Home Compare CAH vs ELV
Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

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

Structurally, Cardinal Health and Elevance Health are closely matched — neither holds a meaningful edge overall. Elevance Health still leads on profitability and 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 2026-07-05

On stability, the clearer edge sits with Cardinal Health, Inc., while the broader score remains level.

Trajectory Similarity
0.79
Similar
Peer-set rank: #6
within Cardinal Health, Inc.'s functional peer set

These two companies are linked by measured long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

This level of similarity signals a strong structural match, even though some dimensions still separate the two companies.

Most of the shared profile comes through investment intensity and margin consistency.

Similarity drivers
investment intensitymargin consistency
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
CAH
Cardinal Health, Inc.
59
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
ELV
Elevance Health, Inc.
59
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 ELV Profitability 60 76 Stability 75 32 Valuation 53 84 Growth 50 20 CAH ELV
Gap Ranking
#1 Stability +43
#2 Valuation +31
#3 Growth +30
#4 Profitability +16
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for CAH and ELV Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer CAHELV Relative valuation Structural strength

Cardinal Health, Inc. still looks stronger overall, though current pricing looks more supportive for Elevance Health, Inc..

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

Entry today — historical context

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

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY CAH Elevated · near norm 0th 50th 100th 53 pct gap ELV Neutral · near norm 0th 50th 100th 99th 46th
Today ELV sits in the lower-middle of its own 5-year history (46th percentile), while CAH sits higher in its own history (99th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, ELV is at a historically more favourable entry position than CAH. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

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

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Stability
Cardinal Health, Inc. ranks near the top of the group on stability; Elevance Health, Inc. sits in the weaker half.
Valuation
On valuation, the edge is clear — both rank well, but Elevance Health, Inc. sits noticeably higher.
Stability — Dominant Gap
CAH
75
ELV
32
Gap+43in favour of CAH

The stability gap is very wide, with the stronger side looking materially steadier through time.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Absolute pricing still looks more supportive for Elevance Health, with a forward P/E that is 5.7 turns lower there.

What this means for the comparison

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

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

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

Explore full breakdown →
Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how CAH and ELV 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.