Cardinal Health Reports Strong Earnings, Exceeds Expectations

Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH), headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, is a prominent global healthcare services and products company. With a market cap of $35.5 billion, Cardinal Health serves over 100,000 locations worldwide, including hospitals, pharmacies, and laboratories.

Stock Performance Surpasses Industry Benchmarks

CAH has seen its stock price increase by 51.2% over the past 52 weeks, and it has risen by 25.4% in 2025. This growth outpaces the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 12.7% gains during the past year and shows a modest rise year-to-date.

Comparison with Healthcare ETFs

Further analysis reveals that CAH has also outperformed the SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETF (XHS), which posted gains of 8.2% over the past year and 8.8% in 2025.

Fiscal Q3 Earnings and Forecast

On May 1, Cardinal Health’s stock rose by 3% to reach a record high after the company released impressive fiscal Q3 earnings. Cardinal Health raised its full-year EPS guidance to $8.05–$8.16, exceeding the consensus estimate of $7.96. The adjusted profit was $2.35 per share, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations of $2.15 per share, although its revenue of $54.88 billion fell short of the forecasted $55.03 billion.

For the current fiscal year ending in June, analysts project Cardinal’s earnings to grow by 7.8% year-over-year, reaching $8.12 per share. The company has a solid earnings surprise history, beating bottom-line expectations for the past four quarters.

Analysts’ Consensus and Price Target Adjustments

Among the 15 analysts covering CAH, the consensus rating stands at “Strong Buy,” with 11 “Strong Buy” ratings and four “Hold” ratings.

This configuration has been stable over recent months. On May 5, Morgan Stanley (MS) raised its price target for Cardinal Health from $142 to $166 while maintaining an “Overweight” rating. The firm notes steady utilization supporting Core Pharma growth and suggests that Cardinal has potential for further re-evaluation, calling the current period a “Golden Era” for drug distribution.

CAH’s mean price target of $154.88 indicates a 4.5% premium over current price levels, while the street-high target of $173 implies an upside potential of 16.7%.

On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data are provided solely for informational purposes. For more details, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.