HSIC vs MDLN vs CAH Stock Comparison

Henry Schein, Medline and Cardinal Health Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HSIC Henry Schein Inc
$84.25 -2.5% 1M +32.6% 1Y
Market cap
$9.43B
P/E
23.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.60B
Div. yield
–
Drug Distribution Healthcare
4 wins
MDLN Medline Inc.
$32.38 -6.7% 1M
Market cap
$42.57B
P/E
33.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.57B
Div. yield
–
Medical Supplies Healthcare
1 win
CAH Cardinal Health Inc
$246.50 +11.9% 1M +50.5% 1Y
Market cap
$57.33B
P/E
33.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$254.25B
Div. yield
0.84%
Drug Distribution Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cardinal Health leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Cardinal Health 6, Henry Schein 4, Medline 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHSICMDLNCAHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.43B $42.57B $57.33B CAH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.7x 33.2x 33.9x HSIC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.7x 22.5x 20.5x HSIC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% — +14.2% CAH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.0% 2.9% 0.7% HSIC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.1% 5.4% 33.9% CAH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.3x 3.2x 1.1x CAH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 0.84% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +32.6% — +50.5% CAH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.2%/yr — +38.9%/yr CAH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.6% 44.6% 29.4% HSIC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 67/100 65/100 MDLN

Percentile Scorecard

HSICMDLNCAH

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

AxisHSICMDLNCAH
Valuation 38 #16 of 25 84 #37 of 227 75 #7 of 25
Growth 39 #15 of 24 – 78 #6 of 24
Profitability 83 #5 of 24 73 #57 of 206 57 #11 of 24
Financial Health 20 #21 of 26 41 #140 of 238 36 #17 of 26
Shareholder Returns 100 #1 of 15 71 #39 of 134 79 #4 of 15
Overall 56 67 65
  • HSIC ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • MDLN ranked among 247 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

PeriodHSICMDLNCAHSPY
1 month -2.5%-6.7%+11.9% -0.2%
3 months -1.7%-20.1%+6.1% +3.9%
6 months +10.7%-26.8%+19.9% +8.2%
Year to date +11.5%-22.9%+20.0% +12.9%
1 year +32.6%—+50.5% +12.3%
3 years +26.9%—+169.7% +87.4%
3 years, per year +8.3%—+39.2% +23.3%
5 years +11.6%—+416.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year +2.2%—+38.9% +10.9%
10 years +44.3%—+229.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +3.7%—+12.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureHSICMDLNCAHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.6%44.6%29.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.0%48.7%24.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.460.61-0.10 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.27—1.72 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.7%-36.7%-21.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.3%-35.2%-4.3% -1.2%
52-week high $90.86$49.99$257.54 $779.14
52-week low $62.32$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.

MultipleHSICMDLNCAH
P/E now vs peer median 23.7xmedian 23.9x 33.2xmedian 29.6x 33.9xmedian 23.9x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 0.3x 1.5xmedian 2.9x 0.2xmedian 0.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.6xmedian 13.4x 17.0xmedian 17.4x 17.2xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.6xmedian 15.5x 26.8xmedian 22.3x 12.7xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 2.5x 2.2xmedian 2.3x -19.9xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 49.67median 1.34 —median 1.04 0.49median 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 monthsHSICMDLNCAH
Revenue $13.60B $28.57B $254.25B
Gross profit $4.26B $7.79B $9.77B
Operating income $680.00M $2.03B $2.61B
Net income $426.00M $1.03B $1.72B
Free cash flow $569.00M $1.59B $4.53B
EPS (diluted) $3.52 $0.97 $7.23
Cash & equivalents – $2.33B $4.86B
Total debt $3.46B $12.58B $8.89B
Shares (diluted) 114.39M 861.00M 237.00M
Enterprise value $10.18B $43.02B $41.33B

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
MetricHSICMDLNCAH
P/E 23.7x 33.2x 33.9x
P/FCF 16.6x 26.8x 12.7x
P/Operating cash flow 13.5x 21.2x 11.1x
P/S 0.7x 1.5x 0.2x
P/B 2.5x 2.2x -19.9x
P/Tangible book 3.3x 7.7x -19.9x
EV/EBITDA 12.6x 17.0x 17.2x
EV/EBIT 18.7x 25.8x 23.5x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 1.8x 0.2x
EV/FCF 22.4x 33.0x 13.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.2x 26.2x 11.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 49.67 – 0.49

