COR vs MDLN vs CAH Stock Comparison

Cencora, Medline and Cardinal Health Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
COR Cencora, Inc.
$330.24 +7.6% 1M -0.7% 1Y
Market cap
$62.79B
P/E
23.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$332.77B
Div. yield
0.01%
Drug Distribution Healthcare
3 wins
MDLN Medline Inc.
$33.69 -2.9% 1M
Market cap
$27.76B
P/E
33.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.57B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
2 wins
CAH Cardinal Health Inc
$251.63 +14.3% 1M +55.4% 1Y
Market cap
$58.18B
P/E
33.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$254.25B
Div. yield
0.01%
Drug Distribution Healthcare
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Cardinal Health leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Cardinal Health 7, Cencora 3, Medline 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCORMDLNCAHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $62.79B $27.76B $58.18B COR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.9x 33.2x 33.9x COR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.3x 23.4x 20.9x COR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.1% — +14.2% CAH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.8% 2.9% 0.7% MDLN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.4% 5.4% 33.9% CAH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.2x 3.2x 1.1x CAH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.01% CAH
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -0.7% — +55.4% CAH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.6%/yr — +39.6%/yr CAH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.8% 44.5% 29.4% CAH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 67/100 66/100 MDLN

Percentile Scorecard

CORMDLNCAH

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

AxisCORMDLNCAH
Valuation 54 #12 of 25 82 #42 of 228 75 #7 of 25
Growth 74 #7 of 24 – 78 #6 of 24
Profitability 57 #11 of 24 72 #59 of 208 61 #10 of 24
Financial Health 24 #20 of 26 41 #142 of 239 36 #17 of 26
Shareholder Returns 47 #9 of 16 72 #39 of 137 80 #4 of 16
Overall 51 67 66
  • COR ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • MDLN ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • 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

PeriodCORMDLNCAHSPY
1 month +7.6%-2.9%+14.3% -0.8%
3 months +6.1%-15.1%+9.7% +3.5%
6 months +6.5%-25.5%+24.4% +7.0%
Year to date -2.2%-19.8%+22.4% +12.2%
1 year -0.7%—+55.4% +13.0%
3 years +76.0%—+175.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year +20.8%—+40.2% +23.1%
5 years +176.2%—+430.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +22.6%—+39.6% +11.0%
10 years +316.1%—+238.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year +15.3%—+13.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCORMDLNCAHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.8%44.5%29.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.6%48.6%24.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.150.62-0.09 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.02—1.89 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.6%-36.7%-21.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.9%-32.6%-2.3% -1.8%
52-week high $374.75$49.99$257.54 $779.14
52-week low $252.74$31.64$162.79 $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.

MultipleCORMDLNCAH
P/E now vs peer median 24.3xmedian 24.3x 34.5xmedian 30.6x 34.6xmedian 24.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 0.3x 1.6xmedian 3.0x 0.2xmedian 0.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.5xmedian 13.5x 17.5xmedian 17.5x 17.5xmedian 13.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.5xmedian 15.6x 27.8xmedian 23.3x 12.9xmedian 15.6x
P/B now vs peer median 19.5xmedian 2.5x 2.3xmedian 2.4x -20.3xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.36median 1.33 —median 0.87 0.50median 1.33

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 monthsCORMDLNCAH
Revenue $332.77B $28.57B $254.25B
Gross profit $13.22B $7.79B $9.77B
Operating income $3.04B $2.03B $2.61B
Net income $2.65B $1.03B $1.72B
Free cash flow $4.06B $1.59B $4.53B
EPS (diluted) $13.53 $0.97 $7.23
Cash & equivalents $2.82B $2.33B $4.86B
Total debt $11.72B $12.58B $8.89B
Shares (diluted) 193.94M 861.00M 237.00M
Enterprise value $51.69B $20.71B $42.02B

