Cardinal Health Inc (NYSE: CAH)

Cardinal Health, Inc. is a global healthcare services and products company providing customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients in the home. The firm distributes medical products and pharmaceuticals and offers cost‑effective solutions that enhance healthcare system efficiency and supply chain performance.

Revenue is generated primarily through the distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, over‑the‑counter healthcare products, and specialty pharmaceuticals. The company also earns fees for services to manufacturers such as distribution, inventory management, data reporting, new product launch support, and chargeback administration. Additional revenue streams include pharmacy management services, repackaging of generics, manufacturing and sale of Cardinal Health branded medical‑surgical and laboratory products, distribution of national brand medical devices, supply chain services, nuclear pharmacy and radiopharmaceutical operations, at‑home medical supplies delivery, and logistics optimization services.

The company operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions, Global Medical Products and Distribution, Nuclear and Precision Health Solutions, at‑Home Solutions, and OptiFreight Logistics.

• Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions: This segment distributes branded and generic pharmaceuticals, over‑the‑counter products, and specialty pharmaceuticals to retailers, hospitals, and other providers. It provides manufacturers with distribution, inventory management, data reporting, product launch support, and chargeback administration, offers pharmacy management services to hospitals, operates a limited number of pharmacies, and repackages generic and OTC products.

• Global Medical Products and Distribution: This segment manufactures and sources Cardinal Health branded general and specialty medical, surgical, and laboratory products such as gloves, syringes, wound care items, and surgical drapes. It also distributes national brand medical products, provides supply chain services to hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers, assembles and sells sterile and non‑sterile procedure kits, and offers an automated inventory‑management platform through its Wavemark division.

• Nuclear and Precision Health Solutions: This segment operates nuclear pharmacies and manufacturing facilities that produce radiopharmaceuticals for imaging, theranostics, and other procedures in hospitals and physician offices. It contract manufactures the radiopharmaceutical treatment Xofigo® and holds North American rights to manufacture and distribute Lymphoseek®, a diagnostic imaging agent.

• at‑Home Solutions: This segment consists of Edgepark (including ADS), which directly supplies medical supplies to patients with chronic conditions at home, and a business‑to‑home distribution service that delivers medical supplies and OTC products to home medical equipment providers, home health and hospice agencies, and e‑commerce customers.

• OptiFreight Logistics: This segment optimizes direct shipments for hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories, and surgery centers through integrated technology solutions that improve shipping efficiency and reduce logistics costs.

Within the pharmaceutical distribution arena, Cardinal Health competes with national wholesale distributors such as McKesson Corporation and Cencora, Inc., as well as regional and specialty distributors. In the medical‑products sector, its primary rivals include Medline Industries, Inc. and Owens & Minor, Inc. The company’s competitive advantages stem from its extensive product breadth, strong group‑purchasing organization relationships, scale‑driven supply‑chain efficiencies, and diversified service offerings across the healthcare continuum.

The company serves a diverse customer base that includes hospitals, health systems, retail pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients receiving care at home. Its largest single customer is CVS Health, which accounted for approximately 30% of fiscal 2025 revenue. The five largest customers together represented about 43% of revenue, and the two largest group‑purchasing organizations, Vizient, Inc. and Premier, Inc., collectively contributed roughly 27% of sales through their member contracts.