Operating margins remain severely constrained, fluctuating between 0.7% and 1.3% over the last ten quarters despite revenue growth reaching as high as 22.4% in 2026Q1.
| Metric | TTM | Jun'25 | Jun'24 | Jun'23 | Jun'22 | Jun'21 | Jun'20 | Jun'19 | Jun'18 | Jun'17 | Jun'16 | Jun'15 | Jun'14 | Jun'13 | Jun'12 | Jun'11 | Jun'10 | Jun'09 | Jun'08 | Jun'07 | Jun'06 | Jun'05 | Jun'04 | Jun'03 | Jun'02 | Jun'01 | Jun'00 | Jun'99 | Jun'98 | Jun'97 | Jun'96 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 250.55B | 222.58B | 226.83B | 204.98B | 181.33B | 162.47B | 152.92B | 145.53B | 136.81B | 129.98B | 121.55B | 102.53B | 91.08B | 101.09B | 107.55B | 102.64B | 98.5B | 95.99B | 87.41B | 86.85B | 79.66B | 72.67B | 64.52B | 56.73B | 51.14B | 47.95B | 38.35B | 25.11B | 21.08B | 18.39B | 9.25B |
| Revenue Growth % | 12.8% | -1.87% | 10.66% | 13.04% | 11.61% | 6.24% | 5.08% | 6.38% | 5.26% | 6.94% | 18.55% | 12.57% | -9.9% | -6.01% | 4.78% | 4.2% | 2.62% | 9.82% | 0.64% | 9.02% | 9.63% | 12.62% | 13.73% | 10.94% | 6.65% | 25.03% | 52.72% | 19.15% | 14.58% | 98.93% | 10.83% |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 241.32B | 214.41B | 219.41B | 198.1B | 174.84B | 155.69B | 146.05B | 138.7B | 129.63B | 123.43B | 115B | 96.82B | 85.92B | 96.17B | 103.01B | 98.48B | 94.72B | 92.24B | 83.63B | 81.61B | 74.85B | 68.21B | 59.88B | 52.25B | 47.09B | 44.34B | 35.25B | 22.25B | 18.6B | 16.16B | 8.43B |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 96.33% | 96.73% | 96.65% | 96.42% | 95.83% | 95.51% | 95.3% | 94.75% | 94.97% | 94.62% | 94.43% | 94.33% | 95.13% | 95.78% | 95.95% | 96.16% | 96.1% | 95.68% | 93.96% | 93.96% | 93.86% | 92.8% | 92.1% | 92.09% | 92.47% | 91.93% | 88.61% | 88.24% | 87.88% | 91.21% |
| Gross Profit | 9.23B | 8.17B | 7.41B | 6.89B | 6.48B | 6.78B | 6.87B | 6.83B | 7.18B | 6.54B | 6.54B | 5.71B | 5.16B | 4.92B | 4.54B | 4.16B | 3.78B | 5.53B | 5.63B | 5.25B | 5.28B | 5.01B | 4.74B | 4.51B | 4.05B | 3.61B | 3.13B | 2.82B | 1.11B | 956.2M | 747.8M |
| Gross Margin % | 3.68% | 3.67% | 3.27% | 3.36% | 3.58% | 4.17% | 4.49% | 4.7% | 5.25% | 5.03% | 5.38% | 5.57% | 5.67% | 4.87% | 4.22% | 4.05% | 3.84% | 5.76% | 6.45% | 6.04% | 6.63% | 6.89% | 7.35% | 7.95% | 7.91% | 7.53% | 8.17% | 11.24% | 5.25% | 5.2% | 8.09% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | 10.17% | 7.62% | 6.25% | -4.34% | -1.31% | 0.5% | -4.83% | 9.73% | 0.02% | 14.55% | 10.68% | 4.88% | 8.37% | 9.11% | 10.09% | -31.59% | -1.91% | 7.41% | -0.67% | 5.48% | 5.6% | 5.13% | 11.46% | 12.03% | 15.28% | 11.02% | 155.19% | 15.65% | 27.87% | 53.96% |
