CAH vs COR vs IDXX Stock Comparison

Cardinal Health, Cencora and Idexx Laboratories Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAH Cardinal Health Inc
$246.50 +11.9% 1M +50.5% 1Y
Market cap
$57.62B
P/E
33.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$254.25B
Div. yield
0.01%
Drug Distribution Healthcare
5 wins
COR Cencora, Inc.
$325.38 +6.0% 1M -3.2% 1Y
Market cap
$62.66B
P/E
23.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$332.77B
Div. yield
0.01%
Drug Distribution Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Cardinal Health leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Cardinal Health 5, Idexx Laboratories 4, Cencora 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCAHCORIDXXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $57.62B $62.66B $44.62B COR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.6x 23.9x 39.1x COR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.5x 19.1x 35.9x COR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.2% +5.1% +12.8% CAH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.7% 0.8% 25.0% IDXX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 33.9% 14.4% 45.6% IDXX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.1x 2.2x 0.5x IDXX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% CAH
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +50.5% -3.2% -13.3% CAH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +38.9%/yr +22.0%/yr -3.0%/yr CAH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.4% 32.7% 32.1% CAH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 50/100 77/100 IDXX

Percentile Scorecard

CAHCORIDXX

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

AxisCAHCORIDXX
Valuation 75 #7 of 25 58 #11 of 25 75 #159 of 625
Growth 78 #6 of 24 74 #7 of 24 76 #148 of 602
Profitability 57 #11 of 24 52 #12 of 24 97 #18 of 551
Financial Health 36 #17 of 26 24 #20 of 26 47 #349 of 656
Shareholder Returns 79 #4 of 15 43 #9 of 15 93 #26 of 365
Overall 65 50 77
  • CAH ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • COR ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • IDXX ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCAHCORIDXXSPY
1 month +11.9%+6.0%+8.1% -0.2%
3 months +6.1%+1.8%-1.5% +3.9%
6 months +19.9%+4.3%-1.2% +8.2%
Year to date +20.0%-3.7%-17.0% +12.9%
1 year +50.5%-3.2%-13.3% +12.3%
3 years +169.7%+73.4%+43.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year +39.2%+20.2%+12.8% +23.3%
5 years +416.6%+169.6%-14.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year +38.9%+22.0%-3.0% +10.9%
10 years +229.5%+309.3%+435.0% +261.1%
10 years, per year +12.7%+15.1%+18.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCAHCORIDXXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.4%32.7%32.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.6%39.5%31.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.10-0.150.79 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.72-0.10-0.41 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -21.0%-32.6%-51.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.3%-13.2%-26.8% -1.2%
52-week high $257.54$374.75$766.68 $779.14
52-week low $162.79$252.74$504.70 $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.

MultipleCAHCORIDXX
P/E now vs peer median 33.9xmedian 23.9x 23.9xmedian 23.9x 38.9xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 0.3x 0.2xmedian 0.3x 9.7xmedian 9.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.2xmedian 13.4x 17.3xmedian 13.4x 27.9xmedian 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.7xmedian 15.5x 15.3xmedian 15.5x 35.3xmedian 18.7x
P/B now vs peer median -19.9xmedian 2.5x 19.2xmedian 2.5x 27.5xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.49median 1.34 1.34median 1.34 2.58median 0.33

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 monthsCAHCORIDXX
Revenue $254.25B $332.77B $4.55B
Gross profit $9.77B $13.22B $2.84B
Operating income $2.61B $3.04B $1.46B
Net income $1.72B $2.65B $1.14B
Free cash flow $4.53B $4.06B $1.25B
R&D – – $261.47M
EPS (diluted) $7.23 $13.53 $14.37
Cash & equivalents $4.86B $2.82B $196.93M
Total debt $8.89B $11.72B $968.86M
Shares (diluted) 237.00M 193.94M 79.31M
Enterprise value $41.46B $51.56B $43.83B

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
MetricCAHCORIDXX
P/E 33.9x 23.9x 38.9x
P/FCF 12.7x 15.3x 35.3x
P/Operating cash flow 11.1x 12.9x 32.3x
P/S 0.2x 0.2x 9.7x
P/B -19.9x 19.2x 27.5x
P/Tangible book -19.9x -23.1x 29.2x
EV/EBITDA 17.2x 17.3x 27.9x
EV/EBIT 23.5x 23.3x 30.9x
EV/Revenue 0.2x 0.2x 9.9x
EV/FCF 13.6x 17.5x 35.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.9x 14.7x 32.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.49 1.34 2.58

