Cardinal Health raises share buyback as annual earnings exceed guidance
The healthcare services company reported fiscal year non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $11.26, surpassing its previous guidance range of $10.70 to $10.80.
Cardinal Health (CAH) reported fourth-quarter revenue of $63.7 billion, an increase of 6% year-over-year. The result marked a deceleration in growth from the 11% increase the healthcare services provider recorded in the prior quarter.
Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the quarter rose 40% year-over-year to $2.91. This figure included a one-time positive impact of $0.31 from IEEPA tariff refunds; excluding that refund, non-GAAP EPS grew 25% year-over-year to $2.60.
Performance in the Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment remained a primary driver, with segment profit growing 21% year-over-year to $645 million. This growth slightly accelerated from the 18% increase reported in the third quarter.
Other business units showed more volatility. The Global Medical Products and Distribution segment saw revenue decline 2% year-over-year to $3.1 billion. While segment profit rose to $150 million from $70 million in the prior-year quarter, this was driven by IEEPA tariff refunds; without those refunds, segment profit decreased 29% year-over-year to $50 million.
Revenue in the company's other segment, which includes NPHS, at-Home Solutions, and OptiFreight Logistics, grew 7% year-over-year to $1.7 billion. This represented a significant slowdown from the 31% growth reported in the previous quarter.
For the full fiscal year 2026, non-GAAP diluted EPS rose 37% year-over-year to $11.26. The company also recorded a $122 million pre-tax impairment charge during the year related to its equity method investment in Outcomes.
Cardinal Health set its fiscal year 2027 non-GAAP EPS guidance at $12.40 to $12.60. This represents a projected growth of 13% to 15% over adjusted fiscal 2026 results that exclude the IEEPA refunds.
The company approved a $5.0 billion incremental share repurchase authorization. This brought the total authorization to $6.4 billion as of August 2026.