% to $2.91, while full-year adjusted free cash flow reached $5 billion.
• Cardinal Health guided fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS to $12.40-$12.60, representing 13%-15% growth from the normalized fiscal 2026 baseline, above its reaffirmed long-term 12%-14% annual growth target.
• Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions continued to lead performance, with fourth-quarter segment profit up 21%; management expects 8%-11% profit growth in fiscal 2027, supported by specialty, generics, distribution wins, and previously completed acquisitions.
• The company authorized an additional $5 billion share-repurchase authorization, bringing total authorization to $6.4 billion, and plans to repurchase at least $1 billion of shares in fiscal 2027.
• The quarter included a non-recurring $100 million net benefit from IEEPA tariff refunds, or $0.31 of EPS, while ongoing replacement tariffs, fuel and commodity costs, foreign exchange, and geopolitical risks could pressure GMPD results toward the low end of its $200 million-$220 million fiscal 2027 profit outlook.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of CAH traded up $7.96 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $245.13. 507,420 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,025,345. The stock has a market cap of $57.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $227.47 and a 200-day moving average of $216.44. Cardinal Health has a 52 week low of $137.75 and a 52 week high of $258.30.

Cardinal Health News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Cardinal Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cardinal Health reported fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.91, well above the $2.42 analyst consensus and up from $2.08 a year earlier. Profit benefited from specialty-drug demand and a one-time $0.31 tariff-refund impact. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $12.40 to $12.60, representing 13% to 15% growth and exceeding the approximately $12.05 consensus. The outlook is supported by continued strength in specialty pharmaceuticals and anticipates growth in both major business segments. Cardinal Health earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: The board authorized an additional $5 billion for share repurchases, after Cardinal Health bought back $1.4 billion of stock during fiscal 2026. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5158 per share, payable October 15. Cardinal Health fiscal results
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose 5.8% to approximately $63.7 billion, while full-year revenue increased 14% to $254.2 billion. Operating cash flow reached $5.2 billion and adjusted free cash flow was $5.0 billion, supporting capital returns and financial flexibility. Quiver Quantitative article
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue fell short of analysts’ roughly $65.15 billion forecast. Investors also noted that reported earnings were helped by the one-time tariff refund, making the underlying quarter less robust than the headline EPS beat suggests. Investors.com article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAH shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Cardinal Health from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Cardinal Health from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Cardinal Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Cardinal Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Cardinal Health by 198.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,112 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 14,034 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health is a multinational healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Tracing its roots to the early 1970s, the company has grown into a major provider of supply chain and distribution services for the healthcare sector. Cardinal Health operates across a range of service lines that support hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, physician offices and clinical laboratories.

The company's core activities include the wholesale distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, the supply and distribution of medical-surgical products, and the provision of logistics and inventory management solutions.

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