Revenue grew about 19 percent to $88.4B in 2026Q4 while operating margin stayed between roughly 0.9 and 1.7 percent, indicating that top-line expansion has not translated into meaningful margin improvement.
Cencora, Inc. (COR) annual income statement — 30-year revenue, gross profit & net income history
| Metric | Sep'26 | Sep'25 | Sep'24 | Sep'23 | Sep'22 | Sep'21 | Sep'20 | Sep'19 | Sep'18 | Sep'17 | Sep'16 | Sep'15 | Sep'14 | Sep'13 | Sep'12 | Sep'11 | Sep'10 | Sep'09 | Sep'08 | Sep'07 | Sep'06 | Sep'05 | Sep'04 | Sep'03 | Sep'02 | Sep'01 | Sep'00 | Sep'99 | Sep'98 | Sep'97 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 337.4B | 321.33B | 293.96B | 262.17B | 238.59B | 213.99B | 189.89B | 179.59B | 167.94B | 153.14B | 146.85B | 135.96B | 119.57B | 87.96B | 79.49B | 80.22B | 77.95B | 71.76B | 70.19B | 66.07B | 61.2B | 54.58B | 53.18B | 49.66B | 45.23B | 16.19B | 11.65B | 9.81B | 8.67B | 7.82B |
| Revenue Growth % | 5% | 9.31% | 12.12% | 9.89% | 11.5% | 12.69% | 5.74% | 6.94% | 9.66% | 4.29% | 8.01% | 13.71% | 35.94% | 10.65% | -0.91% | 2.9% | 8.63% | 2.24% | 6.23% | 7.96% | 12.14% | 2.63% | 7.09% | 9.78% | 179.38% | 39.04% | 18.74% | 13.13% | 10.91% | 40.78% |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 323.53B | 311.19B | 285.26B | 254.42B | 230.99B | 207.72B | 185.1B | 175.06B | 163.83B | 149B | 143.08B | 132.75B | 116.8B | 85.64B | 76.98B | 77.79B | 75.7B | 69.74B | 68.24B | 63.87B | 59.1B | 52.72B | 51.07B | 47.41B | 43.21B | 15.49B | 11.12B | 9.33B | 8.25B | 7.43B |
| COGS % of Revenue | 95.89% | 96.84% | 97.04% | 97.04% | 96.81% | 97.07% | 97.48% | 97.48% | 97.55% | 97.29% | 97.43% | 97.64% | 97.68% | 97.36% | 96.84% | 96.97% | 97.11% | 97.19% | 97.22% | 96.67% | 96.56% | 96.59% | 96.03% | 95.47% | 95.52% | 95.68% | 95.53% | 95.15% | 95.12% | 95.02% |
| Gross Profit | 13.87B | 10.14B | 8.7B | 7.76B | 7.6B | 6.27B | 4.79B | 4.53B | 4.11B | 4.15B | 3.77B | 3.22B | 2.77B | 2.32B | 2.51B | 2.43B | 2.25B | 2.02B | 1.95B | 2.2B | 2.1B | 1.86B | 2.06B | 2.25B | 2.02B | 700.12M | 520.89M | 475.6M | 423.1M | 389.3M |
| Gross Margin % | 4.11% | 3.16% | 2.96% | 2.96% | 3.19% | 2.93% | 2.52% | 2.52% | 2.45% | 2.71% | 2.57% | 2.36% | 2.32% | 2.64% | 3.16% | 3.03% | 2.89% | 2.81% | 2.78% | 3.33% | 3.44% | 3.41% | 3.86% | 4.53% | 4.48% | 4.32% | 4.47% | 4.85% | 4.88% | 4.98% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | 36.75% | 16.55% | 12.18% | 2.05% | 21.24% | 30.83% | 5.78% | 10.19% | -0.86% | 9.88% | 17.38% | 15.96% | 19.37% | -7.58% | 3.48% | 7.97% | 11.4% | 3.65% | -11.43% | 4.5% | 13.23% | -9.54% | -8.55% | 11% | 189.16% | 34.41% | 9.52% | 12.41% | 8.68% | 27.68% |
