Company Dossier · Health Care
Cardinal Health
- S&P 500
- Russell 1000
What Cardinal Health is doing, read from its filings, its own words and the news, with every figure dated and sourced. Not investment advice: no ratings, no price targets.
Open the full company record in Palanor: guidance, KPIs, ownership, calls, prices →
The latest read
Computed from the data on Oct 22, 2026. Every figure links back to its source in the sections below.
- Revenue over the four quarters to December 31, 2025: $245 billion, up 10% from a year earlier.SEC EDGAR filings (XBRL)
- Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital expenditure) over the four quarters to December 31, 2025: $5.50 billion.SEC EDGAR filings (XBRL)
- Capital expenditure over the four quarters to December 31, 2025: $0.60 billion, up 22% from a year earlier.SEC EDGAR filings (XBRL)
- Share buybacks in the fiscal year to June 30, 2026: $1.36 billion.SEC EDGAR filings (10-K)
- Long-term debt issued in the fiscal year to June 30, 2026: $1.00 billion.SEC EDGAR filings (10-K)
- Latest earnings call or results release (August 11, 2026): sentiment 0.60 on a −1 to +1 scale (mixed), confidence 0.80 of 1.Palanor Discourse
- Latest annual report (filed August 11, 2026): 0 risk factors added, 0 removed.Risk Factor Changes (10-K Item 1A)
- Insiders were net sellers in Q3 2026: $59.5 million on the open market.SEC Form 4
- 1,503 institutional managers reported a position at June 30, 2026 (+67 on the quarter before).SEC Form 13F
- H-1B filings certified in Q2 2026: 46 (28 a year earlier).U.S. Department of Labor (OFLC)
Company Posture
How Company Posture is measured →What Cardinal Health is doing, on three axes, from its filings and its own words, as of 2026-10-22. A description, not a rating: Company Posture never says whether to buy.
Expanding ↔ Retrenching
Withheld: 50% of the evidence is readable at this date (needs 60%).
- Capital spending—
- Debt raised—
- Buybacks vs capex—
- Hiring filings90th pct
- Deals and private raises49th pct
- Patent publications88th pct
Confident ↔ Hedging
Hedging
- Call sentiment39th pct
- Call confidence41st pct
- Guidance changes18th pct
- Risk factors added—
- Insider open-market trades44th pct
- − Guidance changes
- − Call sentiment
- − Call confidence
Pressure
Components only: Not yet shown as a score: in the back-test it did not add to a naive reader's forecast of impairment, debt acceleration or bankruptcy filings (8-K 2.06, 2.04, 1.03) (not enough events (17 in half 1; needs 20)).
- Fails-to-deliver31st pct
- Stress filings48th pct
Credit
How these are built →Cardinal Health's borrowing from its SEC filings: the bonds it priced and the debt on its latest balance sheet. A description, not a rating.
Debt on the balance sheet
$8.9B
- Due within a year $1.9B
- Longer term $7.0B
- Default point $5.4B (short + ½ long)
Finance leases included · Jun 30, 2026 filing
Bonds priced, last 12 months
None
U.S. dollar tranches with a term sheet on EDGAR. Deals sold under Rule 144A file none and are not counted.
| Priced | Amount | Coupon | Matures | Spread | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 2025 | $400M | 5.150% | 2035 (10y) | +95bp | 5.188% |
| Aug 13, 2025 | $600M | 4.500% | 2030 (5y) | +75bp | 4.520% |
| Nov 13, 2024 | $750M | 5.000% | 2029 (5y) | +70bp | 5.008% |
| Nov 13, 2024 | $1B | 5.350% | 2034 (10y) | +93bp | 5.387% |
| Nov 13, 2024 | $500M | 4.700% | 2026 (2y) | +45bp | 4.740% |
| Nov 13, 2024 | $650M | 5.750% | 2054 (30y) | +113bp | 5.778% |
| Feb 14, 2024 | $500M | 5.450% | 2034 (10y) | +120bp | 5.459% |
| Feb 14, 2024 | $650M | 5.125% | 2029 (5y) | +90bp | 5.143% |
From the pricing term sheets Cardinal Health filed with the SEC. Spread is to the benchmark Treasury (or Bund, Gilt) at pricing.
Charts
Live charts: each one redraws from today’s data and has an image link to paste into a document or slide.
Cash flow
Capital returned and raised
What the company says
Hiring and ownership
Filings and records
The last two years of notable 8-Ks, offerings, annual reports, federal awards, lobbying reports, patents and other public records, newest first.
- Oct 20, 2026LobbyingLobbying report (BGR GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS)third_quarter 2026 · $0.1 million
- Oct 20, 2026LobbyingLobbying report (TARPLIN, DOWNS & YOUNG, LLC)third_quarter 2026 · $0.0 million
- Oct 20, 2026LobbyingLobbying report (CARDINAL HEALTH, INC.)third_quarter 2026 · $0.4 million
- Oct 16, 2026LobbyingLobbying report (BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK, LLP)third_quarter 2026 · $0.1 million
- Aug 11, 20268-KMaterial agreement signedItem 1.01
- Aug 11, 20268-KMaterial agreement terminatedItem 1.02
- Aug 11, 202610-K
- Aug 5, 20268-KDirector or officer changeItem 5.02
- Jul 20, 2026LobbyingLobbying report (BGR GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS)second_quarter 2026 · $0.1 million
- Jul 20, 2026LobbyingLobbying report (TARPLIN, DOWNS & YOUNG, LLC)second_quarter 2026 · $0.0 million
- Jul 20, 2026LobbyingLobbying report (CARDINAL HEALTH, INC.)second_quarter 2026 · $0.5 million
- Jul 20, 2026LobbyingLobbying report (TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GROUP, INC.)second_quarter 2026 · $0.0 million
- May 12, 2026Patent
- Mar 23, 20268-KDirector or officer changeItem 5.02
- Mar 5, 20268-KDirector or officer changeItem 5.02
- Feb 10, 2026Patent
- Nov 6, 20258-KShareholder vote resultsItem 5.07
- Oct 10, 20258-KMaterial agreement signedItem 1.01
- Oct 3, 20258-KMaterial agreement signedItem 1.01
- Aug 27, 20258-KMaterial agreement signedItem 1.01
- Aug 12, 202510-K
- Jul 7, 2025Risk event
- Mar 10, 20258-KDirector or officer changeItem 5.02
- Dec 9, 20248-KMaterial agreement signedItem 1.01
- Nov 22, 20248-KMaterial agreement signedItem 1.01
- Nov 22, 20248-KMaterial agreement terminatedItem 1.02
- Nov 12, 20248-KMaterial agreement signedItem 1.01
- Nov 7, 20248-KShareholder vote resultsItem 5.07
- Aug 14, 202410-K
- Feb 20, 2024Patent
- Mar 28, 2023Patent
- Aug 30, 2022Patent
Peers
Companies in the same industry in the S&P 500, Russell 1000 or MidCap 400, closest in revenue first. Trailing twelve months, from SEC filings.
| Company | Revenue | Free cash flow | Through |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cencora COR | $333B | $4.1B | Jun 30, 2026 |
| McKesson Corporation MCK | $411B | $6.4B | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Henry Schein HSIC | $13.6B | $0.6B | Jun 27, 2026 |
| Cigna CI | $282B | — | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Elevance Health ELV | $201B | $6.3B | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Centene Corporation CNC | $179B | $8.9B | Jun 30, 2026 |
| CVS Health CVS | $415B | $11.8B | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Humana HUM | $137B | $1.3B | Mar 31, 2026 |