Bank of America vs Cardinal Health: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Bank of America reported $113.1B of revenue in FY2025 and $30.5B of net income. Cardinal Health reported $254.2B of revenue in FY2026 and $1.7B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Bank of America
- Latest revenue
- $113.1B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $30.5B
- Net margin
- 27.0%
- Revenue growth
- +3.4% 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
Bank of America
Bank of America earns in two streams. Net interest income was $60.1B in 2025 and noninterest income $53.0B, for total revenue net of interest expense of $113.1B and net income of $30.5B, or $3.81 per diluted share. Deposits of $2.02T funded $1.19T of loans and leases plus a $927.4B debt securities portfolio. Fees carried the year: investment and brokerage services rose $2.2B to $20.0B, investment banking fees rose to $6.6B, and market making fell $953M to $12.0B. Credit stayed contained, with the total consumer net charge-off ratio at 0.88 percent and the card ratio at 3.68 percent. The efficiency ratio improved to 61.65 percent from 63.12 percent, and common equity tier 1 capital was $201.4B, an 11.4 percent standardized ratio against a 10.0 percent minimum.
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
Bank of America
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $113.1B | $30.5B | 27.0% | +6.8% | Source |
| FY2024 | $105.9B | $27B | 25.5% | +3.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | $102.8B | $26.3B | 25.6% | +8.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | $95B | $27.5B | 29.0% | +6.6% | Source |
| FY2021 | $89.1B | $32B | 35.9% | +4.2% | Source |
| FY2020 | $85.5B | $17.9B | 20.9% | -6.3% | Source |
| FY2019 | $91.2B | $27.4B | 30.1% | +0.2% | Source |
| FY2018 | $91B | $28.1B | 30.9% | +4.5% | Source |
| FY2017 | $87.1B | $18.2B | 20.9% | +4.1% | Source |
| FY2016 | $83.7B | $17.8B | 21.3% | — | 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
Bank of America
- Net interest income~53%
Interest on loans and securities less interest paid on deposits and debt; $60.1B in 2025.
- Investment and brokerage services~18%
Asset management, brokerage and advisory fees, mostly from Merrill and the Private Bank; $20.0B in 2025.
- Market making and similar activities~11%
Global Markets trading revenue across rates, credit, currencies, commodities and equities; $12.0B in 2025.
- Investment banking fees~6%
Underwriting and advisory fees excluding self-led deals; $6.6B in 2025.
- Service charges~6%
Treasury service charges and consumer deposit account fees; $6.5B in 2025.
- Card income~6%
Interchange, annual fees and other credit and debit card income; $6.4B in 2025.
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
Bank of America
How it makes money
The model is a deposit-funded spread business layered with fee income. Consumer Banking gathers low-cost deposits and lends through mortgages, cards and auto loans, producing $43.7B of revenue in 2025 and $12.2B of net income. Global Wealth and Investment Management charges fees on $4.75T of client balances, including $2.18T of assets under management, for $24.9B of revenue.
Growth strategy
Growth comes from deepening existing relationships rather than buying banks. Consumer Banking adds clients through digital channels, with 49 million active digital users and 41 million mobile users at the end of 2025, while the branch network is consolidated slowly, down 72 to 3,628 centers during the year, and rebuilt in selected metropolitan markets.
Competitive advantage
Bank of America's advantage is cheap, sticky funding. It held $2.02T of deposits at December 31, 2025, much of it in transaction accounts, and the total deposit spread was 2.92 percent in 2025 against 2.77 percent in 2024.
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 Bank of America vs Cardinal Health
Which company has higher revenue — Bank of America Corporation or Cardinal Health, Inc.?
Bank of America Corporation reported $113.1B (FY2025), while Cardinal Health, Inc. reported $254.2B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Cardinal Health, Inc. is the larger business, with Bank of America Corporation 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 Bank of America Corporation vs Cardinal Health, Inc.?
Bank of America Corporation's market capitalisation stands at $380.6B, while Cardinal Health, Inc.'s is $56.0B. Bank of America Corporation carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Cardinal Health, Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — Bank of America Corporation or Cardinal Health, Inc.?
Bank of America Corporation generates $531k / 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 Bank of America Corporation and Cardinal Health, Inc. make money?
Bank of America Corporation and Cardinal Health, Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Bank of America Corporation: The model is a deposit-funded spread business layered with fee income. 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 — Bank of America Corporation or Cardinal Health, Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Bank of America Corporation trades at 3.4x P/S and Cardinal Health, Inc. at 0.2x P/S. Bank of America Corporation 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 Bank of America Corporation bigger than Cardinal Health, Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Cardinal Health, Inc. ($254.2B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to Bank of America Corporation ($113.1B (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 Bank of America vs Cardinal Health overview