| Operating Expenses | 9.94B | 6.49B | 5.66B | 5.31B | 4.85B | 3.59B | 2.77B | 2.66B | 2.46B | 2.13B | 2.09B | 1.91B | 1.59B | 1.33B | 1.23B | 1.2B | 1.16B | 1.12B | 1.12B | 1.41B | 1.38B | 1.23B | 1.18B | 1.36B | 1.22B | 427.63M | 320.46M | 301.7M | 271.5M | 269.7M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | 2.95% | 2.02% | 1.93% | 2.03% | 2.03% | 1.68% | 1.46% | 1.48% | 1.47% | 1.39% | 1.42% | 1.4% | 1.33% | 1.52% | 1.55% | 1.49% | 1.49% | 1.56% | 1.6% | 2.14% | 2.25% | 2.26% | 2.23% | 2.75% | 2.7% | 2.64% | 2.75% | 3.08% | 3.13% | 3.45% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 8.08B | 6.49B | 5.66B | 5.31B | 4.85B | 3.59B | 2.77B | 2.66B | 2.46B | 2.13B | 2.09B | 1.91B | 1.59B | 1.33B | 1.23B | 1.2B | 1.16B | 1.12B | 1.12B | 1.41B | 1.38B | 1.23B | 1.18B | 1.29B | 1.22B | 408.76M | 303.04M | 281.8M | 254.9M | 255.4M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | 2.39% | 2.02% | 1.93% | 2.03% | 2.03% | 1.68% | 1.46% | 1.48% | 1.47% | 1.39% | 1.42% | 1.4% | 1.33% | 1.52% | 1.55% | 1.49% | 1.49% | 1.56% | 1.6% | 2.14% | 2.25% | 2.26% | 2.23% | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2.52% | 2.6% | 2.87% | 2.94% | 3.27% |
| 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 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 1.86B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70.99M | 0 | 18.87M | 17.42M | 19.9M | 16.6M | 14.3M |
| Operating Income | 3.93B | 3.65B | 3.04B | 2.45B | 2.75B | 2.68B | 2.02B | 1.87B | 1.65B | 2.02B | 1.68B | 1.31B | 1.19B | 989.02M | 1.28B | 1.23B | 1.09B | 899.13M | 823.54M | 786.61M | 727.93M | 624.83M | 870.48M | 883.11M | 718.43M | 259.38M | 200.43M | 173.9M | 151.6M | 119.6M |
| Operating Margin % | 1.16% | 1.14% | 1.03% | 0.93% | 1.15% | 1.25% | 1.07% | 1.04% | 0.98% | 1.32% | 1.15% | 0.96% | 0.99% | 1.12% | 1.62% | 1.53% | 1.4% | 1.25% | 1.17% | 1.19% | 1.19% | 1.14% | 1.64% | 1.78% | 1.59% | 1.6% | 1.72% | 1.77% | 1.75% | 1.53% |
| Operating Income Growth % | 7.74% | 19.98% | 24.26% | -11.09% | 2.87% | 32.13% | 8.47% | 13.06% | -18.2% | 19.93% | 28.72% | 10.29% | 19.85% | -22.96% | 4.31% | 13.08% | 21.05% | 9.18% | 4.69% | 8.06% | 16.5% | -28.22% | -1.43% | 22.92% | 176.98% | 29.41% | 15.26% | 14.71% | 26.76% | 22.17% |
| EBITDA | 4.98B | 4.72B | 4.16B | 3.43B | 3.46B | 3.19B | 2.43B | 2.36B | 2.15B | 2.44B | 2.07B | 1.56B | 1.37B | 1.15B | 1.43B | 1.35B | 1.19B | 989.16M | 915.9M | 886.29M | 820.98M | 715.71M | 957.56M | 963.55M | 785.01M | 284.09M | 217.85M | 193.8M | 168.2M | 133.9M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 1.47% | 1.47% | 1.41% | 1.31% | 1.45% | 1.49% | 1.28% | 1.31% | 1.28% | 1.59% | 1.41% | 1.15% | 1.15% | 1.31% | 1.79% | 1.69% | 1.52% | 1.38% | 1.3% | 1.34% | 1.34% | 1.31% | 1.8% | 1.94% | 1.74% | 1.75% | 1.87% | 1.98% | 1.94% | 1.71% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 5.5% | 13.4% | 21.35% | -0.99% | 8.52% | 31.48% | 3.02% | 9.51% | -11.9% | 18.05% | 32.8% | 13.38% | 18.93% | -19% | 5.46% | 13.84% | 20.06% | 8% | 3.34% | 7.96% | 14.71% | -25.26% | -0.62% | 22.74% | 176.32% | 30.4% | 12.41% | 15.22% | 25.62% | 22.28% |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 1.05B | 1.07B | 1.12B | 980.85M | 709.84M | 514.79M | 401.62M | 488.54M | 499.64M | 422.92M | 385.03M | 249.78M | 188.05M | 165.83M | 141.99M | 121.23M | 99.21M | 90.03M | 92.37M | 99.68M | 93.05M | 90.88M | 87.09M | 80.44M | 66.58M | 24.71M | 17.42M | 19.9M | 16.6M | 14.3M |
