Cardinal Health vs Tesla: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Cardinal Health and Tesla 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. 2003Tesla

    Tesla Motors Founded

    Tesla Motors was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning to prove that lithium-ion batteries could power a desirable electric car.

11. 2004Tesla

    Elon Musk Leads Series A

    Elon Musk led Tesla's Series A financing in 2004 and became chairman. The investment gave Tesla enough capital and public credibility to continue Roadster development.

12. 2008Tesla

    Roadster Launch

    The Roadster launched in 2008 as a highway-capable electric sports car with more than 200 miles of range. It mattered because it proved an EV could be fast, premium and emotionally desirable.

13. 2008Tesla

    Elon Musk Becomes CEO

    Musk became CEO in 2008 during a severe financing and production crisis. He restructured operations, secured emergency funding and pushed the company toward a clearer product sequence.

14. 2010Tesla

    Tesla IPO

    Tesla went public in 2010, raising capital while still far from stable profitability. The IPO mattered because it gave Tesla access to public-market funding for product development and manufacturing.

15. 2012Tesla

    Model S Launch

    The Model S launched in 2012 and moved Tesla beyond the Roadster niche. It mattered because it combined range, software, performance and premium design in a vehicle Tesla controlled more fully.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 2014Tesla

    Gigafactory Strategy Announced

    Tesla announced the Gigafactory strategy in 2014 with Panasonic as a key partner. The move mattered because batteries were the limiting input for EV scale, cost and range.

19. 2016Tesla

    SolarCity Acquired

    Tesla's 2016 SolarCity acquisition is company-specific because it changed the portfolio rather than simply adding scale. The reported value was $2.6B.

20. 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.

21. 2017Tesla

    Model 3 Production Crisis

    The Model 3 ramp in 2017 exposed severe bottlenecks caused partly by excessive automation. The crisis mattered because Tesla's mass-market strategy depended on producing a lower-priced vehicle at high volume.

22. 2020Tesla

    S&P 500 Inclusion

    Tesla joined the S&P 500 in 2020 after proving sustained profitability. The milestone mattered because it brought index-fund ownership, wider institutional attention and validation that Tesla was no longer a speculative startup.

23. 2023Tesla

    Global Price Cuts

    Tesla cut prices across major markets in 2023 to defend demand and pressure competitors. The move mattered because it showed Tesla could use its direct-sales model to adjust faster than dealer-based rivals.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 2025Tesla

    $94.8B Revenue and Delivery Decline

    In FY2025, Tesla reported $94.8B in revenue and delivered 1,636,129 vehicles. The milestone mattered because revenue and deliveries both showed the company had entered a more mature, contested phase.

27. 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.

Acquisitions

Questions about Cardinal Health vs Tesla