| Operating Expenses | 6.92B | 5.89B | 6.17B | 6.12B | 7.09B | 6.31B | 10.97B | 4.77B | 7.05B | 4.42B | 4.08B | 3.55B | 3.28B | 3.92B | 2.75B | 2.65B | 2.47B | 2.46B | 2.38B | 3.87B | 2.97B | 2.68B | 2.31B | 2.3B | 2.21B | 2.12B | 1.82B | 1.82B | 1.62B | 1.51B | 518.9M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 2.65% | 2.72% | 2.99% | 3.91% | 3.88% | 7.17% | 3.28% | 5.16% | 3.4% | 3.36% | 3.46% | 3.6% | 3.88% | 2.56% | 2.58% | 2.51% | 2.56% | 2.73% | 4.46% | 3.73% | 3.68% | 3.58% | 4.05% | 4.33% | 4.43% | 4.73% | 7.24% | 7.69% | 8.23% | 5.61% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 5.99B | 5.38B | 5B | 4.8B | 4.51B | 4.53B | 4.57B | 4.48B | 4.6B | 3.77B | 3.65B | 3.24B | 3.03B | 2.88B | 2.68B | 2.59B | 2.35B | 3.44B | 3.41B | 3.08B | 3.2B | 2.86B | 2.35B | 2.23B | 2.07B | 2B | 1.63B | 1.56B | 567.8M | 513.6M | 433.3M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 2.42% | 2.2% | 2.34% | 2.49% | 2.79% | 2.99% | 3.08% | 3.36% | 2.9% | 3% | 3.16% | 3.32% | 2.84% | 2.49% | 2.53% | 2.38% | 3.58% | 3.91% | 3.55% | 4.02% | 3.94% | 3.64% | 3.93% | 4.06% | 4.17% | 4.24% | 6.23% | 2.69% | 2.79% | 4.69% |
| Research & Development | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 3M | 511M | 1.17B | 1.32B | 2.58B | 1.77B | 6.39B | 294M | 2.46B | 649M | 436M | 311M | 248M | 1.05B | 72M | 120M | 77M | 126.6M | 44.1M | 789.3M | 86.3M | 179.8M | 43.7M | 48.9M | 138.6M | 173.8M | 106.2M | 238.2M | 218.4M | 209.1M | 39.5M |
| Operating Income | 2.31B | 2.27B | 1.24B | 752M | -607M | 472M | -4.1B | 2.06B | 126M | 2.12B | 2.46B | 2.16B | 1.89B | 996M | 1.79B | 1.51B | 1.31B | 1.29B | 1.39B | 1.37B | 1.84B | 1.78B | 2.33B | 2.19B | 1.83B | 1.49B | 1.28B | 1.04B | 858.1M | 715.7M | 293.8M |
| Operating Margin % | 0.92% | 1.02% | 0.55% | 0.37% | -0.33% | 0.29% | -2.68% | 1.42% | 0.09% | 1.63% | 2.02% | 2.11% | 2.07% | 0.99% | 1.67% | 1.47% | 1.33% | 1.34% | 1.59% | 1.58% | 2.32% | 2.45% | 3.61% | 3.85% | 3.59% | 3.1% | 3.34% | 4.15% | 4.07% | 3.89% | 3.18% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 83.02% | 65.29% | 223.89% | -228.6% | 111.52% | -298.93% | 1534.92% | -94.06% | -13.79% | 13.79% | 14.64% | 89.26% | -44.42% | 18.36% | 15.84% | 1.52% | -7.54% | 1.36% | -25.54% | 3.52% | -23.53% | 6.57% | 19.26% | 23.31% | 16.13% | 22.88% | 21.44% | 19.9% | 143.6% | 14.86% |
| EBITDA | 3.17B | 3.06B | 1.95B | 1.44B | 85M | 1.25B | -3.19B | 3.06B | 1.16B | 2.84B | 3.1B | 2.61B | 2.34B | 1.39B | 2.12B | 1.83B | 1.56B | 1.51B | 1.61B | 1.7B | 2.14B | 2.08B | 2.62B | 2.45B | 2.08B | 1.77B | 1.54B | 1.28B | 1.08B | 924.8M | 333.3M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 1.26% | 1.38% | 0.86% | 0.7% | 0.05% | 0.77% | -2.08% | 2.1% | 0.85% | 2.18% | 2.55% | 2.55% | 2.57% | 1.38% | 1.97% | 1.78% | 1.58% | 1.58% | 1.84% | 1.95% | 2.69% | 2.86% | 4.06% | 4.32% | 4.06% | 3.69% | 4.01% | 5.1% | 5.11% | 5.03% | 3.6% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 4.8% | 56.94% | 35.25% | 1598.82% | -93.23% | 139.4% | -204.08% | 164.25% | -59.18% | -8.48% | 18.68% | 11.43% | 68.27% | -34.2% | 15.87% | 17.04% | 3.16% | -6.15% | -4.92% | -20.85% | 3.11% | -20.7% | 6.82% | 18.08% | 17.51% | 14.97% | 20.09% | 18.93% | 16.4% | 177.47% | 16.82% |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 855M | 790M | 710M | 692M | 692M | 783M | 913M | 1B | 1.03B | 717M | 641M | 451M | 459M | 397M | 325M | 313M | 254M | 225.8M | 220M | 322.1M | 297.6M | 295.6M | 289.5M | 265.8M | 243.5M | 280.6M | 257M | 238.2M | 218.4M | 209.1M | 39.5M |
