AVAH vs BTSG vs CAH Stock Comparison

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings, BrightSpring Health Services and Cardinal Health Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAH Cardinal Health Inc
$251.10 +12.1% 1M +52.7% 1Y
Market cap
$58.40B
P/E
34.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$254.25B
Div. yield
0.82%
Drug Distribution Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cardinal Health leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Cardinal Health 5, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings 4, BrightSpring Health Services 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAVAHBTSGCAHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.89B $11.89B $58.40B CAH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 11.1x 33.9x 34.6x AVAH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.6x 34.8x 20.9x AVAH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +16.8% +26.4% +14.2% BTSG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.2% 2.5% 0.7% AVAH
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 18.4% 8.6% 33.9% CAH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.0x 2.6x 1.1x CAH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 0.82% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +34.5% +76.9% +52.7% BTSG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +11.4%/yr — +39.4%/yr CAH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.8% 44.6% 29.5% CAH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 65/100 68/100 AVAH

Percentile Scorecard

AVAHBTSGCAH

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAVAHBTSGCAH
Valuation 73 #26 of 92 66 #32 of 92 75 #7 of 25
Growth 84 #15 of 87 93 #7 of 87 78 #6 of 24
Profitability 93 #7 of 86 57 #38 of 86 65 #9 of 24
Financial Health 23 #75 of 97 41 #58 of 97 40 #16 of 26
Shareholder Returns – 67 #19 of 55 80 #4 of 16
Overall 68 65 68
  • AVAH ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • BTSG ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • CAH ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAVAHBTSGCAHSPY
1 month +3.8%+8.1%+12.1% +0.7%
3 months +36.8%-17.4%+10.5% +3.7%
6 months +102.8%+25.5%+30.2% +7.1%
Year to date +62.3%+60.8%+22.2% +12.8%
1 year +34.5%+76.9%+52.7% +11.9%
3 years +854.0%—+175.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year +112.2%—+40.3% +22.8%
5 years +71.8%—+425.2% +67.6%
5 years, per year +11.4%—+39.4% +10.9%
10 years ——+272.0% +262.0%
10 years, per year ——+14.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAVAHBTSGCAHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.8%44.6%29.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.2%51.5%24.6% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.631.30-0.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.721.721.79 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -92.3%-35.6%-21.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.8%-17.4%-2.5% -1.2%
52-week high $14.38$72.91$257.54 $779.14
52-week low $6.22$31.36$164.47 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAVAHBTSGCAH
P/E now vs peer median 11.1xmedian 26.0x 33.9xmedian 26.0x 34.6xmedian 24.3x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.6x 0.8xmedian 1.6x 0.2xmedian 0.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.7xmedian 15.4x 21.8xmedian 15.4x 17.5xmedian 12.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 21.5x 29.6xmedian 21.5x 12.9xmedian 16.4x
P/B now vs peer median 10.1xmedian 3.2x 5.8xmedian 3.2x -20.3xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.25median 0.87 —median 0.87 0.50median 1.36

