Cardinal Health (CAH) Stock: Strong Earnings Guidance Offsets Mixed Quarter

TLDR

• Cardinal Health beat adjusted EPS estimates with $2.91 vs. the $2.42 expected
• Full-year adjusted EPS guidance of $12.40 to $12.60 topped the $12.08 Wall Street forecast
• Revenue rose 6% to $63.67 billion but missed the $65.15 billion analyst estimate
• Pharmaceutical segment revenue grew 6%; medical products and distribution fell 2%
• CAH stock dipped 0.8% in premarket trading Tuesday

Cardinal Health posted a mixed fiscal fourth quarter on Tuesday, but a strong full-year earnings outlook gave investors something to cheer about.

CARDINAL HEALTH $CAH Q4’26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS

🔹 Revenue: $63.7B (Est. $65B) 🔴; +6% YoY
🔹 Adj. EPS: $2.91 (Est. $2.42) 🟢; +40% YoY
🔹 Non-GAAP Oper Earnings: $935M (Est. $820M) 🟢; +30% YoY
🔸 IEEPA Tariff Refund: $100M operating profit impact; $0.31 EPS impact

FY27 Guide:… pic.twitter.com/HbBlV1UQfE

— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) August 11, 2026

Adjusted EPS came in at $2.91 for the quarter, beating the $2.42 analyst estimate. That figure included a 31-cent boost from tariff refunds, putting the underlying number at $2.60.

Revenue rose 6% year over year to $63.67 billion. That missed Wall Street’s forecast of $65.15 billion.

CAH stock was down 0.8% in premarket trading on Tuesday.

Cardinal Health, Inc., CAH

On a GAAP basis, net profit came in at $398 million, or $1.70 a share. That compares to $239 million, or $1.00 a share, in the same period last year.

Segment Performance

Pharmaceutical revenue grew 6%, driven by higher volume from existing customers and solid generic drug performance.

The global medical products and distribution segment was the weak spot. Revenue there fell 2%, hurt by lower distribution volumes and the recognition of expected tariff refund repayments to customers.

That split performance is worth watching as Cardinal leans into new growth areas.

Guidance Ahead of Estimates

For the new fiscal year, Cardinal Health guided for adjusted EPS of $12.40 to $12.60. That represents 13% to 15% growth and comfortably clears the FactSet consensus of $12.08.

The company expects 3% to 5% pharmaceutical revenue growth and 2% to 4% growth in medical products and distribution.

That guidance reflects recent moves into home care, including the acquisition of Strive Medical and a pending deal for AdaptHealth’s diabetes business.

Cardinal also announced a new $4 billion revolving credit agreement running through 2031. It replaces three older credit facilities.

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