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHSICMDLNCAH
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% – 14.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.6% – 7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.4% – 19.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.4% – 12.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.6% – 14.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.1% – 50.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 6.0% – 9.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -4.5% – 63.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 11.1% – 12.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 0.5% – 69.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 36.7% – 115.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.3% – 22.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 50.1% – 144.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.3% – 24.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHSICMDLNCAH
Gross margin 31.3% 27.3% 3.8%
EBITDA margin 7.4% 10.8% 1.4%
Operating margin 5.0% 7.1% 1.0%
Pretax margin 4.1% 4.3% 0.9%
Net margin 3.0% 2.9% 0.7%
FCF margin 4.2% 5.6% 1.8%
Operating cash flow margin 5.1% 7.0% 2.0%
Return on equity 11.0% 5.4% –
Return on assets 3.8% 2.6% 3.0%
Return on invested capital 7.1% 5.4% 33.9%
Return on capital employed 8.7% 5.6% 20.0%
Asset turnover 1.2x 0.7x 4.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 2.0x 3.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.3% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHSICMDLNCAH
Debt / assets 30.4% 32.0% 15.5%
Debt / equity 0.9x 0.7x -3.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.3x 3.2x 1.1x
Debt / FCF 6.1x 7.9x 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 66.5% 51.5% 105.0%
Equity / assets 33.5% 48.5% -5.0%
Interest coverage 4.3x – 7.5x
Current ratio 1.3x 4.3x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.6x 2.3x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x 1.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.65 2.44 5.10

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHSICMDLNCAH
Dividend yield – – 0.8%
Net buyback yield 7.7% 0.0% 2.4%
Shareholder yield 7.7% 0.0% 3.2%
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.

ConsensusHSICMDLNCAH
Forward P/E 14.7xFY2026 22.5xFY2026 20.5xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $5.75FY2026 $1.44FY2026 $12.03FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +15.7%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026 +6.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +8.2% +13.9% +13.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.38BFY2026 $32.52BFY2026 $272.90BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +1.5%FY2026 +14.4%FY2026 +7.3%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +4.8% +8.0% -3.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHSICMDLNCAH
Held by institutions 100.0% 85.5% 87.4%
Institutions holding 564 407 1,491
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.1% +17.9% +2.8%
Institutions buying 245 322 711
Institutions selling 216 68 556
Buyers to sellers 1.13 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.

HSICMDLNCAH
HSIC 1.00 0.33 0.29
MDLN 0.33 1.00 0.26
CAH 0.29 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HSIC, MDLN and CAH?

Cardinal Health (CAH) is the largest by market capitalisation: Henry Schein (HSIC) $9.43B, Medline (MDLN) $42.57B, Cardinal Health (CAH) $57.33B.

Which stock is cheaper, HSIC, MDLN and CAH?

Henry Schein (HSIC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Henry Schein (HSIC) 23.7x, Medline (MDLN) 33.2x, Cardinal Health (CAH) 33.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Henry Schein (HSIC) is cheapest (Henry Schein (HSIC) 14.7x, Medline (MDLN) 22.5x, Cardinal Health (CAH) 20.5x). 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: Henry Schein (HSIC) +6.5%, Cardinal Health (CAH) +14.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Henry Schein (HSIC) has the highest net margin (Henry Schein (HSIC) 3.0%, Medline (MDLN) 2.9%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 0.7%). On return on invested capital, Cardinal Health (CAH) leads (Henry Schein (HSIC) 7.1%, Medline (MDLN) 5.4%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 33.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cardinal Health (CAH) returned the most: Henry Schein (HSIC) +32.6%, Cardinal Health (CAH) +50.5%. Over five years, Cardinal Health (CAH) compounded fastest (Henry Schein (HSIC) +2.2%/yr, Cardinal Health (CAH) +38.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cardinal Health (CAH) 0.84%. Henry Schein (HSIC) and Medline (MDLN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Henry Schein (HSIC) has been the steadiest (Henry Schein (HSIC) 25.6%, Medline (MDLN) 44.6%, Cardinal Health (CAH) 29.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HSIC, 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 6. 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.