Group 1 - Cardinal Health plans to release its third-quarter financial results for fiscal year 2025 on May 1, prior to the opening of trading on the New York Stock Exchange [1] - A webcast discussion of the financial results will begin at 8:30 a.m. Eastern on the same day [1] - The webcast and corresponding slide presentation can be accessed via Cardinal Health's Investor Relations page without an access code [2] Group 2 - Cardinal Health is a distributor of pharmaceuticals and specialty products, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical and laboratory products, and a supplier of home-health and direct-to-patient products and services [3] - The company operates nuclear pharmacies and manufacturing facilities, and provides performance and data solutions [3] - Cardinal Health emphasizes a customer-centric focus that drives continuous improvement and leads to innovative solutions [3]

Core Insights - Cardinal Health participated in the Leerink Partners Global Healthcare Conference, with CFO Aaron Alt and Investor Relations representative Matt Sims present for discussions [1][3]. Group 1: Company Overview - The management team expressed delight in engaging with stakeholders and highlighted the importance of the recent Q2 earnings call held at the end of January [3]. - The next earnings release is scheduled for May 1, which will cover Q3 results [3]. Group 2: Financial Updates - The company indicated that there would not be substantial updates from the Q2 earnings during this conference call [4].

Core Viewpoint - Cardinal Health has elected Robert Musslewhite and Sudhakar Ramakrishna as independent directors, effective March 7, 2025, enhancing the board's expertise in technology and healthcare [1][4]. Group 1: New Board Members - Robert Musslewhite has over 20 years of leadership experience, including roles as CEO of Definitive Healthcare Corp. and OptumInsight, and will serve on the Audit and Human Resources and Compensation Committees [2][5]. - Sudhakar Ramakrishna is a seasoned CEO with more than two decades in technology, previously leading SolarWinds Corporation and will be part of the Audit and Risk Oversight Committees [3][7]. Group 2: Contributions to the Company - Musslewhite's background in advanced analytics and technology in healthcare is expected to significantly benefit Cardinal Health [4]. - Ramakrishna's leadership in technology and business strategy is anticipated to enhance the company's ability to navigate complex environments [4]. Group 3: Company Overview - Cardinal Health operates as a distributor of pharmaceuticals and specialty products, a global manufacturer of medical products, and a provider of performance and data solutions [9]. - The company emphasizes a customer-centric focus that drives continuous improvement and innovation [10].

Core Insights - Consistent earnings growth signals a company's profitability, but earnings acceleration is more effective in boosting stock prices [1] - Successful stocks typically experience earnings acceleration prior to stock price increases [1] Earnings Acceleration Definition - Earnings acceleration refers to the incremental growth in a company's earnings per share (EPS), specifically when quarter-over-quarter earnings growth rates increase over time [2] Importance of Earnings Acceleration - Unlike earnings growth, which may already be reflected in stock prices, earnings acceleration helps identify stocks that have not yet attracted investor attention, leading to potential price rallies [3] - An increasing percentage of earnings growth indicates a fundamentally sound company, while a sideways or decelerating growth percentage may signal consolidation or decline [4] Screening Parameters - Stocks are screened based on the last two quarter-over-quarter EPS growth rates exceeding previous periods' growth rates, with projected EPS growth rates for the upcoming quarter expected to exceed prior periods [5][6] - Additional criteria include a current price of at least $5 and an average 20-day trading volume of at least 50,000 to ensure adequate liquidity [6] Top Stocks Identified - Prairie Operating Co. (PROP) is an independent energy company with a Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy) and an expected earnings growth rate of 81.2% for the current year [7] - Intuit Inc. (INTU) offers financial management products and has a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold) with an expected earnings growth rate of 13.8% [9] - Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH) is a global healthcare services company with a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) and an expected earnings growth rate of 5.4% [10]

Core Insights - Cardinal Health reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results, with adjusted earnings of $1.93 per share, surpassing market estimates of $1.76 per share, and sales of $55.3 billion, exceeding expectations of $54.915 billion [1][2]. Financial Performance - The company delivered strong second-quarter results, driven by robust demand in the Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment [2]. - Cardinal Health raised its fiscal year 2025 non-GAAP earnings guidance from a range of $7.75-$7.90 per share to $7.85-$8.00 per share [2]. Stock Performance - Following the earnings announcement, Cardinal Health shares gained 1.3%, trading at $126.92 [3]. - Analysts adjusted their price targets for Cardinal Health, with Wells Fargo raising it from $135 to $136 and JP Morgan increasing it from $142 to $145 [5].

