MCK vs CAH Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
McKesson and Cardinal Health are both major pharmaceutical distributors operating thin-margin, high-volume businesses, with McKesson placing additional emphasis on specialty and oncology practice services while Cardinal Health balances its distribution business with a medical products supply segment.
McKesson offers exposure to a larger distribution scale plus growing specialty and oncology services, while Cardinal Health offers a more balanced mix of pharmaceutical distribution and medical products supply. Consider whether you prefer McKesson's specialty services growth angle or Cardinal Health's diversified segment mix.
CAH holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. CAH leads on both 1-year return (+32.97%) and forward P/E quality (16.66x vs 17.67x for MCK), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. MCK leads on both revenue growth (7.70%) and operating margin (1.35%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CAH (+15.51%) than for MCK (+10.47%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to one of the largest pharmaceutical distributors in the United States
- Believe specialty and oncology practice services will continue driving higher-margin growth
- Value massive distribution scale and efficient logistics infrastructure
- Are comfortable with thin core distribution margins offset by higher-margin service segments
- Want a more balanced mix of pharmaceutical distribution and medical products supply
- Believe ongoing cost efficiency initiatives will continue supporting margin improvement
- Value diversification beyond pure drug distribution into medical supplies and equipment
- Are comfortable with variable profitability in the medical products segment
| Metric | MCK | CAH |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 64.2 | 55.9 |
| AI ranki | #162 | #246 |
| Latest closei | $999.62 | $252.94 |
| 1M returni | +10.79% | +10.79% |
| 3M returni | +20.37% | +8.30% |
| 6M returni | +24.79% | +28.40% |
| 1Y returni | +21.86% | +32.97% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | MCK | CAH |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $11.88K (+18.8%) started 2025-11-04 | $12.95K (+29.5%) started 2025-11-04 |
| 5Y ago | $46.62K (+366.2%) started 2021-11-04 | $61.33K (+513.3%) started 2021-11-04 |
| 10Y ago | $88.16K (+781.6%) started 2016-11-04 | $67.52K (+575.2%) started 2016-11-04 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | MCK | CAH |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $104.16B | $54.55B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 23.98 | 32.49 |
| Forward P/Ei | 17.67 | 16.66 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 0.28 | 0.23 |
| Analyst targeti | $986.94 | $270.94 |
| Target upsidei | +10.47% | +15.51% |
| Metric | MCK | CAH |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 7.70% | 5.80% |
| Earnings growthi | -17.60% | 68.80% |
| EPS growthi | -17.60% | +68.80% |
| FCF margini | +1.65% | +1.87% |
| Operating margini | 1.35% | 1.33% |
| Profit margini | 1.12% | 0.67% |
| ROIC proxyi | N/A | N/A |
| Return on equityi | N/A | N/A |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.42% | 0.88% |
| Payout ratioi | 8.79% | 28.33% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.31 | 0.52 |
| Debt/equityi | N/A | N/A |
| Current ratioi | 0.89 | 0.88 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.50 | 0.42 |
Over the past year, MCK and CAH have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.72), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | MCK | CAH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +18.77% | +29.49% |
| CAGRi | +18.81% | +29.55% | |
| Volatilityi | 31.07% | 25.69% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.57 | 0.97 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.95 | 1.51 | |
| Max drawdowni | 27.17% | 20.61% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.96% | 1.79% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 11.12% | 5.14% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.42% | 7.01% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.16% | 5.11% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 10.23% | 7.39% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +356.98% | +460.71% |
| CAGRi | +35.52% | +41.18% | |
| Volatilityi | 24.98% | 24.71% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.17 | 1.35 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.77 | 2.11 | |
| Max drawdowni | 27.17% | 20.95% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.96% | 1.79% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 5.50% | 4.91% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 8.21% | 6.82% | |
| Max daily dropi | 11.34% | 7.21% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 14.15% | 8.85% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +719.83% | +403.04% |
| CAGRi | +23.42% | +17.54% | |
| Volatilityi | 28.16% | 29.17% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.73 | 0.55 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.08 | 0.77 | |
| Max drawdowni | 38.10% | 46.06% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.96% | 1.79% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.35% | 16.74% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.06% | 21.65% | |
| Max daily dropi | 11.34% | 21.42% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 17.96% | 20.86% |
| Category | MCK | CAH |
|---|---|---|
| Company | McKesson Corporation | Cardinal Health, Inc. |
| Sector | Healthcare | Healthcare |
| Industry | Medical Distribution | Medical Distribution |
| Core business | One of the largest pharmaceutical distributors in the United States, delivering drugs and medical products to pharmacies, hospitals, and healthcare providers while also offering specialty and oncology practice services. | A healthcare services and pharmaceutical distribution company providing drug distribution to pharmacies and providers along with a medical products segment supplying supplies and equipment to healthcare facilities. |
| Investor focus | Specialty pharmaceutical and biopharma services growth, prescription volume trends, and margin performance within the low-margin, high-volume distribution model. | Pharmaceutical segment volume and margin trends, medical products segment profitability, and progress on cost efficiency initiatives. |
- Massive distribution scale provides efficient logistics infrastructure serving pharmacies, hospitals, and providers nationwide
- Specialty and oncology practice services segments offer higher-margin growth alongside the core distribution business
- Long-standing relationships with drug manufacturers and healthcare providers support stable volume flow
- Established scale in pharmaceutical distribution provides efficient logistics serving a broad healthcare provider customer base
- Medical products segment diversifies revenue beyond pure drug distribution into supplies and equipment
- Ongoing cost efficiency and margin improvement initiatives have supported profitability gains in recent periods
- Core distribution business operates on thin margins that require substantial volume to generate meaningful profit
- Ongoing legal and regulatory matters tied to opioid distribution have created financial and reputational overhang across the industry
- Customer concentration among large retail pharmacy chains creates dependency on a relatively small number of major accounts
- Core distribution business operates on thin margins that require substantial volume to generate meaningful profit
- Ongoing legal and regulatory matters tied to opioid distribution have created financial and reputational overhang across the industry
- Medical products segment has historically faced more variable profitability than the pharmaceutical distribution segment
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