| EBIT | 5.07B | 2.68B | 2.25B | 2.44B | 2.42B | 2.4B | -5.14B | 1.16B | 1.37B | 1.07B | 1.54B | 380.99M | 751.13M | 899.51M | 1.26B | 1.21B | 1.1B | 887.58M | 836.44M | 860.76M | 753.09M | 526.05M | 883.6M | 883.11M | 712.78M | 0 | 200.43M | 0 | 0 | 119.6M |
| Net Interest Income | -489.86M | -291.55M | -156.99M | -228.93M | -210.67M | -174.07M | -137.88M | -157.77M | -174.7M | -145.19M | -139.91M | -109.04M | -76.86M | -73.9M | -95.42M | -76.72M | -72.49M | -58.31M | -64.5M | -32.29M | -12.46M | -57.22M | -112.7M | 0 | -140.73M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Income | 0 | 128.21M | 91.69M | 46.72M | 21.31M | 8.47M | 20.64M | 37.7M | 14.94M | 3.86M | 4.44M | 2.98M | 841K | 1.15M | 1.8M | 2.18M | 2.31M | 5.2M | 10.6M | 43.42M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 489.86M | 419.75M | 248.68M | 275.65M | 231.98M | 182.54M | 158.52M | 195.47M | 189.64M | 149.04M | 144.35M | 112.02M | 77.7M | 75.05M | 97.22M | 78.9M | 74.81M | 63.5M | 75.1M | 75.71M | 12.46M | 57.22M | 112.7M | 0 | 140.73M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Income/Expense | 650.75M | -1.39B | -1.04B | -285.68M | -568.62M | -453.15M | -7.32B | -899.42M | -473.53M | -1.1B | -291.97M | -1.04B | -511.95M | -164.56M | -120.62M | -100.08M | -60.58M | -75.05M | -62.2M | -1.56M | 12.7M | -156M | -99.58M | -156.98M | -146.38M | -56.54M | -40.73M | -54.6M | -68.8M | -41.6M |
| Pretax Income | 4.58B | 2.26B | 2B | 2.16B | 2.18B | 2.22B | -5.29B | 967.11M | 1.18B | 917.89M | 1.39B | 268.96M | 673.43M | 824.46M | 1.16B | 1.13B | 1.03B | 824.07M | 761.34M | 785.05M | 740.63M | 468.82M | 770.9M | 726.13M | 572.05M | 202.83M | 159.7M | 119.3M | 82.8M | 78M |
| Pretax Margin % | 1.36% | 0.7% | 0.68% | 0.82% | 0.92% | 1.04% | -2.79% | 0.54% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.95% | 0.2% | 0.56% | 0.94% | 1.46% | 1.41% | 1.32% | 1.15% | 1.08% | 1.19% | 1.21% | 0.86% | 1.45% | 1.46% | 1.26% | 1.25% | 1.37% | 1.22% | 0.96% | 1% |
| Income Tax | 1.08B | 690.52M | 484.7M | 428.26M | 516.52M | 677.25M | -1.89B | 112.97M | -438.47M | 553.4M | -37.02M | 409.04M | 389.4M | 331.02M | 454.94M | 424.02M | 391.02M | 312.22M | 292.27M | 291.28M | 272.62M | 176.9M | 291.98M | 284.9M | 227.11M | 77.73M | 60.69M | 48.4M | 32.3M | 30.6M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 23.56% | 30.58% | 24.19% | 19.82% | 23.66% | 30.48% | 35.78% | 11.68% | -37.24% | 60.29% | -2.66% | 152.08% | 57.82% | 40.15% | 39.11% | 37.5% | 38.05% | 37.89% | 38.39% | 37.1% | 36.81% | 37.73% | 37.88% | 39.24% | 39.7% | 38.32% | 38% | 40.57% | 39.01% | 39.23% |
| Net Income | 3.48B | 1.55B | 1.51B | 1.75B | 1.7B | 1.54B | -3.4B | 855.37M | 1.66B | 414.48M | 1.43B | -134.89M | 276.48M | 433.71M | 718.99M | 706.62M | 636.75M | 503.4M | 250.56M | 469.17M | 467.71M | 319.2M | 468.39M | 441.23M | 344.94M | 125.1M | 99.01M | 67.5M | 50.5M | 45.4M |
