Cardinal Health vs HDFC Bank: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Cardinal Health and HDFC Bank side by side

1. 1971Cardinal Health

   Cardinal Foods Founded by Robert D. Walter

   Robert D. Walter, a 26-year-old Harvard MBA graduate, borrowed $1.3 million to acquire the food-distribution division of Consolidated Foods in a leveraged buyout, establishing Cardinal Foods in Columbus, Ohio.

2. 1979Cardinal Health

   Pivot to Pharmaceutical Distribution

   Walter acquired Bailey Drug Co., a pharmaceutical distributor in Zanesville, Ohio, marking Cardinal's entry into pharmaceutical distribution.

3. 1983Cardinal Health

   Cardinal Distribution Goes Public

   Cardinal Distribution Inc. completed its initial public offering on the NASDAQ at $1.03 per share, providing capital for continued expansion through acquisitions.

4. 1984Cardinal Health

   Acquisition of Ellicott Drug

   Cardinal acquired Ellicott Drug, a pharmaceutical distributor in Buffalo, New York, continuing the acquisition-driven expansion strategy that would define the company's growth for decades.

5. 1988Cardinal Health

   Sale of Food Operations to Roundy's Inc.

   Cardinal sold its remaining food operations to Roundy's Inc., completing the company's transition from a diversified food and drug distributor to a pure-play pharmaceutical distribution company.

6. 1994Cardinal Health

   Name Change to Cardinal Health

   The company changed its name from Cardinal Distribution to Cardinal Health, reflecting its expanding mission beyond pure distribution into healthcare services, manufacturing, and technology. Revenues exceeded $1 billion by 1991.

7. 1994HDFC Bank

   HDFC Bank Incorporated

   HDFC Bank is incorporated as one of India's new private-sector banks.

8. 1995Cardinal Health

   Acquisition of Medicine Shoppe International

   Cardinal acquired Medicine Shoppe International, the country's largest franchise of retail pharmacies, marking the company's first significant non-distribution acquisition and entry into retail pharmacy.

9. 1995HDFC Bank

   Banking Operations Begin

   The bank begins operations and builds a private-sector banking franchise.

10. 1996Cardinal Health

    Acquisition of Pyxis Corp.

    Cardinal acquired Pyxis Corp., a manufacturer of automated supply and pharmaceutical dispensing systems for hospitals, adding medical technology capabilities to the company's portfolio.

11. 1999Cardinal Health

    Acquisition of Allegiance Healthcare Corp.

    Cardinal acquired Allegiance Healthcare Corp. for approximately $4.4 billion, becoming a major player in the medical-surgical products market and establishing the foundation for what would become the Global Medical Products and Distribution segment.

12. 2000HDFC Bank

    Times Bank Merger

    HDFC Bank merges with Times Bank, one of its early scale-building deals.

13. 2008HDFC Bank

    Centurion Bank of Punjab Merger

    HDFC Bank merged with Centurion Bank of Punjab in 2008.

14. 2013Cardinal Health

    Red Oak Sourcing Joint Venture with CVS

    Cardinal Health and CVS Caremark announced the creation of Red Oak Sourcing, a 50/50 joint venture to form the largest generic pharmaceutical sourcing entity in the United States. The venture began operations in July 2014 with an initial 10-year term.

15. 2014Cardinal Health

    Loss of Walgreens Contract

    Cardinal Health lost a major pharmaceutical distribution contract with Walgreens, which shifted its distribution to AmerisourceBergen. The contract had generated $3.3 billion in quarterly revenue.

16. 2017Cardinal Health

    Acquisition of Patient Recovery Business from Medtronic

    Cardinal Health acquired the Patient Recovery business from Medtronic for $6.1 billion, expanding its medical products portfolio and adding significant scale to the Global Medical Products and Distribution segment.

17. 2020HDFC Bank

    Sashidhar Jagdishan Becomes CEO

    Sashidhar Jagdishan succeeds Aditya Puri as managing director and CEO in October 2020.

18. 2020HDFC Bank

    RBI Halts New Digital Launches

    The Reserve Bank of India ordered HDFC Bank in December 2020 to stop new digital launches and new credit-card customers after repeated outages.

19. 2022HDFC Bank

    HDFC Ltd Merger Announced

    HDFC Bank announced in April 2022 that it would merge with its parent, HDFC Ltd.

20. 2023HDFC Bank

    HDFC Ltd Merger Completed

    HDFC Bank completes the merger with parent HDFC Ltd, creating a much larger banking balance sheet.

21. 2024Cardinal Health

    OptumRx Contract Non-Renewal Announced

    Cardinal Health's pharmaceutical distribution contracts with OptumRx (part of UnitedHealth Group) expired at the end of June 2024 and were not renewed. They represented about $38.1 billion of fiscal 2024 revenue.

22. 2025Cardinal Health

    Fiscal 2025 Results and Raised FY2026 Guidance

    Cardinal Health reported fiscal 2025 revenue of $222.6 billion, down about 2% after the OptumRx contract expiration, while net earnings rose to about $1.6 billion.

23. 2026Cardinal Health

    Fiscal 2026 Revenue Reaches $254.2 Billion

    Fiscal 2026 revenue rose 14% to $254.2 billion and non-GAAP EPS rose 37% to $11.26, with profit growth in all five operating segments.

24. 2026HDFC Bank

    FY2025-26 Net Revenues Reach INR 1,91,218.60 Crore

    HDFC Bank reports ~$22.2 billion (INR 1,91,218.60 crore) in net revenues and ~$8.66 billion (INR 74,671.30 crore) in profit after tax.

25. 2026HDFC Bank

    Rajiv Kumar Becomes Chairman

    After Atanu Chakraborty resigned in March 2026, the RBI approved Rajiv Kumar as part-time chairman effective July 15, 2026.

Acquisitions

Questions about Cardinal Health vs HDFC Bank