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAHCORIDXX
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.2% 5.1% 12.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 9.4% 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.7% 20.0% 14.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.3% 15.0% 10.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 14.9% 11.1% 16.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 50.2% 9.5% 11.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.8% 38.9% 15.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 63.8% 16.2% 12.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.1% 39.3% 18.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 69.2% 17.9% 15.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 115.9% 176.7% 51.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.1% 14.1% 22.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 144.6% 255.7% 59.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 24.2% 13.3% 28.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCAHCORIDXX
Gross margin 3.8% 4.0% 62.4%
EBITDA margin 1.4% 1.2% 35.4%
Operating margin 1.0% 0.9% 32.0%
Pretax margin 0.9% 1.1% 31.3%
Net margin 0.7% 0.8% 25.0%
FCF margin 1.8% 1.2% 27.5%
Operating cash flow margin 2.0% 1.4% 30.1%
Return on equity – 77.4% 71.9%
Return on assets 3.0% 3.2% 33.4%
Return on invested capital 33.9% 14.4% 45.6%
Return on capital employed 20.0% 12.9% 68.6%
Asset turnover 4.5x 4.0x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.0x 1.8x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% 0.0% 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAHCORIDXX
Debt / assets 15.5% 14.0% 28.1%
Debt / equity -3.1x 3.6x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.1x 2.2x 0.5x
Debt / FCF 2.0x 2.9x 0.8x
Liabilities / assets 105.0% 96.1% 53.2%
Equity / assets -5.0% 3.9% 46.8%
Interest coverage 7.5x – 38.6x
Current ratio 0.9x 0.9x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.0x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 5.10 4.65 20.16

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAHCORIDXX
Dividend yield 0.8% 0.7% –
Net buyback yield 2.4% 1.6% 2.4%
Shareholder yield 3.2% 2.3% 2.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 28.5% 17.7% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 10.9% 11.5% –
Dividend growth (1Y) -0.6% 8.7% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -2.2% 5.7% –

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.

ConsensusCAHCORIDXX
Forward P/E 20.5xFY2027 19.1xFY2026 35.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.03FY2027 $17.08FY2026 $15.63FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.8%FY2027 +6.7%FY2026 +19.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.5% +11.8% +12.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $272.90BFY2027 $328.56BFY2026 $5.00BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.3%FY2027 +2.2%FY2026 +16.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.5% -0.3% +0.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAHCORIDXX
Held by institutions 87.4% 0.1% 93.6%
Institutions holding 1,491 3 1,289
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% – +4.1%
Institutions buying 711 2 587
Institutions selling 556 0 496
Buyers to sellers 1.28 – 1.18

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.

CAHCORIDXX
CAH 1.00 0.58 0.12
COR 0.58 1.00 0.12
IDXX 0.12 0.12 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAH, COR and IDXX?

Cencora (COR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cardinal Health (CAH) $57.62B, Cencora (COR) $62.66B, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) $44.62B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAH, COR and IDXX?

Cencora (COR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cardinal Health (CAH) 33.6x, Cencora (COR) 23.9x, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 39.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cencora (COR) is cheapest (Cardinal Health (CAH) 20.5x, Cencora (COR) 19.1x, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 35.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Cardinal Health (CAH) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cardinal Health (CAH) +14.2%, Cencora (COR) +5.1%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) +12.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) has the highest net margin (Cardinal Health (CAH) 0.7%, Cencora (COR) 0.8%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 25.0%). On return on invested capital, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) leads (Cardinal Health (CAH) 33.9%, Cencora (COR) 14.4%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 45.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cardinal Health (CAH) returned the most: Cardinal Health (CAH) +50.5%, Cencora (COR) -3.2%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) -13.3%. Over five years, Cardinal Health (CAH) compounded fastest (Cardinal Health (CAH) +38.9%/yr, Cencora (COR) +22.0%/yr, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) -3.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Cardinal Health (CAH) has the highest dividend yield: Cardinal Health (CAH) 0.01%, Cencora (COR) 0.01%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 0.00%. Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cardinal Health (CAH) has been the steadiest (Cardinal Health (CAH) 29.4%, Cencora (COR) 32.7%, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 32.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAH, COR and IDXX?

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.