| Net Margin % | 1.03% | 0.48% | 0.51% | 0.67% | 0.71% | 0.72% | -1.79% | 0.48% | 0.99% | 0.27% | 0.97% | -0.1% | 0.23% | 0.49% | 0.9% | 0.88% | 0.82% | 0.7% | 0.36% | 0.71% | 0.76% | 0.58% | 0.88% | 0.89% | 0.76% | 0.77% | 0.85% | 0.69% | 0.58% | 0.58% |
| Net Income Growth % | 124.16% | 2.99% | -13.53% | 2.74% | 10.32% | 145.3% | -497.44% | -48.42% | 300.11% | -70.97% | 1158.61% | -148.79% | -36.25% | -39.68% | 1.75% | 10.97% | 26.49% | 100.91% | -46.59% | 0.31% | 46.53% | -31.85% | 6.16% | 27.91% | 175.73% | 26.35% | 46.69% | 33.66% | 11.23% | 27.89% |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 3.5B | 1.57B | 1.52B | 1.73B | 1.67B | 1.54B | -3.4B | 854.13M | 1.62B | 364.48M | 1.43B | -138.16M | 284.03M | 493.44M | 708.19M | 706.62M | 636.75M | 511.85M | 469.06M | 493.77M | 468.01M | 291.92M | 474.87M | 441.23M | 344.94M | 125.1M | 99.01M | 67.5M | 50.5M | 45.4M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -7.55M | -59.73M | 10.8M | 0 | 0 | -8.46M | -218.5M | -24.6M | 0 | -10.61M | -6.48M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 0 | 239.07M | 140.8M | 144.28M | 282.83M | 361.06M | 179.29M | 114.29M | 117.14M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | 17.95 | 7.96 | 7.53 | 8.53 | 8.04 | 7.39 | -16.60 | 4.04 | 7.53 | 1.64 | 6.32 | -0.62 | 1.17 | 1.84 | 2.80 | 2.54 | 2.22 | 1.66 | 0.77 | 1.25 | 1.13 | 0.74 | 1.01 | 0.95 | 0.77 | 0.50 | 0.48 | 0.33 | 0.25 | 0.23 |
| EPS Growth % | 125.5% | 5.71% | -11.72% | 6.09% | 8.8% | 144.52% | -510.89% | -46.35% | 359.15% | -74.05% | 1119.35% | -152.99% | -36.41% | -34.29% | 10.24% | 14.41% | 33.73% | 115.58% | -38.4% | 10.62% | 52.7% | -26.73% | 6.32% | 23.38% | 54% | 4.17% | 45.45% | 32% | 8.7% | 21.05% |
| EPS (Basic) | 18.03 | 8.02 | 7.60 | 8.62 | 8.15 | 7.48 | -16.60 | 4.07 | 7.61 | 1.67 | 6.73 | -0.62 | 1.22 | 1.88 | 2.84 | 2.59 | 2.26 | 1.67 | 0.78 | 1.27 | 1.14 | 0.75 | 1.05 | 1.01 | 0.82 | 0.55 | 0.48 | 0.33 | 0.26 | 0.23 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 194.09M | 195.21M | 200.28M | 204.59M | 211.21M | 208.47M | 204.78M | 211.84M | 220.34M | 221.6M | 225.96M | 217.79M | 235.41M | 235.34M | 256.9M | 277.72M | 287.25M | 302.75M | 324.92M | 375.77M | 414.89M | 431.08M | 471.12M | 463.82M | 448.91M | 251.23M | 208.08M | 206.73M | 202.85M | 200.42M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 193.18M | 193.82M | 198.5M | 204.59M | 208.47M | 205.92M | 204.78M | 210.16M | 217.87M | 218.38M | 212.21M | 217.79M | 227.37M | 231.07M | 252.91M | 272.47M | 282.26M | 300.57M | 321.28M | 370.36M | 410.02M | 425.26M | 447.35M | 435.38M | 419.74M | 228.74M | 206.21M | 202.79M | 190.71M | 198.35M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | 13.69% | 28.12% | 27.58% | 22.85% | 23.06% | 23.81% | - | 39.63% | 20.08% | 77.27% | 20.2% | - | 77.57% | 45.13% | 18.46% | 16.65% | 14.23% | 12.45% | 19.43% | 7.94% | 4.4% | 3.32% | 2.39% | 2.49% | 3.04% | - | - | - | - | - |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying COR stock.
