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Key Takeaways
- Cardinal Health beat first-quarter profit and sales estimates on growing demand by existing customers.
- Revenue fell at the healthcare products company’s biggest division, Pharmaceutical & Specialty Solutions, but would have been up 16% year-over-year had it not lost a big contract with a benefits manager.
- Cardinal Health raised its full-year EPS guidance and shares set a new all-time intraday high.
Cardinal Health (CAH) shares hit a new all-time intraday high Friday as the healthcare products provider posted better-than-expected results and raised its outlook even as it took a financial hit from the ending of a big contract.
The company reported fiscal 2025 first-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.88, with revenue down 4% year-over-year to $52.28 billion. Both exceeded consensus forecasts of analysts polled by Visible Alpha.
Sales at its Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions unit slid 5% to $48.0 billion because of the impact of the expiration of its distribution contract with pharmacy benefit manager OptumRx. Cardinal Health said excluding that, revenue would have been up 16%, lifted by increased brand and specialty pharmaceutical sales by existing customers.
Revenue at the Global Medical Products and Distribution segment increased 3% to $3.1 billion on higher volumes from existing customers, and other revenue soared 13% to $1.2 billion on “at-Home Solutions, Nuclear and Precision Health Solutions and OptiFreight Logistics.”
The company now sees full-year EPS of $7.75 to $7.90, up from its previous guidance of $7.55 to $7.70.
Shares of Cardinal Health were up almost 7% at $115.76 Friday afternoon after earlier touching a new all-time intraday high of $119.12.
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