Cardinal Health reported sharply higher sales and profit for its fiscal second quarter and raised its earnings outlook for the year, citing strong performance across its businesses.
The Dublin, Ohio-based healthcare distributor posted second-quarter revenue of $65.6 billion, up from $55.3 billion a year earlier, a 19% increase.
Net income attributable to Cardinal Health rose to $467 million, compared with $400 million in the same quarter last year, a 17% gain.
For the first six months of fiscal 2026, revenue reached $129.6 billion, up from $107.5 billion a year earlier, a 21% increase. Year-to-date net income climbed to $917 million from $816 million, up 12%.
Operating earnings for the quarter increased 29% to $707 million, up from $549 million. Diluted earnings per share rose to $1.97 from $1.65, a 19% increase.
“Our strong second-quarter performance reflects at least double-digit segment profit growth across all five of our operating segments,” CEO Jason Hollar said.
Cardinal Health’s largest business, Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions, reported revenue of $60.7 billion, up 19% from a year ago.
Segment profit rose 29% to $687 million from $531 million. The company said growth was driven by higher sales of brand and specialty drugs, contributions from recent acquisitions and solid performance in its generics program.
Revenue in the Global Medical Products and Distribution segment increased 3% to $3.3 billion.
Segment profit more than doubled to $37 million from $18 million. The company said the increase reflected higher customer volumes and benefits from cost-reduction efforts, partly offset by the impact of tariffs.
Cardinal Health’s “Other” segment — which includes Nuclear and Precision Health Solutions, at-Home Solutions and OptiFreight Logistics — posted revenue of $1.7 billion, up 34% from $1.3 billion.
Segment profit rose 52% to $179 million from $118 million, helped by growth across all three businesses, including the acquisition of Advanced Diabetes Supply in its at-Home Solutions unit.
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