For fiscal year 2026, Cencora, Inc. (COR) reported total revenue of $337.40B. This represents a 4216.8% increase compared to $7.82B in 1997.
Cencora, Inc. (COR) is profitable, generating $3.48B in net income for the fiscal year ending 2026 with a net profit margin of 1.0%.
Cencora, Inc. (COR) reported an operating income of $3.93B, resulting in an operating profit margin of 1.2%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Cencora, Inc. (COR) generated $13.87B in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 4.1%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Thin margins and leverage
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Top-Line Growth Outpacing Profit Expansion
Based on reported figures, Cencora's quarterly revenue rose from $74.2B in 2024Q3 to $88.4B in 2026Q4, a gain of roughly 19 percent that reflects volume and pricing rather than margin improvement and warrants scrutiny of growth quality.
Revenue has compounded at a steady clip across the ten-quarter window, with year-over-year growth printing between 3.8 and 14.7 percent. Much of this top-line expansion likely reflects higher-cost branded drug pass-through, which inflates revenue while contributing little incremental profit. Investors should monitor whether growth continues without a corresponding lift in operating income.
Structurally Thin Gross Margin Profile
The reported gross margin has ranged between 2.7 and 4.3 percent across the period, a band that reflects Cencora's position as a high-volume intermediary with limited pricing power against drug manufacturers.
The narrow band suggests gross margin is largely insensitive to the cycle, which supports earnings stability but caps upside. Because the cost base is dominated by pharmaceutical procurement, even modest shifts in generic versus branded mix could move profitability materially. Margin expansion appears contingent on specialty and biosimilar mix rather than core wholesale economics.
Operating Leverage Remains Limited
Operating margin hovered between roughly 0.9 and 1.7 percent, and according to the reported figures, SG&A consumed a substantial share of gross profit, limiting the degree to which gross profit growth converts into operating income.
Operating income has not consistently scaled faster than gross profit, suggesting overhead absorbs much of the incremental spread. The 2026Q2 peak in operating margin appears to be an exception rather than a sustained trend. Sustained operating leverage would require SG&A to grow materially slower than gross profit, which the data does not yet demonstrate.
Volatile EPS Obscures Underlying Earnings
Reported EPS swung from a loss of $1.75 in 2025Q4 to $8.40 in 2026Q2, a dispersion that suggests non-operating or one-time items materially influence headline earnings.
With net margin oscillating between negative and roughly 2.1 percent, the earnings series appears driven by items beyond core distribution economics. The 2026Q2 spike relative to adjacent quarters warrants investigation into its composition. Investors should separate recurring operating earnings from episodic adjustments before extrapolating EPS.
Thin Spreads Leave Little Margin for Error
With net margins frequently below 1 percent and a reported debt-to-equity ratio of 6.15, a modest decline in gross spread or a rise in financing costs could quickly eliminate reported profitability.
The bear case centers on the fragility of a business where a 0.5 percent net margin provides minimal cushion against integration costs, regulatory pricing pressure, or litigation outflows. Elevated leverage amplifies this sensitivity. Investors should treat the recent beat and raised guidance as a single data point requiring confirmation in subsequent filings.