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STOCK COMPARISON

Cardinal Health vs McKesson: Fair Value & Quality

Both stocks run through our valuation models. Here is how Cardinal Health (CAH) and McKesson (MCK) compare, as of Sep 5, 2026.

As of Sep 5, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees McKesson as the less overvalued of the two: Cardinal Health trades at $249 versus a fair value of $142 (-43%), while McKesson trades at $921 versus $819 (-11%).
Cardinal Health
CAH · USD · Health Care
-43%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$249
Fair Value$142
Quality61/100
McKesson
MCK · USD · Health Care
-11%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$921
Fair Value$819
Quality67/100
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Head-to-head numbers

Green value = the better side for that row (for valuation multiples: lower = cheaper).

Cardinal HealthMcKesson
Valuation
35.2×P/E (TTM)21.0×
0.22×P/S (TTM)0.23×
14.5×EV/EBITDA13.9×
1.45×PEG1.57×
−43.0%Fair value upside−11.1%
0.8%Dividend yield0.3%
$2.04Dividend per share$3.17
Profitability
1%Operating margin2%
EBIT margin trend (5Y)1.60×
4%Return on assets5%
Growth
11%Revenue growth (YoY)6%
7.1%Avg. growth/yr (3Y)13.4%
7.8%Avg. growth/yr (5Y)11.1%
+15.1%Value creation/yr+44.8%
Balance & size
10.6×Interest coverage (EBIT/interest)26.1×
$54BMarket cap$94B
mixedGrowth qualityhealthy

McKesson leads: 3 to 10 metric wins.

Dash = not meaningfully computable, for example with negative equity.

Quality in detail

The quality score, broken down into the same factor families as on the stock page, 0 to 100 per family.

Cardinal Healthof which business quality 61 · market factors 86 McKessonof which business quality 65 · market factors 70
ProfitabilityMargins and returns on capital today
44
49
Quality GrowthAre margins and returns improving?
36
65
CashflowEarnings quality: real cash, not paper profit
44
47
Fin. StrengthBalance sheet, leverage, solvency risk
75
72
InvestmentDisciplined investing over empire-building
84
76
Low VolatilityCalm price path (market factor)
84
83
MomentumPrice trend over the last 3–12 months (market factor)
79
60
52W MomentumDistance to the 52-week high (market factor)
100
75
Net IssuanceBuybacks instead of dilution
100
100

What the models say

How far the median fair value (base case) per model family sits from the current price, in percent. The amount in the currency of the trading venue is shown underneath.

above the price, more than 15% above close to the price, 85% to 115% of the price below the price, more than 15% below

Model familyCardinal HealthPrice $249McKessonPrice $921
DCF Models-37%below the price$156+4%close to the price$955
Earnings-Based-71%below the price$72.85-52%below the price$444
Dividend Discount-85%below the price$37.11-94%below the price$57.26
Multiples-41%below the price$147-8%close to the price$848
Growth DCF-39%below the price$1530%close to the price$922
Economic Profit-71%below the price$71.40-46%below the price$497
Growth Earnings-50%below the price$124-23%below the price$708
Minimum-85%below the price$37.11-94%below the price$57.26
Maximum-37%below the price$156+4%close to the price$955
Median-50%below the price$124-23%below the price$708
Geometric mean-61%below the price$97.43-47%below the price$489

Minimum, maximum, median and geometric mean refer to the family values in this table. Geometric because deviations are ratios: half the price and twice the price average to 100%, not 125%.

Cardinal Health: 22 of 22 models see the stock below the current price.

McKesson: 15 of 23 models see the stock below the current price.

Scenario ranges

From our cautious bear case to the optimistic bull case. The white tick is the current price: left of fair value means room to run.

Cardinal Health
Bear $87.93Fair Value $142Bull $183
$249 = current price (white tick)
McKesson
Bear $605Fair Value $819Bull $1,034
$921 = current price (white tick)

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Ranked within their sector

Where each stock sits within its sector peer group. Band = middle 50% of peers, tick = median, dot = this stock.

Cardinal Health · Health Care

Quality score61 · above median
Fair value upside-43% · below median

McKesson · Health Care

Quality score67 · Top 25%
Fair value upside-11% · above median

Bottom line

As of Sep 5, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees McKesson as the less overvalued of the two: Cardinal Health trades at $249 versus a fair value of $142 (-43%), while McKesson trades at $921 versus $819 (-11%).

McKesson has the higher quality score (67/100).

See the full analysis →

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A model-based valuation snapshot from 26 models. Values change with price and fundamentals; the date shown above applies.