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAVAHBTSGCAH
Revenue $2.54B $14.37B $254.25B
Gross profit $845.45M $1.78B $9.77B
Operating income $284.64M $447.80M $2.61B
Net income $260.11M $365.85M $1.72B
Free cash flow – $402.35M $4.53B
EPS (diluted) $1.16 $1.66 $7.23
Cash & equivalents $97.20M $550.38M $4.86B
Total debt $1.30B $2.19B $8.89B
Shares (diluted) 224.86M 220.28M 237.00M
Enterprise value $2.36B $10.24B $42.40B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAVAHBTSGCAH
P/E 11.1x 33.9x 34.6x
P/FCF – 29.6x 12.9x
P/Operating cash flow – 23.5x 11.3x
P/S 1.1x 0.8x 0.2x
P/B 10.1x 5.8x -20.3x
P/Tangible book 15.4x 7.8x -20.3x
EV/EBITDA 13.7x 21.8x 17.5x
EV/EBIT 14.4x 30.2x 23.9x
EV/Revenue 1.6x 0.9x 0.2x
EV/FCF – 33.6x 13.8x
EV/Operating cash flow – 26.7x 12.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.25 – 0.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAVAHBTSGCAH
Revenue growth (1Y) 16.8% 26.4% 14.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.6% – 7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 16.5% 29.4% 19.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.5% – 12.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 34.5% 143.5% 14.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 58.3% – 50.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 1,302% 472.6% 9.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 47.1% – 63.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 1,212% 448.6% 12.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.2% – 69.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 88.6% 115.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 22.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 110.5% 144.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 24.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAVAHBTSGCAH
Gross margin 33.2% 12.4% 3.8%
EBITDA margin 11.8% 4.3% 1.4%
Operating margin 11.2% 3.1% 1.0%
Pretax margin 6.0% 2.1% 0.9%
Net margin 10.2% 2.5% 0.7%
FCF margin – 2.8% 1.8%
Operating cash flow margin – 3.5% 2.0%
Return on equity 108.0% 18.2% –
Return on assets 12.6% 6.0% 3.0%
Return on invested capital 18.4% 8.6% 33.9%
Return on capital employed 17.3% 9.9% 20.0%
Asset turnover 1.2x 2.4x 4.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.4x 3.0x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.4% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAVAHBTSGCAH
Debt / assets 61.6% 36.6% 15.5%
Debt / equity 4.5x 1.1x -3.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.0x 2.6x 1.1x
Debt / FCF – 5.4x 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 86.4% 65.8% 105.0%
Equity / assets 13.6% 34.2% -5.0%
Interest coverage 2.2x 2.9x 7.5x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.6x 0.9x
Quick ratio 1.1x 1.1x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.4x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 1.93 4.65 5.11

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAVAHBTSGCAH
Dividend yield – – 0.8%
Net buyback yield – 0.6% 2.3%
Shareholder yield – 0.6% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 28.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 10.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -0.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -2.2%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAVAHBTSGCAH
Forward P/E 15.6xFY2026 34.8xFY2026 20.9xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $0.85FY2026 $1.73FY2026 $12.03FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +41.7%FY2026 +73.0%FY2026 +6.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +11.8% +42.2% +13.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.76BFY2026 $16.01BFY2026 $272.90BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +13.4%FY2026 +24.0%FY2026 +7.3%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +8.7% +1.4% -3.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAVAHBTSGCAH
Held by institutions 92.5% 100.0% 87.4%
Institutions holding 215 422 1,492
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.8% -0.7% +2.8%
Institutions buying 151 309 712
Institutions selling 52 83 556
Buyers to sellers 2.90 3.72 1.28

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AVAHBTSGCAH
AVAH 1.00 0.28 0.15
BTSG 0.28 1.00 0.14
CAH 0.15 0.14 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AVAH, BTSG and CAH?

Cardinal Health (CAH) is the largest by market capitalisation: Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) $2.89B, BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) $11.89B, Cardinal Health (CAH) $58.40B.

Which stock is cheaper, AVAH, BTSG and CAH?

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) 11.1x, BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 33.9x, Cardinal Health (CAH) 34.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) is cheapest (Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) 15.6x, BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 34.8x, Cardinal Health (CAH) 20.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) +16.8%, BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) +26.4%, Cardinal Health (CAH) +14.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) has the highest net margin (Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) 10.2%, BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 2.5%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 0.7%). On return on invested capital, Cardinal Health (CAH) leads (Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) 18.4%, BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 8.6%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 33.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) returned the most: Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) +34.5%, BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) +76.9%, Cardinal Health (CAH) +52.7%. Over five years, Cardinal Health (CAH) compounded fastest (Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) +11.4%/yr, Cardinal Health (CAH) +39.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cardinal Health (CAH) 0.82%. Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) and BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cardinal Health (CAH) has been the steadiest (Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (AVAH) 47.8%, BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 44.6%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 29.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AVAH, BTSG and CAH?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Cardinal Health (CAH) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.