Cardinal Health vs Intel: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Cardinal Health reported $254.2B of revenue in FY2026 and $1.7B of net income. Intel reported $52.9B of revenue in FY2025 and a net loss of $267M.
Latest financial snapshot
Cardinal Health
- Latest revenue
- $254.2B (FY2026)
- Net income
- $1.7B
- Net margin
- 0.7%
- Revenue growth
- +7.7% a year, FY2017–FY2026
Intel
- Latest revenue
- $52.9B (FY2025)
- Net income
- -$267M
- Net margin
- -0.5%
- Revenue growth
- -1.3% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Financial summary
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%.
Intel
Intel's revenue peaked at $79.0 billion in 2021 and fell to $53.1 billion in 2024, when it posted an $18.8 billion net loss driven by restructuring and impairments. FY2025 revenue was $52.9 billion with a much smaller $267 million net loss, and the year ended with $37.4 billion in cash and short-term investments. Q2 2026 revenue rose 25% to $16.1 billion with a 41.8% non-GAAP gross margin and $0.42 non-GAAP EPS. GAAP net loss for the quarter was $11.0 billion, almost all from a $12.5 billion non-cash mark-to-market charge on shares escrowed for the U.S. Department of Commerce. Intel guided Q3 2026 revenue to $15.8-16.8 billion.
Revenue and profit by year
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 |
Intel
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $52.9B | -$267M | -0.5% | -0.5% | Source |
| FY2024 | $53.1B | -$18.8B | -35.3% | -2.1% | Source |
| FY2023 | $54.2B | $1.7B | 3.1% | -14.0% | Source |
| FY2022 | $63.1B | $8B | 12.7% | -20.2% | Source |
| FY2021 | $79B | $19.9B | 25.1% | +1.5% | Source |
| FY2020 | $77.9B | $20.9B | 26.8% | +8.2% | Source |
| FY2019 | $72B | $21B | 29.2% | +1.6% | Source |
| FY2018 | $70.8B | $21.1B | 29.7% | +12.9% | Source |
| FY2017 | $62.8B | $9.6B | 15.3% | +5.7% | Source |
| FY2016 | $59.4B | $10.3B | 17.4% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
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.
Intel
- Client Computing and Physical AI Group~55%
Core and Core Ultra PC processors, chipsets, and edge platforms; $8.9B in Q2 2026, up 13% year over year.
- Data Center and AI~39%
Xeon server CPUs, AI accelerators, and data-center platforms; $6.3B in Q2 2026, up 59% year over year.
- Intel Foundry (external)small
Wafer manufacturing and advanced packaging for outside customers; most foundry revenue is internal sales to Intel Products and eliminates in consolidation.
- Mobileye and Other~6%
Mobileye ADAS chips and other businesses.
Business model and strategy
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.
Intel
How it makes money
Intel is an integrated device manufacturer (IDM): it designs chips and runs its own fabs in Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Ireland, and Israel. Since 2024 it reports two halves. Intel Products (client CPUs, Xeon data-center CPUs, AI accelerators) sells to OEMs, hyperscalers, and enterprises. Intel Foundry manufactures wafers and packages for Intel Products and for external customers, competing with TSMC and Samsung.
Growth strategy
Under Lip-Bu Tan, Intel has cut layers and headcount, slowed some fab projects such as Ohio, and tied foundry spending to committed customer demand.
Competitive advantage
Intel's advantages are the installed base of x86 software, deep OEM and enterprise relationships, leading-edge U.S. fabs, and advanced packaging (EMIB, Foveros) that AI chip designers increasingly need. Its role as the main American maker of leading-edge logic chips also brings policy support: the U.S. government became its largest shareholder in August 2025.
Questions about Cardinal Health vs Intel
Which company has higher revenue — Cardinal Health, Inc. or Intel Corporation?
Cardinal Health, Inc. reported $254.2B (FY2026), while Intel Corporation reported $52.9B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Cardinal Health, Inc. is the larger business, with Intel 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 Cardinal Health, Inc. vs Intel Corporation?
Cardinal Health, Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $56.0B, while Intel Corporation's is $639.9B. Intel Corporation carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Cardinal Health, Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — Cardinal Health, Inc. or Intel Corporation?
Cardinal Health, Inc. generates $3.98M / employee in revenue per employee, while Intel Corporation generates $621k / 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 Cardinal Health, Inc. and Intel Corporation make money?
Cardinal Health, Inc. and Intel Corporation generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Cardinal Health, Inc.: The business model is large, high-volume logistics divided into two segments: Pharmaceutical and Medical. Intel Corporation: Intel is an integrated device manufacturer (IDM): it designs chips and runs its own fabs in Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Ireland, and Israel.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Cardinal Health, Inc. or Intel Corporation?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Cardinal Health, Inc. trades at 0.2x P/S and Intel Corporation at 12.1x P/S. Intel 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 Cardinal Health, Inc. bigger than Intel Corporation?
By last reported revenue, Cardinal Health, Inc. ($254.2B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to Intel Corporation ($52.9B (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 Cardinal Health vs Intel overview