| EBIT | 2.19B | 2.32B | 1.25B | 747M | -637M | 503M | -3.53B | 2.04B | 101M | 2.13B | 2.45B | 2.11B | 1.93B | 1.01B | 1.79B | 1.61B | 1.32B | 1.41B | 1.44B | 1.52B | 1.92B | 1.91B | 2.41B | 2.33B | 1.97B | 1.49B | 1.28B | 1.04B | 858.1M | 715.7M | 293.8M |
| Net Interest Income | -343M | -215M | -51M | -84M | -147M | -180M | -238M | -294M | -329M | -201M | -178M | -141M | -133M | -123M | -95M | -93M | -113M | -114.4M | -136.1M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Income | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 343M | 215M | 51M | 84M | 147M | 180M | 238M | 294M | 329M | 201M | 178M | 141M | 133M | 123M | 95M | 93M | 113M | 218.7M | 136.1M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Income/Expense | -308M | -174M | -42M | -89M | -177M | -149M | 326M | -309M | -354M | -196M | -183M | -194M | -87M | -108M | -94M | 4M | -95M | -127.6M | -97.3M | -121.4M | -104.5M | -117.8M | -106.8M | -106.3M | -132.5M | -154.9M | -138.7M | -256.8M | -166.7M | -176M | -81.8M |
| Pretax Income | 2B | 2.1B | 1.2B | 663M | -784M | 323M | -3.77B | 1.75B | -228M | 1.92B | 2.28B | 1.97B | 1.8B | 888M | 1.7B | 1.52B | 1.21B | 1.67B | 1.95B | 1.25B | 1.83B | 1.63B | 2.24B | 2.13B | 1.7B | 1.33B | 1.08B | 759.2M | 402.5M | 312.3M | 202.1M |
| Pretax Margin % | 0.8% | 0.94% | 0.53% | 0.32% | -0.43% | 0.2% | -2.47% | 1.2% | -0.17% | 1.48% | 1.87% | 1.92% | 1.97% | 0.88% | 1.58% | 1.48% | 1.23% | 1.74% | 2.23% | 1.44% | 2.3% | 2.24% | 3.47% | 3.75% | 3.33% | 2.78% | 2.81% | 3.02% | 1.91% | 1.7% | 2.19% |
| Income Tax | 456M | 532M | 348M | 332M | 153M | -289M | -79M | 386M | -487M | 630M | 845M | 755M | 635M | 553M | 628M | 552.1M | 624.6M | 524.2M | 633.9M | 412.6M | 577.1M | 586M | 706.7M | 699.5M | 575M | 474.8M | 424M | 302.9M | 242.9M | 204.9M | 94.4M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 22.75% | 25.32% | 28.98% | 50.08% | -19.52% | -89.47% | 2.09% | 22.04% | 213.6% | 32.74% | 37.13% | 38.38% | 35.32% | 62.27% | 36.98% | 36.36% | 51.55% | 31.45% | 32.51% | 32.95% | 31.45% | 35.97% | 31.57% | 32.89% | 33.8% | 35.64% | 39.34% | 39.9% | 60.35% | 65.61% | 46.71% |
| Net Income | 1.56B | 1.56B | 852M | 330M | -938M | 611M | -3.69B | 1.36B | 256M | 1.29B | 1.43B | 1.22B | 1.17B | 334M | 1.07B | 959M | 642.2M | 1.15B | 1.3B | 1.93B | 1B | 1.05B | 1.47B | 1.41B | 1.06B | 857.4M | 679.7M | 456.3M | 247.1M | 181.1M | 111.9M |
| Net Margin % | 0.62% | 0.7% | 0.38% | 0.16% | -0.52% | 0.38% | -2.42% | 0.94% | 0.19% | 0.99% | 1.17% | 1.19% | 1.28% | 0.33% | 0.99% | 0.93% | 0.65% | 1.2% | 1.49% | 2.22% | 1.26% | 1.45% | 2.29% | 2.48% | 2.07% | 1.79% | 1.77% | 1.82% | 1.17% | 0.98% | 1.21% |
