CAH vs MCK vs MEDS Stock Comparison

Cardinal Health, Mckesson and DataMeds AI Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAH Cardinal Health Inc
$244.90 +11.5% 1M +50.4% 1Y
Market cap
$59.30B
P/E
34.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$254.25B
Div. yield
0.01%
Drug Distribution Healthcare
7 wins
MCK Mckesson Corp
$960.80 +12.2% 1M +19.4% 1Y
Market cap
$116.14B
P/E
25.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$410.98B
Div. yield
0.00%
Drug Distribution Healthcare
5 wins
MEDS DataMeds AI, Inc.
$2.20 -42.3% 1M -93.2% 1Y
Market cap
$5.25M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Drug Distribution Healthcare

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Cardinal Health leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Cardinal Health 7, Mckesson 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCAHMCKMEDSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $59.30B $116.14B $5.25M MCK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.6x 25.3x — MCK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.4x 20.4x — CAH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.2% +8.8% — CAH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.7% 1.1% — MCK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 33.9% 107.9% — MCK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.1x 0.6x — MCK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% CAH
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +50.4% +19.4% -93.2% CAH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +38.7%/yr +35.8%/yr — CAH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.4% 30.7% 230.1% CAH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 58/100 — CAH

Percentile Scorecard

CAHMCKMEDS

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

AxisCAHMCKMEDS
Valuation 75 #7 of 25 50 #13 of 25 –
Growth 78 #6 of 24 65 #9 of 24 –
Profitability 61 #10 of 24 65 #9 of 24 –
Financial Health 40 #16 of 26 48 #14 of 26 –
Shareholder Returns 80 #4 of 16 60 #7 of 16 –
Overall 67 58 –
  • CAH ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • MCK ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • MEDS 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

PeriodCAHMCKMEDSSPY
1 month +11.5%+12.2%-42.3% +0.9%
3 months +6.9%+8.1%-26.7% +5.9%
6 months +20.7%+16.8%-59.3% +8.5%
Year to date +19.2%+17.1%-89.0% +13.3%
1 year +50.4%+19.4%-93.2% +12.4%
3 years +168.0%+114.4%— +88.1%
3 years, per year +38.9%+29.0%— +23.5%
5 years +412.2%+362.2%— +68.2%
5 years, per year +38.7%+35.8%— +11.0%
10 years +262.8%+674.2%— +263.4%
10 years, per year +13.8%+22.7%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCAHMCKMEDSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.4%30.7%230.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.6%27.4%140.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.10-0.271.68 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.720.63-0.41 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -21.0%-27.2%-99.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.9%-6.7%-94.4% -0.9%
52-week high $257.54$1,030.18$39.30 $779.14
52-week low $162.79$725.17$0.85 $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.

MultipleCAHMCKMEDS
P/E now vs peer median 33.7xmedian 23.9x 24.8xmedian 23.9x —median 23.9x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 0.3x 0.3xmedian 0.3x —median 0.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.1xmedian 12.7x 16.1xmedian 12.7x —median 12.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.6xmedian 15.4x 17.5xmedian 15.4x —median 15.4x
P/B now vs peer median -19.8xmedian 2.5x -26.4xmedian 2.5x —median 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.49median 1.34 2.08median 1.34 —median 1.34

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 monthsCAHMCKMEDS
Revenue $254.25B $410.98B –
Gross profit $9.77B $14.96B –
Operating income $2.61B $6.50B –
Net income $1.72B $5.30B –
Free cash flow $4.53B $6.42B –
EPS (diluted) $7.23 $38.52 –
Cash & equivalents $4.86B $5.16B –
Total debt $8.89B $9.73B $19.21M
Shares (diluted) 237.00M 119.20M 2.57M
Enterprise value $43.13B $100.04B $5.25M

