Cardinal Health vs SpaceX: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Cardinal Health and SpaceX 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. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 2002SpaceX

    SpaceX is founded

    Elon Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp. to reduce launch costs and make Mars settlement technically possible.

11. 2008SpaceX

    Falcon 1 reaches orbit

    Falcon 1 became the first privately developed liquid-fuel rocket to reach orbit, rescuing SpaceX after three failed attempts.

12. 2012SpaceX

    Dragon reaches the ISS

    Dragon became the first private spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station, proving SpaceX could serve NASA cargo missions.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 2015SpaceX

    Falcon 9 booster landing

    SpaceX landed an orbital-class booster, establishing the technical base for reusable launch economics.

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. 2017SpaceX

    Orbital booster reflight

    SpaceX reflown an orbital-class booster, pushing reuse from demonstration into operating model.

18. 2020SpaceX

    Crew Dragon carries astronauts

    SpaceX became the first private company to carry astronauts to orbit, restoring U.S. crew launch capability.

19. 2021SpaceX

    Acquired Swarm Technologies

    SpaceX acquired Swarm Technologies.

20. 2023SpaceX

    Starship flight testing begins

    SpaceX conducted the first integrated Starship flight test, starting the high-risk development cycle for its next launch system.

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. 2025SpaceX

    FY2025 revenue reaches $18.674B

    SpaceX reported $18.674B in FY2025 revenue and a $4.937B net loss in its 2026 prospectus.

24. 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.

25. 2026SpaceX

    Prospectus lists SPCX and Starlink scale

    The 2026 prospectus described a Nasdaq listing under SPCX and about 10.3M Starlink subscribers as of March 31, 2026.

Acquisitions

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