| Net Income Growth % | 0.06% | 83.22% | 158.18% | 135.18% | -253.52% | 116.54% | -370.95% | 432.42% | -80.12% | -9.74% | 17.45% | 4.2% | 249.1% | -68.76% | 11.47% | 49.33% | -44.23% | -11.46% | -32.65% | 93.09% | -4.82% | -28.74% | 4.89% | 33.1% | 23.19% | 26.14% | 48.96% | 84.66% | 36.44% | 61.84% | 31.65% |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 1.55B | 1.57B | 853M | 331M | -937M | 612M | -3.69B | 1.36B | 259M | 1.29B | 1.43B | 1.21B | 1.16B | 335M | 1.07B | 966M | 587M | 758.2M | 847.2M | 839.7M | 1.16B | 1.07B | 1.52B | 1.38B | 1.13B | 857.4M | 717.8M | 481M | 448.5M | 334.8M | 117.6M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3M | 3M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.8M | -15.3M | 1.09B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 160M | 147M | 1M | 1M | 3M | 3M | 3M | 2M | 0 | 20M | 17M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | 6.61 | 6.45 | 3.45 | 1.26 | -3.34 | 2.08 | -12.60 | 4.53 | 0.81 | 4.03 | 4.32 | 3.62 | 3.38 | 0.97 | 3.06 | 2.72 | 1.77 | 3.18 | 3.57 | 4.77 | 2.33 | 2.41 | 3.35 | 3.03 | 2.33 | 1.85 | 1.58 | 1.12 | 1.02 | 0.82 | 0.51 |
| EPS Growth % | 2.03% | 86.96% | 173.81% | 137.72% | -260.58% | 116.51% | -378.15% | 459.26% | -79.9% | -6.71% | 19.34% | 7.1% | 248.45% | -68.3% | 12.5% | 53.67% | -44.34% | -10.92% | -25.16% | 104.72% | -3.32% | -28.06% | 10.56% | 30.04% | 25.95% | 17.09% | 41.07% | 9.8% | 24.39% | 60.78% | -17.74% |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 6.48 | 3.48 | 1.26 | -3.34 | 2.09 | -12.60 | 4.54 | 0.82 | 4.06 | 4.36 | 3.66 | 3.42 | 0.98 | 3.10 | 2.75 | 1.79 | 3.22 | 3.63 | 4.89 | 2.38 | 2.44 | 3.39 | 3.08 | 2.37 | 1.90 | 1.61 | 1.15 | 1.05 | 0.84 | 0.51 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 236M | 242M | 247M | 262M | 279M | 294M | 293M | 301M | 315M | 320M | 330M | 335M | 345M | 344M | 349M | 352.5M | 361.4M | 361.5M | 364M | 404.7M | 428.5M | 435.98M | 429.91M | 453.83M | 453.3M | 463.46M | 454.3M | 427.8M | 416.85M | 238.4M | 230.59M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 235M | 241M | 245M | 261M | 279M | 292M | 293M | 300M | 313M | 317M | 327M | 332M | 341M | 341M | 345M | 348.6M | 358.8M | 357.6M | 358.2M | 394.9M | 421.2M | 430.61M | 424.84M | 446.46M | 445.65M | 451.26M | 445.84M | 416.55M | 406.8M | 233.73M | 230.59M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | 31.65% | 58.57% | 159.09% | - | 93.78% | - | 42.33% | 226.95% | 44.8% | 35.88% | 37.86% | 35.59% | 105.69% | 28.06% | 28.59% | 39.41% | 17.4% | 13.31% | 7.48% | 10.18% | 4.92% | 3.55% | 3.19% | 4.26% | 4.27% | 4.41% | 12.43% | 4.65% | 5.02% | 6.79% |
Margin compression from pricing
As reported in recent financial filings, Cardinal Health's revenue growth has fluctuated significantly, reaching a peak of 22.4% in 2026Q1 before decelerating to 11.0% by 2026Q3, reflecting the inherent volatility of a high-volume distribution model heavily reliant on pharmaceutical supply chain throughput and contract timing.
