AT&T vs Cardinal Health: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
AT&T reported $125.6B of revenue in FY2025 and $22B of net income. Cardinal Health reported $254.2B of revenue in FY2026 and $1.7B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
AT&T
- Latest revenue
- $125.6B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $22B
- Net margin
- 17.5%
- Revenue growth
- -2.9% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Cardinal Health
- Latest revenue
- $254.2B (FY2026)
- Net income
- $1.7B
- Net margin
- 0.7%
- Revenue growth
- +7.7% a year, FY2017–FY2026
Financial summary
AT&T
AT&T's financial story is large revenue, large debt and a slow correction. The company funded the $48.5 billion DirecTV purchase in 2015 and the $85.4 billion Time Warner purchase in 2018 largely with borrowing, and net debt passed $180 billion after Time Warner closed. It then reversed course: WarnerMedia was separated in 2022, the dividend was cut, and the remaining 70% DIRECTV stake went to TPG in July 2025 for a $5.6 billion gain. FY2025 revenue was $125.6 billion, with $23.4 billion of total net income, $46.4 billion of adjusted EBITDA and $16.6 billion of free cash flow against $117.4 billion of net debt. Roughly $22 billion a year of capital investment goes mostly into fiber and 5G.
Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health combines very large revenue with thin margins. Fiscal 2026 revenue was $254.2 billion, up 14% from $222.6 billion in fiscal 2025, driven by brand and specialty drug volume from existing customers. GAAP operating earnings were $2.6 billion, GAAP diluted EPS was $7.23, and net earnings attributable to Cardinal Health were about $1.7 billion. Non-GAAP diluted EPS rose 37% to $11.26 ($10.95 excluding the IEEPA tariff refund). Operating cash flow was $5.2 billion and adjusted free cash flow was $5.0 billion. The company repurchased $1.4 billion of stock in fiscal 2026 and the board added $5.0 billion to the buyback authorization in August 2026. Fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue was $63.7 billion, up 6%.
Revenue and profit by year
AT&T
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $125.6B | $22B | 17.5% | +2.7% | Source |
| FY2024 | $122.3B | $10.9B | 8.9% | -0.1% | Source |
| FY2023 | $122.4B | $14.4B | 11.8% | +1.4% | Source |
| FY2022 | $120.7B | -$8.5B | -7.1% | -9.9% | Source |
| FY2021 | $134B | $20.1B | 15.0% | -6.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $143.1B | -$5.2B | -3.6% | -21.1% | Source |
| FY2019 | $181.2B | $13.9B | 7.7% | +6.1% | Source |
| FY2018 | $170.8B | $19.4B | 11.3% | +6.4% | Source |
| FY2017 | $160.5B | $29.4B | 18.3% | -2.0% | Source |
| FY2016 | $163.8B | $13B | 7.9% | — | Source |
Cardinal Health
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $254.2B | $1.7B | 0.7% | +14.2% | Source |
| FY2025 | $222.6B | $1.6B | 0.7% | -1.9% | Source |
| FY2024 | $226.8B | $852M | 0.4% | +10.7% | Source |
| FY2023 | $205B | $330M | 0.2% | +13.0% | Source |
| FY2022 | $181.3B | -$938M | -0.5% | +11.6% | Source |
| FY2021 | $162.5B | $611M | 0.4% | +6.2% | Source |
| FY2020 | $152.9B | -$3.7B | -2.4% | +5.1% | Source |
| FY2019 | $145.5B | $1.4B | 0.9% | +6.4% | Source |
| FY2018 | $136.8B | $256M | 0.2% | +5.3% | Source |
| FY2017 | $130B | $1.3B | 1.0% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
AT&T
- Mobility~71%
Wireless service plans and device sales. Segment revenue was $89.5 billion in 2025, of which $67.4 billion was service revenue and $22.1 billion equipment.
- Business Wireline~14%
Connectivity for businesses, from fiber and dedicated internet to legacy voice and data. Revenue fell to $17.2 billion in 2025 from $18.8 billion in 2024.
- Consumer Wireline~11%
Home broadband, led by AT&T Fiber and AT&T Internet Air. Revenue was $14.2 billion in 2025, with fiber revenue up 17.0% to $8.6 billion.
- Latin America~3%
Wireless service in Mexico. Revenue was $4.4 billion in 2025, up from $4.2 billion, with $145 million of operating income.
