Cardinal Health Q3 adjusted profit beats expectations, raises guidance

Cardinal Health

30/04/2026 11:55

Overview

US pharmaceutical distributor's Q3 revenue rose 11% but missed analyst expectations

Adjusted EPS for Q3 rose 35%, beating analyst expectations

Company completed $1.0 bln in share repurchases for fiscal 2026

Outlook

Cardinal Health raises FY26 non-GAAP EPS guidance to $10.70-$10.80

Company expects Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment profit growth of 22%-23%

Cardinal Health raises adjusted free cash flow outlook to $3.3 bln-$3.7 bln

Result Drivers

PHARMACEUTICAL SALES - Revenue and profit growth in the Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment was driven by increased brand and specialty pharmaceutical sales from existing customers and positive generics program performance

OTHER SEGMENT GROWTH - The 'Other' segment saw strong revenue and profit growth, supported by at-Home Solutions (including the acquisition of Advanced Diabetes Supply), Nuclear and Precision Health Solutions, and OptiFreight Logistics

TARIFF IMPACT - Global Medical Products and Distribution segment profit declined 36%, primarily due to the adverse net impact of tariffs

Company press release: ID:nPn8cZ49Pa

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q3 Revenue
Miss
$60.90 bln
$61.70 bln (14 Analysts)
Q3 Adjusted EPS
Beat
$3.17
$2.79 (16 Analysts)
Q3 EPS
$1.69
Q3 Net Income
$399 mln


Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 17 "strong buy" or "buy", 2 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the pharmaceuticals peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Cardinal Health Inc is $255.00, about 25.7% above its April 29 closing price of $202.82

The stock recently traded at 18 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 20 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)