The wide swings in quarterly revenue growth suggest that the company's top-line performance is highly sensitive to the timing of large-scale contract renewals and shifts in pharmaceutical demand. Investors should monitor whether this growth remains sustainable or if it is merely a byproduct of inflationary pricing pass-throughs rather than genuine volume expansion.
Based on the company's reported income statements, gross margins have remained compressed within a narrow 3.1% to 4.1% range, underscoring the structural difficulty of achieving meaningful profitability in a low-margin, high-volume distribution environment where pricing power is largely dictated by manufacturers and healthcare payers.
The persistent inability to expand gross margins beyond the low single digits suggests that the company lacks the leverage to offset rising logistical costs. This margin profile warrants investigation into whether the 'Medical 2.0' initiative can actually drive a shift toward higher-margin products or if the business is permanently tethered to its current low-margin distribution model.
According to the provided quarterly data, operating margins have struggled to maintain momentum, hovering between 0.7% and 1.3%, which indicates that SG&A expenses are scaling in lockstep with gross profit, thereby preventing any significant operating leverage from materializing during periods of revenue growth.
The lack of operating margin expansion suggests that the company's cost structure is largely fixed and difficult to optimize. This implies that any future earnings growth will likely be dependent on top-line expansion rather than internal cost efficiencies, which may limit the company's ability to navigate potential economic downturns.
As indicated by the latest quarterly filings, stock-based compensation has surged to $129 million in 2026Q3, a significant increase from the $30 million levels observed in early 2025, which raises questions regarding the quality of reported net income and the alignment of management incentives with shareholder value.
The sharp rise in stock-based compensation appears to be diluting the quality of earnings, as it represents a growing non-cash expense that impacts the bottom line. Investors should scrutinize whether this increase in compensation is tied to performance metrics that truly reflect operational success or if it is merely an escalating overhead cost.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CAH stock.
For fiscal year 2025, Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH) reported total revenue of $222.58B. This represents a 2307.2% increase compared to $9.25B in 1996.
Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH) is profitable, generating $1.56B in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 0.7%.
Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH) reported an operating income of $2.27B, resulting in an operating profit margin of 1.0%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH) generated $8.17B in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 3.7%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.