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
MetricCAHMCKMEDS
P/E 33.7x 24.8x –
P/FCF 12.6x 17.5x –
P/Operating cash flow 11.0x 16.3x –
P/S 0.2x 0.3x –
P/B -19.8x -26.4x –
P/Tangible book -19.8x -13.6x –
EV/EBITDA 17.1x 16.1x –
EV/EBIT 23.3x 18.0x –
EV/Revenue 0.2x 0.3x –
EV/FCF 13.5x 18.2x –
EV/Operating cash flow 11.8x 17.0x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.49 2.08 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAHMCKMEDS
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.2% 8.8% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 13.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.7% 11.2% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.3% 6.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 14.9% 46.6% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 50.2% 13.5% –
Net income growth (1Y) 9.8% 58.1% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 63.8% 10.7% –
EPS growth (1Y) 12.1% 52.8% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 69.2% 12.0% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 115.9% 4.7% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.1% 10.7% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 144.6% 6.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 24.2% 11.3% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCAHMCKMEDS
Gross margin 3.8% 3.6% –
EBITDA margin 1.4% 1.8% –
Operating margin 1.0% 1.6% –
Pretax margin 0.9% 1.6% –
Net margin 0.7% 1.1% –
FCF margin 1.8% 1.6% –
Operating cash flow margin 2.0% 1.7% –
Return on equity – – –
Return on assets 3.0% 6.2% –
Return on invested capital 33.9% 107.9% –
Return on capital employed 20.0% 43.4% –
Asset turnover 4.5x 4.8x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.0x 1.3x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAHMCKMEDS
Debt / assets 15.5% 11.0% –
Debt / equity -3.1x -2.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.1x 0.6x –
Debt / FCF 2.0x 1.5x –
Liabilities / assets 105.0% 104.8% –
Equity / assets -5.0% -4.8% –
Interest coverage 7.5x 23.6x –
Current ratio 0.9x 0.9x –
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.5x –
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x –
Altman Z-score 5.10 5.88 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAHMCKMEDS
Dividend yield 0.8% 0.4% –
Net buyback yield 2.4% 5.9% –
Shareholder yield 3.2% 6.3% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 28.5% 7.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 10.9% 6.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) -0.6% 11.3% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -2.2% 10.0% –

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.

ConsensusCAHMCKMEDS
Forward P/E 20.4xFY2027 20.4xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $12.03FY2027 $47.15FY2026 –
EPS growth, next FY +6.8%FY2027 +20.6%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +13.5% +11.0% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $272.90BFY2027 $444.47BFY2026 –
Revenue growth, next FY +7.3%FY2027 +10.2%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after -3.5% +1.5% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAHMCKMEDS
Held by institutions 87.4% 89.1% –
Institutions holding 1,491 2,010 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% -0.7% –
Institutions buying 711 882 –
Institutions selling 556 791 –
Buyers to sellers 1.28 1.12 –

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.

CAHMCKMEDS
CAH 1.00 0.72 -0.03
MCK 0.72 1.00 -0.03
MEDS -0.03 -0.03 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAH, MCK and MEDS?

Mckesson (MCK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cardinal Health (CAH) $59.30B, Mckesson (MCK) $116.14B, DataMeds AI (MEDS) $5.25M.

Which stock is cheaper, CAH, MCK and MEDS?

Mckesson (MCK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cardinal Health (CAH) 34.6x, Mckesson (MCK) 25.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cardinal Health (CAH) is cheapest (Cardinal Health (CAH) 20.4x, Mckesson (MCK) 20.4x). 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%, Mckesson (MCK) +8.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mckesson (MCK) has the highest net margin (Cardinal Health (CAH) 0.7%, Mckesson (MCK) 1.1%). On return on invested capital, Mckesson (MCK) leads (Cardinal Health (CAH) 33.9%, Mckesson (MCK) 107.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cardinal Health (CAH) returned the most: Cardinal Health (CAH) +50.4%, Mckesson (MCK) +19.4%, DataMeds AI (MEDS) -93.2%. Over five years, Cardinal Health (CAH) compounded fastest (Cardinal Health (CAH) +38.7%/yr, Mckesson (MCK) +35.8%/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%, Mckesson (MCK) 0.00%, DataMeds AI (MEDS) 0.00%. DataMeds AI (MEDS) 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%, Mckesson (MCK) 30.7%, DataMeds AI (MEDS) 230.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAH, MCK and MEDS?

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 7. 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.