CAH · Q4 2026 Earnings

Bullish

Cardinal Health

Reported August 11, 2026

30-second summary

Cardinal closed FY26 with Q4 non-GAAP EPS of $2.91 on revenue of $63.7B (+6% YoY). Full-year non-GAAP EPS of $11.26 blew past the last-raised $10.70–$10.80 guide by $0.46–$0.56, and FY26 FCF of $4.971B crushed the $3.3–$3.7B guide by more than $1.2B. Management issued FY27 non-GAAP EPS guidance of $12.40–$12.60 (+13–15%), explicitly flagged as above the long-term algorithm, but the underlying segment guide reveals meaningful deceleration: Pharma profit growth moderates from 22–23% to 8–11%, Other profit growth from 36–38% to 15–18%.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q4 FY2026

$2.91

+20.2% vs est.

Revenue

Q4 FY2026

$63.70B

+6.0% YoY

-2.2% vs est.

Gross margin

Q4 FY2026

4.0%

Operating margin

Q4 FY2026

1.1%

Key financials

Q4 FY2026

Metric	Q4 FY2026	Q4 FY2025	YoY	Q3 FY2026	QoQ
Revenue	$63.70B	$60.20B	+5.8%	$60.90B	+4.6%
EPS	$2.91	$2.08	+39.9%	$3.17	-8.2%
Gross margin	4.0%	3.7%	+36bps	4.1%	-8bps
Operating margin	1.1%	0.7%	+43bps	0.8%	+30bps

Guidance

Guidance is issued for the full year only, refreshed each quarter. Prior and new below are the same FY updated this quarter.

Actuals vs prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	Actual	Δ	Result
Non-GAAP EPS	FY 2026	$10.70 to $10.80	$11.26	+$0.46 to $0.56 above guide	Beat
Adjusted Free Cash Flow	FY 2026	$3.3 billion to $3.7 billion	$4.971 billion	+$1.27 to $1.67 billion above guide	Beat

New guidance

Metric	Period	Guide	YoY
Revenue	FY 2026	$254.2 billion	+14% YoY
Non-GAAP EPS	FY 2027	$12.40 to $12.60	+13% to +15% YoY
Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions Segment Profit Growth	FY 2027	8% to 11%	—
Global Medical Products and Distribution Segment Profit	FY 2027	$200 million to $220 million	—
Other Segment Profit Growth	FY 2027	15% to 18%	—
Interest and Other Expense	FY 2027	$240 million to $290 million	—
Non-GAAP Effective Tax Rate	FY 2027	19.0% to 20.0%	—
Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions Revenue Growth	FY 2027	3% to 5%	—
Global Medical Products and Distribution Revenue Growth	FY 2027	2% to 4%	—
Other Segment Revenue Growth	FY 2027	11% to 13%	—

Segment KPIs

Q4 FY2026

Segment	Q4 FY2026	Q4 FY2025	YoY
Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions	$58.8B	$55.4B	+6.1%
Global Medical Products and Distribution	$3.1B	$3.2B	-3.1%
Other	$1.7B	$1.6B	+6.2%
Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions Segment Profit	$645 million	$535 million	—
Global Medical Products and Distribution Segment Profit	$150 million	—	—
Other Segment Profit	$183 million	—	—

Other KPIs

Q4 FY2026

Segment	Q4 FY2026	Q4 FY2025	YoY
Non-GAAP Operating Margin	1.47%	—	—
Non-GAAP Effective Tax Rate	22.5%	26.3%	—
Operating Cash Flow (FY2026)	$5.2 billion	—	—
Share Repurchases (FY2026)	$1.4 billion	—	—
IEEPA Tariff Refund Impact (Q4)	$0.31 per share	—	—

Management tone

No earnings call transcript was available for Q4 FY26 at the time of this brief; tone analysis is deferred to when the call transcript is processed. The press release commentary shows continuation of the forward-confident posture established through FY26: "We enter Fiscal 2027 with momentum and confidence in our ability to deliver continued shareholder value creation," and explicit flagging that FY27 EPS guidance is "above the Company's long-term EPS guidance." This is consistent with the tone arc from Q3 (forward FY27 confidence) rather than a shift.

