BTSG vs CAH vs PACS Stock Comparison

BrightSpring Health Services, Cardinal Health and Pacs Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAH Cardinal Health Inc
$251.10 +12.1% 1M +52.7% 1Y
Market cap
$60.04B
P/E
35.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$254.25B
Div. yield
0.01%
Drug Distribution Healthcare
5 wins
PACS PACS Group, Inc.
$49.65 +17.6% 1M +299.1% 1Y
Market cap
$7.80B
P/E
29.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.55B
Div. yield
–
Home Health and Senior Care Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Cardinal Health leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Cardinal Health 5, Pacs 4, BrightSpring Health Services 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBTSGCAHPACSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $14.01B $60.04B $7.80B CAH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 38.3x 35.0x 29.0x PACS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 34.8x 20.9x 21.8x CAH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +26.4% +14.2% +15.2% BTSG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.5% 0.7% 4.8% PACS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.6% 33.9% 21.8% CAH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 1.1x 0.2x PACS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +76.9% +52.7% +299.1% PACS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +39.4%/yr — –
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.6% 29.5% 81.5% CAH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 68/100 64/100 CAH

Percentile Scorecard

BTSGCAHPACS

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

AxisBTSGCAHPACS
Valuation 66 #32 of 92 75 #7 of 25 67 #31 of 92
Growth 93 #7 of 87 78 #6 of 24 73 #24 of 87
Profitability 57 #38 of 86 65 #9 of 24 69 #27 of 86
Financial Health 41 #58 of 97 40 #16 of 26 45 #54 of 97
Shareholder Returns 67 #19 of 55 80 #4 of 16 –
Overall 65 68 64
  • BTSG ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • CAH ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • PACS ranked among 102 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBTSGCAHPACSSPY
1 month +8.1%+12.1%+17.6% +0.7%
3 months -17.4%+10.5%+5.6% +3.7%
6 months +25.5%+30.2%+48.0% +7.1%
Year to date +60.8%+22.2%+29.3% +12.8%
1 year +76.9%+52.7%+299.1% +11.9%
3 years —+175.8%— +85.2%
3 years, per year —+40.3%— +22.8%
5 years —+425.2%— +67.6%
5 years, per year —+39.4%— +10.9%
10 years —+272.0%— +262.0%
10 years, per year —+14.0%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBTSGCAHPACSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.6%29.5%81.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.5%24.6%48.8% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.30-0.110.38 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.721.793.67 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.6%-21.0%-82.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.4%-2.5%0.0% -1.2%
52-week high $72.91$257.54$49.65 $779.14
52-week low $31.36$164.47$10.58 $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.

MultipleBTSGCAHPACS
P/E now vs peer median 33.9xmedian 26.0x 34.6xmedian 24.3x 29.2xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.6x 0.2xmedian 0.3x 1.4xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 15.4x 17.5xmedian 12.9x 16.6xmedian 15.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.6xmedian 21.5x 12.9xmedian 16.4x 64.7xmedian 21.5x
P/B now vs peer median 5.8xmedian 3.2x -20.3xmedian 2.5x 7.0xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.87 0.50median 1.36 —median 0.87

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 monthsBTSGCAHPACS
Revenue $14.37B $254.25B $5.55B
Gross profit $1.78B $9.77B $1.30B
Operating income $447.80M $2.61B $410.32M
Net income $365.85M $1.72B $269.17M
Free cash flow $402.35M $4.53B $121.47M
EPS (diluted) $1.66 $7.23 $1.66
Cash & equivalents $550.38M $4.86B $164.45M
Total debt $2.19B $8.89B $246.09M
Shares (diluted) 220.28M 237.00M 161.99M
Enterprise value $12.34B $43.88B $6.84B