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
MetricCORMDLNCAH
P/E 24.3x 34.5x 34.6x
P/FCF 15.5x 27.8x 12.9x
P/Operating cash flow 13.1x 22.1x 11.3x
P/S 0.2x 1.6x 0.2x
P/B 19.5x 2.3x -20.3x
P/Tangible book -23.4x 8.0x -20.3x
EV/EBITDA 17.5x 17.5x 17.5x
EV/EBIT 23.6x 26.7x 23.9x
EV/Revenue 0.2x 1.9x 0.2x
EV/FCF 17.7x 34.1x 13.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.9x 27.0x 12.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.36 – 0.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCORMDLNCAH
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.1% – 14.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.4% – 7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.0% – 19.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 15.0% – 12.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.1% – 14.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 9.5% – 50.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 38.9% – 9.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 16.2% – 63.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 39.3% – 12.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 17.9% – 69.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 176.7% – 115.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.1% – 22.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 255.7% – 144.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.3% – 24.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCORMDLNCAH
Gross margin 4.0% 27.3% 3.8%
EBITDA margin 1.2% 10.8% 1.4%
Operating margin 0.9% 7.1% 1.0%
Pretax margin 1.1% 4.3% 0.9%
Net margin 0.8% 2.9% 0.7%
FCF margin 1.2% 5.6% 1.8%
Operating cash flow margin 1.4% 7.0% 2.0%
Return on equity 77.4% 5.4% –
Return on assets 3.2% 2.6% 3.0%
Return on invested capital 14.4% 5.4% 33.9%
Return on capital employed 12.9% 5.6% 20.0%
Asset turnover 4.0x 0.7x 4.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 2.0x 3.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.0% 0.3% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCORMDLNCAH
Debt / assets 14.0% 32.0% 15.5%
Debt / equity 3.6x 0.7x -3.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.2x 3.2x 1.1x
Debt / FCF 2.9x 7.9x 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 96.1% 51.5% 105.0%
Equity / assets 3.9% 48.5% -5.0%
Interest coverage – – 7.5x
Current ratio 0.9x 4.3x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.5x 2.3x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x 1.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.66 2.49 5.11

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCORMDLNCAH
Dividend yield 0.7% – 0.8%
Net buyback yield 1.6% 0.0% 2.3%
Shareholder yield 2.3% 0.0% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 17.7% – 28.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 11.5% – 10.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.7% – -0.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 5.7% – -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.

ConsensusCORMDLNCAH
Forward P/E 19.3xFY2026 23.4xFY2026 20.9xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $17.08FY2026 $1.44FY2026 $12.03FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +6.7%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026 +6.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +11.8% +13.9% +13.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $328.56BFY2026 $32.52BFY2026 $272.90BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +2.2%FY2026 +14.4%FY2026 +7.3%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after -0.3% +8.0% -3.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCORMDLNCAH
Held by institutions 94.7% 57.1% 87.4%
Institutions holding 1,342 407 1,491
Change in shares held, QoQ +15.7% +17.9% +2.8%
Institutions buying 542 322 711
Institutions selling 609 68 556
Buyers to sellers 0.89 4.74 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.

CORMDLNCAH
COR 1.00 0.21 0.58
MDLN 0.21 1.00 0.26
CAH 0.58 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, COR, MDLN and CAH?

Cencora (COR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cencora (COR) $62.79B, Medline (MDLN) $27.76B, Cardinal Health (CAH) $58.18B.

Which stock is cheaper, COR, MDLN and CAH?

Cencora (COR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cencora (COR) 23.9x, Medline (MDLN) 33.2x, Cardinal Health (CAH) 33.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cencora (COR) is cheapest (Cencora (COR) 19.3x, Medline (MDLN) 23.4x, 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?

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

Which company is more profitable?

Medline (MDLN) has the highest net margin (Cencora (COR) 0.8%, Medline (MDLN) 2.9%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 0.7%). On return on invested capital, Cardinal Health (CAH) leads (Cencora (COR) 14.4%, Medline (MDLN) 5.4%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 33.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cardinal Health (CAH) returned the most: Cencora (COR) -0.7%, Cardinal Health (CAH) +55.4%. Over five years, Cardinal Health (CAH) compounded fastest (Cencora (COR) +22.6%/yr, Cardinal Health (CAH) +39.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cardinal Health (CAH) has been the steadiest (Cencora (COR) 32.8%, Medline (MDLN) 44.5%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 29.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, COR, MDLN 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 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.