Answers to last quarter's watch list

GMPD Q4 print versus the withdrawn $150M FY guide. GMPD Q4 segment profit came in at $150M, driving FY26 GMPD segment profit to $258M (Q4 $150M plus YTD Q3 $108M). Q4 dollars materially exceeded the $42M discipline-move threshold, validating that management's Q3 withdrawal was conservative disclosure rather than a signal of weakness. Even excluding the $100M IEEPA tariff refund, ex-tariff FY26 GMPD profit of $158M grew 17% YoY. Combined with the FY27 GMPD guide of $200–$220M, the segment turnaround narrative is now the most credible it has been in three years. Status: Resolved positively

FY27 framing on the Q4 call. Management issued a full FY27 guide with segment-level growth ranges, EPS ($12.40–$12.60, +13–15%), tax rate (19–20%), interest expense ($240–290M), share count (~233M), and FCF ($3.5–$4.0B). Notably, the FY27 EPS guide is explicitly framed as "above the Company's long-term EPS guidance." This is more forward specificity than Cardinal historically provides at a Q4 print. Status: Resolved positively

Tariff refund recognition and customer pass-through accounting. The $0.31-per-share IEEPA tariff refund is recognized in Q4 FY26 results — approximately $74M net of tax on a $100M gross segment profit impact, with customer pass-through implicit in the smaller-than-full-refund recognition. FY27 guidance does not appear to reflect any comparable one-timer, meaning the FY26 base includes a benefit that FY27 must operationally replace. Status: Resolved positively

Pharma segment profit growth into FY27 against a Q3 base of $784M. FY27 Pharma segment profit growth is guided to 8–11%, a 12–15 point deceleration from FY26's 22–23%. Q4 Pharma revenue also decelerated to +6% (versus Q3's +11%), reflecting deepening IRA WAC dynamics. The FY27 guide implicitly signals the FY26 elevated base plus IRA drag together compress the growth algorithm meaningfully. Status: Resolved negatively — the deceleration is more severe than the prior quarter's bull framing implied.

Other segment Q4 dollars and FY27 setup. Q4 Other segment profit was $183M, landing near but slightly below the implied $185–195M watch band. FY27 Other segment guide of 15–18% profit growth represents a 20+ point deceleration from FY26's 36–38%. The absolute dollar base compounds, but the growth pace normalizes materially — this is the "growth engine" narrative moderating. Status: Resolved negatively — the FY27 deceleration is sharper than expected.

Whether the ~19% tax rate is reaffirmed as FY26-specific or guided to persist. FY27 non-GAAP effective tax rate is guided to 19.0–20.0%, essentially holding the FY26 actual rate of 19.0% rather than reverting to the historical 22–24% range. This is a meaningful positive: management appears to have found structural benefits rather than one-time discretes, or at minimum has line of sight on maintaining favorability into FY27. The Q4 FY26 rate of 22.5% reflects discrete mix within the year, so FY27 at 19–20% is a genuine hold. Status: Resolved positively

What to watch into next quarter

Pharma segment profit dollars in Q1 FY27 against the FY guide's 8–11% growth pace. Q1 FY26 Pharma segment profit was $667M; the FY27 guide implies Q1 FY27 in the ~$720–740M range on a ~8–11% growth extrapolation. A print below $700M would confirm the IRA WAC drag is intensifying beyond the guide's assumptions; a print above $750M would suggest sandbagging.

GMPD Q1 FY27 segment profit run-rate against the $200–$220M FY guide. With the FY26 profile heavily H2-weighted and boosted by a one-time tariff refund, watch whether GMPD Q1 lands above $35M — that would suggest underlying momentum is sustaining rather than being a discrete step-up. A Q1 print below $25M would raise questions about how much of Q4's $150M was pulled-forward benefit.

Interest expense trajectory validating the $240–290M FY guide. FY26 exited at ~$340M. The $50–100M reduction in FY27 requires observable debt paydown or refinancing benefits landing in Q1. Watch whether Q1 FY27 interest expense annualizes to under $290M.

Working capital normalization impact on Q1 FCF. FY26's $4.971B FCF beat the guide by $1.27–$1.67B, much of which appears to be working capital timing. Watch whether Q1 FY27 FCF shows a meaningful working capital reversal — a large working capital use in Q1 would validate the FCF step-down in the FY27 guide of $3.5–$4.0B.

Whether Q1 FY27 EPS raise establishes a similar cadence as FY26. Cardinal has just set an above-algorithm FY27 guide; whether Q1 delivers a first raise (versus a "reaffirm and let it prove out" posture) will signal management's confidence in the FY27 setup.

Specialty revenue crossing $50B (per Q3 framing) and biosimilar disclosure specificity. Watch for management to break out biosimilar contribution — a request that has gone unanswered for multiple quarters — as biosimilar-eligible therapeutic areas expand.

Sources

Cardinal Health Q4 and FY2026 press release — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/721371/000072137126000037/a26q4_x063026xex991xnewsre.htm
Cardinal Health Q3 FY2026 brief (tapebrief prior coverage) — for guide-change baselines

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