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
MetricBTSGCAHPACS
P/E 33.9x 34.6x 29.2x
P/FCF 29.6x 12.9x 64.7x
P/Operating cash flow 23.5x 11.3x 13.7x
P/S 0.8x 0.2x 1.4x
P/B 5.8x -20.3x 7.0x
P/Tangible book 7.8x -20.3x 7.0x
EV/EBITDA 21.8x 17.5x 16.6x
EV/EBIT 30.2x 23.9x 19.4x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 0.2x 1.4x
EV/FCF 33.6x 13.8x 65.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.7x 12.1x 13.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.50 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBTSGCAHPACS
Revenue growth (1Y) 26.4% 14.2% 15.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 7.4% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 29.4% 19.7% 33.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 12.3% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 143.5% 14.9% 83.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 50.2% –
Net income growth (1Y) 472.6% 9.8% 103.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 63.8% –
EPS growth (1Y) 448.6% 12.1% 107.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 69.2% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 88.6% 115.9% 20.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 22.1% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 110.5% 144.6% -58.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 24.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBTSGCAHPACS
Gross margin 12.4% 3.8% 23.5%
EBITDA margin 4.3% 1.4% 8.6%
Operating margin 3.1% 1.0% 7.4%
Pretax margin 2.1% 0.9% 6.9%
Net margin 2.5% 0.7% 4.8%
FCF margin 2.8% 1.8% 2.2%
Operating cash flow margin 3.5% 2.0% 10.3%
Return on equity 18.2% – 24.9%
Return on assets 6.0% 3.0% 4.8%
Return on invested capital 8.6% 33.9% 21.8%
Return on capital employed 9.9% 20.0% 8.9%
Asset turnover 2.4x 4.5x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 3.0x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.1% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBTSGCAHPACS
Debt / assets 36.6% 15.5% 4.4%
Debt / equity 1.1x -3.1x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.6x 1.1x 0.2x
Debt / FCF 5.4x 2.0x 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 65.8% 105.0% 80.3%
Equity / assets 34.2% -5.0% 19.7%
Interest coverage 2.9x 7.5x 13.9x
Current ratio 1.6x 0.9x 0.9x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.4x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.65 5.11 2.36

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBTSGCAHPACS
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.

ConsensusBTSGCAHPACS
Forward P/E 34.8xFY2026 20.9xFY2027 21.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.73FY2026 $12.03FY2027 $2.28FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +73.0%FY2026 +6.8%FY2027 +23.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +42.2% +13.5% +25.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.01BFY2026 $272.90BFY2027 $6.17BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.0%FY2026 +7.3%FY2027 +16.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.4% -3.5% +1.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBTSGCAHPACS
Held by institutions 100.0% 87.4% 31.3%
Institutions holding 422 1,492 240
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.7% +2.8% +5.8%
Institutions buying 309 712 155
Institutions selling 83 556 54
Buyers to sellers 3.72 1.28 2.87

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.

BTSGCAHPACS
BTSG 1.00 0.14 0.12
CAH 0.14 1.00 0.07
PACS 0.12 0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BTSG, CAH and PACS?

Cardinal Health (CAH) is the largest by market capitalisation: BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) $14.01B, Cardinal Health (CAH) $60.04B, Pacs (PACS) $7.80B.

Which stock is cheaper, BTSG, CAH and PACS?

Pacs (PACS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 38.3x, Cardinal Health (CAH) 35.0x, Pacs (PACS) 29.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cardinal Health (CAH) is cheapest (BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 34.8x, Cardinal Health (CAH) 20.9x, Pacs (PACS) 21.8x). 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: BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) +26.4%, Cardinal Health (CAH) +14.2%, Pacs (PACS) +15.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Pacs (PACS) has the highest net margin (BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 2.5%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 0.7%, Pacs (PACS) 4.8%). On return on invested capital, Cardinal Health (CAH) leads (BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 8.6%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 33.9%, Pacs (PACS) 21.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Pacs (PACS) returned the most: BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) +76.9%, Cardinal Health (CAH) +52.7%, Pacs (PACS) +299.1%. Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 0.00%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 0.01%, Pacs (PACS) 0.00%. BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) and Pacs (PACS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cardinal Health (CAH) has been the steadiest (BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG) 44.6%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 29.5%, Pacs (PACS) 81.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.