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Valued at a market cap of $29.4 billion, Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH) is a healthcare services and products company that provides customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients in the home. The Dublin, Ohio-based company is expected to announce its fiscal2025 Q2 earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, Jan. 30.
Ahead of this event, analysts project the healthcare company to report a profit of $1.74 per share, down 4.4% from $1.82 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has a promising trajectory of consistently beating Wall Street's bottom-line estimates in the last four quarters. In Q1, CAH’s adjusted EPS of $1.88 outpaced the consensus estimates by a significant margin of 14.6%.
For fiscal 2025, analysts expect CAH to report an EPS of $7.82, up 3.8% from $7.53 in fiscal 2024. Moreover, in fiscal 2026, EPS is expected to grow 11.1% year-over-year to $8.69.
Shares of CAH have gained 14.8% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 25.8% rise but outpacing the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLV) marginal return over the same time frame.
On Nov. 1, shares of CAH soared 7% after its Q1 earnings release. The company’s adjusted earnings improved 9.3% year-over-year to $1.88 per share, while its revenues declined 4.3% from the year-ago quarter to $52.3 billion. Both the top and bottom-line figures surpassed the Wall Street estimates. Increased contribution from branded pharmaceutical and specialty pharmaceutical products and its positive generics program performance primarily contributed to its earnings growth.
However, the unfavorable impact of the customer contract expiration with OptumRx in June 2024 affected its otherwise strong performance and led to a fall in revenues. Noting its strong performance, the company raised its full-year 2025 adjusted EPS guidance in the range of $7.75 to $7.90. This might have further bolstered investor confidence.
Wall Street analysts are moderately optimistic about Cardinal Health’s stock, with a "Moderate Buy" rating overall. Among 15 analysts covering the stock, nine recommend "Strong Buy," and six suggest “Hold.” This configuration is significantly more bullish than three months ago, with five analysts suggesting a “Strong Buy” rating
The average analyst price target for CAH is $131.94, indicating a modest 8.7% potential upside from the current levels.
