GRDN vs CAH Stock Comparison

Guardian Pharmacy Services and Cardinal Health Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
5 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

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

QuestionGRDNCAHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.02M $58.18B CAH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 0.1x 33.9x GRDN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.9x 20.9x CAH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.3% +14.2% CAH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.5% 0.7% GRDN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 33.9% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.1x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +37.4% +55.4% CAH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +39.6%/yr –
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.6% 29.4% CAH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 94/100 66/100 GRDN

Percentile Scorecard

GRDNCAH

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

AxisGRDNCAH
Valuation 100 #1 of 25 75 #7 of 25
Growth 87 #4 of 24 78 #6 of 24
Profitability 100 #1 of 24 61 #10 of 24
Financial Health 88 #4 of 26 36 #17 of 26
Shareholder Returns – 80 #4 of 16
Overall 94 66
  • GRDN ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • 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

PeriodGRDNCAHSPY
1 month -4.8%+14.3% -0.8%
3 months -5.5%+9.7% +3.5%
6 months +3.3%+24.4% +7.0%
Year to date +30.3%+22.4% +12.2%
1 year +37.4%+55.4% +13.0%
3 years —+175.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year —+40.2% +23.1%
5 years —+430.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year —+39.6% +11.0%
10 years —+238.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+13.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGRDNCAHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.6%29.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.6%24.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.57-0.09 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.921.89 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.2%-21.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.7%-2.3% -1.8%
52-week high $46.49$257.54 $779.14
52-week low $27.03$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.

MultipleGRDNCAH
P/E now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 24.3x 34.6xmedian 24.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 0.3x 0.2xmedian 0.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -0.8xmedian 13.5x 17.5xmedian 13.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 15.6x 12.9xmedian 15.6x
P/B now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 2.5x -20.3xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.33 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 monthsGRDNCAH
Revenue $1.46B $254.25B
Gross profit $316.58M $9.77B
Operating income $85.44M $2.61B
Net income $65.91M $1.72B
Free cash flow $75.29M $4.53B
EPS (diluted) $1,032.46 $7.23
Cash & equivalents $89.81M $4.86B
Total debt – $8.89B
Shares (diluted) 63.84K 237.00M
Enterprise value -$251.79M $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
MetricGRDNCAH
P/E 0.1x 34.6x
P/FCF 0.1x 12.9x
P/Operating cash flow 0.1x 11.3x
P/S 0.0x 0.2x
P/B 0.0x -20.3x
P/Tangible book 0.0x -20.3x
EV/EBITDA -0.8x 17.5x
EV/EBIT -1.0x 23.9x
EV/Revenue -0.1x 0.2x
EV/FCF -1.1x 13.8x
EV/Operating cash flow -0.9x 12.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGRDNCAH
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.3% 14.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 21.5% 19.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 12.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 237.2% 14.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 50.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 172.0% 9.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 63.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 142,625% 12.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 69.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 71.4% 115.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 22.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 206.9% 144.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 24.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGRDNCAH
Gross margin 21.6% 3.8%
EBITDA margin 7.4% 1.4%
Operating margin 5.8% 1.0%
Pretax margin 6.5% 0.9%
Net margin 4.5% 0.7%
FCF margin 5.1% 1.8%
Operating cash flow margin 6.8% 2.0%
Return on equity 27.1% –
Return on assets 15.3% 3.0%
Return on invested capital – 33.9%
Return on capital employed 30.4% 20.0%
Asset turnover 3.4x 4.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 3.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGRDNCAH
Debt / assets – 15.5%
Debt / equity – -3.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.1x
Debt / FCF – 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 41.9% 105.0%
Equity / assets 58.1% -5.0%
Interest coverage 135.4x 7.5x
Current ratio 1.7x 0.9x
Quick ratio 1.3x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.54 5.11

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGRDNCAH
Dividend yield – 0.8%
Net buyback yield – 2.3%
Shareholder yield – 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.

ConsensusGRDNCAH
Forward P/E 30.9xFY2026 20.9xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $1.27FY2026 $12.03FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +18.7%FY2026 +6.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +17.3% +13.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.41BFY2026 $272.90BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY -2.8%FY2026 +7.3%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +2.1% -3.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGRDNCAH
Held by institutions 46.1% 87.4%
Institutions holding 189 1,491
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.8% +2.8%
Institutions buying 109 711
Institutions selling 54 556
Buyers to sellers 2.02 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.

GRDNCAH
GRDN 1.00 0.11
CAH 0.11 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GRDN and CAH?

Cardinal Health (CAH) is the largest by market capitalisation: Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) $5.02M, Cardinal Health (CAH) $58.18B.

Which stock is cheaper, GRDN and CAH?

Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 0.1x, Cardinal Health (CAH) 33.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cardinal Health (CAH) is cheapest (Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 30.9x, 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: Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) +10.3%, Cardinal Health (CAH) +14.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) has the highest net margin (Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 4.5%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 0.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cardinal Health (CAH) returned the most: Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) +37.4%, Cardinal Health (CAH) +55.4%. Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 0.00%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 0.01%. Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cardinal Health (CAH) has been the steadiest (Guardian Pharmacy Services (GRDN) 40.6%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 29.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do GRDN and CAH move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.11, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, GRDN 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.