Cardinal Health Beats Q4 Profit Estimates by 20%, Guides FY2027 EPS Well Above Wall Street on Specialty Drug Strength

Cardinal Health reported fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.91, a 40% year-over-year increase that beat the Wall Street consensus of $2.42 by $0.49, while revenue of $63.7 billion missed estimates of roughly $65.16 billion by about $1.44 billion. Non-GAAP operating income came in at $935 million against an estimate of roughly $818-820 million, up 30% year-over-year. Results included a $100 million operating profit benefit, equal to $0.31 per share, from a refund of IEEPA tariffs.

For fiscal 2027, the company guided adjusted EPS of $12.40 to $12.60, above the Street's estimate of $12.06, and projected revenue growth in both of its main business segments after a mixed quarter on sales. CEO Jason Hollar highlighted that Cardinal now exclusively serves nearly half of the cell-and-gene therapy market, underscoring the specialty drug demand driving its outperformance. The board approved a new $5 billion share repurchase authorization, and the company committed to at least $1 billion in buybacks in fiscal 2027.

Cardinal also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5158 per share. Shares hit a 52-week high following the results, rising roughly 4% on the day, even as the revenue miss and mixed segment performance drew scrutiny from analysts.