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Cardinal Health key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2026, Cardinal Health had an operating margin of 1.0% and a current ratio of 0.88. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Fiscal year2010Jun 20102011Jun 20112012Jun 20122013Jun 20132014Jun 20142015Jun 20152016Jun 20162017Jun 20172018Jun 20182019Jun 20192020Jun 20202021Jun 20212022Jun 20222023Jun 20232024Jun 20242025Jun 20252026Jun 2026
Gross margin3.8%4.1%4.2%4.9%5.7%5.6%5.4%5.0%5.2%4.7%4.5%4.2%3.6%3.4%3.3%3.7%3.8%
Operating margin1.3%1.5%1.7%1.0%2.1%2.1%2.0%1.6%0.1%1.4%−2.7%0.3%−0.3%0.4%0.5%1.0%1.0%
Net margin0.7%0.9%1.0%0.3%1.3%1.2%1.2%1.0%0.2%0.9%−2.4%0.4%−0.5%0.2%0.4%0.7%0.7%
Free-cash-flow margin1.9%1.1%0.9%1.5%2.5%2.2%2.1%0.6%1.7%1.6%1.0%1.2%1.5%1.2%1.4%0.8%1.8%
Return on equity12.2%17.2%17.7%5.5%18.8%19.2%22.3%19.3%4.0%22.0%−91.1%34.1%−173.4%————
Return on assets3.2%4.5%4.5%1.3%4.5%4.3%4.4%3.5%0.6%3.4%−9.0%1.4%−2.1%0.8%1.9%3.2%3.1%
Asset turnover4.934.794.574.043.513.653.783.503.423.603.743.814.114.705.134.534.61
Current ratio1.291.221.241.221.191.261.111.341.071.071.101.121.081.000.980.940.88
Debt to equity40.4%42.8%46.3%64.5%62.1%87.8%84.5%165.2%148.8%126.9%380.1%348.2%—————
Interest cover (operating income ÷ interest)11.6x16.3x18.9x8.1x14.2x15.3x13.8x10.5x0.4x7.0xn/m2.6xn/m9.0x24.4x10.6x7.5x
Effective tax rate51.6%36.4%37.0%62.3%35.3%38.4%37.1%32.7%—22.0%———50.1%29.0%25.3%21.6%
SG&A as % of revenue2.4%2.5%2.5%2.8%3.3%3.2%3.0%2.9%3.4%3.1%3.0%2.8%2.5%2.3%2.2%2.4%2.4%
Capital spending as % of revenue0.3%0.3%0.2%0.2%0.3%0.3%0.4%0.3%0.3%0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%0.3%
Free cash flow ÷ net income291.9%115.1%85.7%458.7%195.1%184.4%175.6%61.9%931.3%175.6%—332.1%—716.1%381.6%118.5%264.0%
Dividends ÷ net income39.4%28.6%28.1%105.7%35.6%37.9%35.9%44.8%227.0%42.3%—93.8%—159.1%58.6%31.6%28.6%
Dividends and buybacks ÷ free cash flow25.8%49.3%81.9%52.4%47.8%66.8%46.4%147.7%47.4%49.2%58.0%38.1%55.9%106.9%38.4%68.1%40.9%

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

0 of 2 checks passed · June 30, 2026
What it owns · $57.3bn
Short-term assets $38.8bnLonger-term assets $18.5bn
What it owes, and who funded it · $43.9bn
Short-term liabilities $43.9bnShareholders' equity $-2.9bn
  • Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $38.8bn of assets due within a year against $43.9bn of liabilities due within a year.
  • Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities Not assessable from the reported split. Not assessable.
  • More cash than debt $4.9bn of cash against $7.0bn of debt.
  • Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Equity or debt not reported. Not assessable.
  • Debt burden no higher than five years ago Five-year comparison not available. Not assessable.
  • A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt Cash flow or debt not reported. Not assessable.
  • Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Interest not separately reported. Not assessable.

From Cardinal Health's latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

40 /100

Weak moat

How hard Cardinal Health's competitive advantage looks for rivals to wear away, judged from 10 years of its own filings: returns on capital, pricing power, profit durability, cash conversion and discipline.

  • Returns on capital 7 / 20

    Cash operating profit has been a median 6.5% of total assets over 10 years.

  • Pricing power 8 / 20

    Gross margin has been a median 4.1%, moving by 0.7 percentage points (standard deviation) across 10 years.

  • Durability 0 / 20

    Operating margin has been a median 0.6%; its worst year was -2.8%.

  • Cash conversion 10 / 20

    Free cash flow was positive in 9 of 10 years, at a median 1.3% of revenue.

  • Discipline 20 / 20

    The diluted share count fell 18.3% over five years; stock-based pay has been a median 0.1% of revenue.

AI disruption exposure: Medium. In this industry, AI could change how the product is made or sold, without replacing the core asset. The score above includes a 5-point deduction for that exposure (44 before it).

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

Compare with peers

Head to head: CAH vs CORCAH vs MCKCAH vs HSIC

More: Health Care Distributors stocks compared, Health Care sector, rankings of US companies

Figures from Cardinal Health's SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved November 1, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to Cardinal Health.