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Cardinal Health (CAH) Is Down 5.3% After Raising Profit Outlook On Specialty Strength And Capital Returns – Has The Bull Case Changed?

Simply Wall St·02/13/2026 03:51:37
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  • In early February 2026, Cardinal Health reported past second-quarter 2025 results showing sales of US$65,627 million and net income of US$467 million, alongside higher earnings per share and confirmation of its ongoing capital return program through share repurchases and a quarterly dividend of US$0.5107 per share.
  • The company’s stronger pharmaceutical and specialty segment performance, coupled with raised profit guidance and continued investment in higher-margin specialty and services areas, highlights how its expanding portfolio is increasingly shaping overall earnings quality.
  • We’ll now explore how Cardinal Health’s raised profit outlook and specialty-driven growth influence the previously established investment narrative for the company.

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Cardinal Health Investment Narrative Recap

To own Cardinal Health, you need to believe its large-scale drug distribution engine can steadily support profit growth while higher-margin specialty and services gradually improve earnings quality. The latest results and guidance raise the stakes on execution in specialty as the key short term catalyst, while regulatory and reimbursement uncertainty across healthcare remains the most meaningful risk, and these earnings do not materially change that risk profile.

The continuation of Cardinal Health’s capital return program, including the US$0.5107 quarterly dividend and ongoing share repurchases, ties directly into the near term catalyst of higher profits in specialty and services. As earnings expand and cash generation improves, this combination of reinvestment and returning excess capital to shareholders becomes more important to how investors think about the durability of the story over the next few years.

But while specialty growth is encouraging, investors should also be aware of how tightening government pricing and reimbursement pressures could...

Read the full narrative on Cardinal Health (it's free!)

Cardinal Health's narrative projects $288.0 billion revenue and $2.2 billion earnings by 2028. This requires 9.0% yearly revenue growth and a $0.6 billion earnings increase from $1.6 billion.

Uncover how Cardinal Health's forecasts yield a $243.07 fair value, a 13% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

CAH 1-Year Stock Price Chart
CAH 1-Year Stock Price Chart

Four members of the Simply Wall St Community currently estimate Cardinal Health’s fair value between US$168 and US$496, reflecting a wide dispersion of views. When you weigh those opinions against the importance of specialty driven profit growth, it underlines why many investors look at multiple scenarios before judging the company’s longer term prospects.

Explore 4 other fair value estimates on Cardinal Health - why the stock might be worth 22% less than the current price!

Build Your Own Cardinal Health Narrative

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.