Cardinal Health
- Pharmaceutical Distribution - Branded, Generic, and Specialty~92%
Product sales and fees from distributing branded, generic, and specialty drugs, plus services from specialty practice platforms. Fiscal 2026 segment revenue was $234.8 billion (up 15%) and segment profit was $2.8 billion (up 23%), driven by brand and specialty volume and generics program performance.
- Medical and Surgical Products Manufacturing and Distribution~5%
Sales of Cardinal Health-brand and national-brand medical, surgical, and laboratory products. Fiscal 2026 GMPD revenue was $12.7 billion and segment profit was $258 million, including a one-time $100 million IEEPA tariff refund benefit. Fiscal 2027 guidance calls for $200-$220 million of segment profit.
- Nuclear Pharmacy, at-Home Solutions, and Logistics~3%
Nuclear and Precision Health Solutions (radiopharmaceuticals), at-Home Solutions (direct-to-patient supplies), and OptiFreight Logistics. Together they generated $6.8 billion of fiscal 2026 revenue (up 26%) and $707 million of segment profit (up 37%), the highest margins in the company.
Business model and strategy
AT&T
How it makes money
AT&T runs a capital-intensive network business. It buys licensed wireless spectrum, builds and upgrades cell sites, and trenches fiber, then charges consumers and businesses a monthly fee to use that network. Capital investment was $22.0 billion in 2025 against $125.6 billion of revenue.
Growth strategy
With the US smartphone market saturated, AT&T's growth depends on home internet and on keeping the wireless customers it has. It is building fiber, which passed 32.0 million consumer and business locations at the end of 2025 and carried 10.4 million subscribers, and it sells AT&T Internet Air fixed wireless where fiber is not available.
Competitive advantage
AT&T's advantage is the cost of replicating what it already owns. Its fiber network passed 32.0 million consumer and business locations at the end of 2025, and its mid-band 5G service covers more than 310 million people. Keeping that going took $22.0 billion of capital investment in 2025 alone, which is why the national market has three carriers rather than thirty.
Cardinal Health
How it makes money
The business model is large, high-volume logistics divided into two segments: Pharmaceutical and Medical. In the Pharma segment, they buy billions of dollars of drugs from manufacturers (like Pfizer) and distribute them daily to tens of thousands of pharmacies and hospitals, taking a tiny markup.
Growth strategy
Cardinal Health's growth plan rests on three levers. First, specialty pharmaceuticals and physician practice platforms: it bought a 71% stake in GI Alliance for about $2.8 billion (announced November 2024) and funded The Specialty Alliance's roughly $1.9 billion acquisition of urology MSO Solaris Health (completed November 2025).
Competitive advantage
Cardinal Health's advantage is physical scale and regulatory standing. Moving regulated, temperature-sensitive drugs and biologics across the country overnight takes a network of specialized distribution centers and security procedures that cost billions of dollars and take decades to build. The barrier to entry is high, so drug distribution is concentrated among a few large companies.
Questions about AT&T vs Cardinal Health
Which company has higher revenue — AT&T Inc. or Cardinal Health, Inc.?
AT&T Inc. reported $125.6B (FY2025), while Cardinal Health, Inc. reported $254.2B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Cardinal Health, Inc. is the larger business, with AT&T Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of AT&T Inc. vs Cardinal Health, Inc.?
AT&T Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $174.4B, while Cardinal Health, Inc.'s is $56.0B. AT&T Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Cardinal Health, Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — AT&T Inc. or Cardinal Health, Inc.?
AT&T Inc. generates $945k / employee in revenue per employee, while Cardinal Health, Inc. generates $3.98M / employee. Cardinal Health, Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do AT&T Inc. and Cardinal Health, Inc. make money?
AT&T Inc. and Cardinal Health, Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. AT&T Inc.: AT&T runs a capital-intensive network business. Cardinal Health, Inc.: The business model is large, high-volume logistics divided into two segments: Pharmaceutical and Medical.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — AT&T Inc. or Cardinal Health, Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, AT&T Inc. trades at 1.4x P/S and Cardinal Health, Inc. at 0.2x P/S. AT&T Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Cardinal Health, Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is AT&T Inc. bigger than Cardinal Health, Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Cardinal Health, Inc. ($254.2B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to AT&T Inc. ($125.6B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the AT&T vs Cardinal Health overview