Home Compare CAH vs COR
Stock Comparison · Industry comparison · Medical Distribution

Cardinal Health vs Cencora: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Cardinal Health holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across growth and profitability. Cencora still has the edge on valuation, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. The market setup is mixed, without a decisive signal in either direction. The market is not adding a decisive signal either way — the structural read carries the weight.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-08-16

This is not just a one-metric split: both growth and profitability materially support the lead.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Medical Distribution

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. CAH and COR share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how Cardinal Health and Cencora each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
CAH
Cardinal Health, Inc.
62
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
COR
Cencora, Inc.
56
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: CAH vs COR Profitability 58 40 Stability 76 67 Valuation 56 72 Growth 64 43 CAH COR
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +21
#2 Profitability +18
#3 Valuation +16
#4 Stability +9
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for CAH and COR Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer CAHCOR Relative valuation Structural strength

Cardinal Health, Inc. looks stronger, but the price setup still looks more supportive for Cencora, Inc..

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where CAH and COR each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY CAH Elevated · near norm 0th 50th 100th 9 pct gap COR Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 98th 89th
CAH (98th percentile) and COR (89th percentile) both sit in the upper portion of their own 5-year ranges. The historical entry context is broadly similar for both. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
Both rank well on growth, but Cardinal Health, Inc. still sits higher.
Profitability
On profitability, the same pattern holds: both rank well, but Cardinal Health, Inc. still sits higher.
Growth — Dominant Gap
CAH
64
COR
43
Gap+21in favour of CAH

Earnings growth is one contributing factor within the growth lead.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Absolute pricing still looks more supportive for Cencora, with a trailing P/E that is 9.2 turns lower there.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both growth and profitability — though valuation still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the CAH vs COR comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Similar growth-and-profitability comparisons

Explore how CAH and COR each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.