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CAH · WHOLESALE-DRUGS, PROPRIETARIES & DRUGGISTS' SUNDRIES · 8-K · Item 2.02 · Aug 11, 2026

Underlying EPS beat and FY27 guide topped estimates despite a revenue miss

CARDINAL HEALTH INC (CAH) — AllSight decodes this SEC 8-K in plain English, versus what the market expected.

The quarter cleared the EPS bar but missed on revenue. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $2.91, or $2.60 excluding the one-time $0.31-per-share IEEPA tariff refund, versus published consensus near $2.42; revenue was $63.7 billion versus roughly $65.2 billion expected. The underlying EPS beat is meaningful, but the top-line shortfall keeps this from being a broad-based upside surprise. (Financial Highlights; Consolidated IEEPA tariff refund reconciliation)

MeasureQ4 FY26Q4 FY25Market expectation / comparison
Revenue$63.7B$60.2BPublished consensus: ~$65.2B
Non-GAAP diluted EPS$2.91$2.08Consensus: ~$2.42
Non-GAAP diluted EPS, excluding tariff refund$2.60$2.08Still above consensus
FY27 non-GAAP diluted EPS guidance$12.40–$12.60Published FY27 estimate: ~$12.07
Adjusted free cash flow$4.97B$2.49BFY27 guidance: $3.5–$4.0B

The earnings beat was driven by broad operating improvement, not just the refund. Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions profit rose 21% in the quarter and 23% for the year, while Other segment profit increased 14% in the quarter and 37% for the year. Excluding the tariff refund, FY26 GMPD segment profit still rose 17%, although that segment declined 29% year over year in the fourth quarter on a refund-adjusted basis. (Segment results — Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions; Segment results — Other; GMPD tariff refund reconciliation)

FY27 guidance is above the market’s standing estimate, but the growth profile is more moderate than the headline EPS beat. The $12.40–$12.60 non-GAAP EPS outlook sits above the published estimate of approximately $12.07, while management expects Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions profit growth of 8%–11%, Other segment profit growth of 15%–18%, and GMPD profit of $200 million–$220 million. The outlook includes the recently completed Strive Medical acquisition and the announced AdaptHealth Diabetes Health acquisition, so part of the growth reflects added businesses rather than purely organic acceleration. (Fiscal 2027 financial guidance)

The main offset is that the quarter’s strongest GMPD result was helped by a nonrecurring benefit, while cash-flow guidance steps down from the reported FY26 level. The $100 million tariff refund lifted GMPD profit and contributed $0.31 to quarterly and annual non-GAAP EPS; excluding it, full-year EPS still grew 33% to $10.95, but GMPD’s full-year profit growth was only 17%. Adjusted free cash flow reached $4.97 billion in FY26, while FY27 guidance is $3.5 billion–$4.0 billion, suggesting less cash-flow upside after an unusually strong year. (GMPD segment results; Consolidated IEEPA tariff refund reconciliation; Cash Flow statement)

Net read: a narrow beat with a constructive outlook, not a clean blowout. Underlying earnings exceeded expectations and FY27 EPS guidance is above consensus, with strength spread across most segments. The revenue miss, one-time tariff contribution, weaker underlying fourth-quarter GMPD profit, and lower cash-flow outlook prevent the filing from looking unequivocally stronger than the market had priced.

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