Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH) stock surged on Thursday as the healthcare services company reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results and raised its fiscal 2026 outlook.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $2.63 per share, beating the consensus of $2.35.
Sales increased 19% year over year to $65.63 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $64.14 billion. Adjusted operating earnings jumped 38% to $877 million.
Second quarter revenue for the Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment increased 19% to $60.7 billion, driven by brand and specialty pharmaceutical sales growth from existing and new customers.
The Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment profit increased 29% to $687 million, driven by contributions from brand and specialty products, the acquisition of MSO platforms, and positive generics program performance.
The Global Medical Products and Distribution segment increased 3% to $3.3 billion, driven by volume growth from existing customers.
The segment profit increased 106% to $37 million in the second quarter, driven by growth from existing customers and the beneficial net impact of cost optimization initiatives, partially offset by an adverse net impact of tariffs.
Outlook
“Our strong second-quarter performance reflects at least double-digit segment profit growth across all five of our operating segments,” said Jason Hollar, CEO of Cardinal Health.
“Our ongoing momentum and the team’s consistent execution against our strategic priorities gives us confidence to raise our fiscal 2026 outlook,” Hollar added.
Cardinal Health is raising its fiscal year 2026 guidance for adjusted earnings per share to $10.15 to $10.35 (+23% to +26% growth), versus prior guidance of at least $10 and consensus of $10.01.
The company raised and narrowed to 20% to 22% profit growth in the Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment from the prior range of 16% to 19%.
Cardinal Health raised the Global Medical Products and Distribution segment’s profit to approximately $150 million, from the prior guidance of at least $140 million.
CAH Price Action: Cardinal Health shares were up 9.11% at $225.70 at the time of publication on Thursday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week high, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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