Core Viewpoint - Cardinal Health, Inc. reported strong second-quarter fiscal 2025 results, with adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.93, exceeding estimates and showing year-over-year growth [1][12] Revenue Details - Total sales decreased by 3.8% year-over-year to $55.26 billion, but still surpassed consensus estimates by 0.7% [2] Segmental Analysis - **Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions**: Revenues fell 4.4% to $50.85 billion, primarily due to the expiration of a customer contract with OptumRx. Excluding this impact, sales increased by 17% [3] - **Pharmaceutical Profit**: Increased by 7% to $531 million, driven by growth in BioPharma Solutions and brand products, partially offset by the contract expiration [4] - **Global Medical Products and Distribution**: Revenues rose by 0.9% to $3.15 billion, supported by growth from existing customers [4] - **Other Segment**: Sales grew by 13% to $1.28 billion, with profits increasing by 11% to $118 million, driven by strong performance in OptiFreight Logistics and Nuclear and Precision Health Solutions [5][6] Margin Analysis - Gross profit increased by 4.7% year-over-year to $1.94 billion, with a gross margin of 3.5%, up 30 basis points [7] - Operating income rose by 8.7% to $549 million, with adjusted operating income increasing by 8.5% to $635 million [7] Financial Update - The company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $3.81 billion, up from $2.87 billion in the previous quarter [8] - Net cash used in operating activities was $400 million, a significant decrease from $1.18 billion in the prior year [9] 2025 Outlook - Cardinal Health raised its fiscal 2025 earnings guidance, now expecting adjusted EPS between $7.85 and $8.00, up from $7.75-$7.90 [10] - Pharmaceutical segment revenues are projected to decline by 1-3%, while segment profit is expected to increase by 10-12% [10] - Medical segment revenues are estimated to grow by 2-4%, with segment profit expected between $130-$150 million [11] - Other segment revenues are likely to grow by 10-12%, with segment profit expected to grow nearly 10% [11] Conclusion - Cardinal Health exited the fiscal second quarter positively, with earnings and revenues exceeding estimates, although sales may face pressure from the OptumRx contract expiration [12] - The company anticipates continued growth from its medical products and other segments, with an optimistic outlook for segmental profit and gross margin expansion [13] - The completion of the acquisition of a majority stake in GI Alliance supports Cardinal Health's multi-specialty growth strategy [14]

• Q2 FY25 Earnings Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements Q2 FY25 Earnings Cardinal Health, Inc. January 30, 2025 © 2025 Cardinal Health. All Rights Reserved. 1 © 2025 Cardinal Health. All Rights Reserved. This presentation contains forward-looking statements addressing expectations, prospects, estimates and other matters that are dependent upon future events or developments. These statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "will," "should," "c ...

Core Insights - Cardinal Health reported $55.26 billion in revenue for the quarter ended December 2024, a year-over-year decline of 3.8%, with an EPS of $1.93 compared to $1.82 a year ago, indicating a positive surprise of +10.29% over the consensus estimate [1] Revenue Performance - Revenue from Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions was $50.85 billion, slightly above the average estimate of $50.76 billion, but down 4.4% year-over-year [4] - Revenue from Other segments reached $1.28 billion, exceeding the average estimate of $1.23 billion [4] - Revenue from Medical Products and Distribution was $3.15 billion, slightly below the average estimate of $3.18 billion, reflecting a year-over-year change of -0.4% [4] Segment Profitability - Segment profit for Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions was $531 million, surpassing the average estimate of $496.49 million [4] - Segment profit for Other segments was $118 million, exceeding the average estimate of $110.67 million [4] - Segment profit for Global Medical Products and Distribution was $18 million, below the average estimate of $25.77 million [4] Stock Performance - Cardinal Health's shares have returned +8% over the past month, outperforming the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +1.2% change, with a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) indicating potential for further outperformance [3]

Group 1 - Cardinal Health (CAH) has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.67, indicating a consensus between Strong Buy and Buy, with 66.7% of recommendations being Strong Buy from 15 brokerage firms [2][4] - The ABR should not be the sole basis for investment decisions, as studies suggest brokerage recommendations often lack success in guiding investors towards stocks with significant price appreciation potential [4][9] - Analysts from brokerage firms tend to exhibit a strong positive bias in their ratings, issuing five "Strong Buy" recommendations for every "Strong Sell," which may mislead investors [5][9] Group 2 - The Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock rating tool, is a reliable indicator of near-term price performance, classifying stocks from Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank 5 (Strong Sell) [7][10] - The Zacks Rank is based on earnings estimate revisions, which are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements, providing a more timely indication of future price trends compared to the ABR [10][11] - For Cardinal Health, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has increased by 0.2% to $7.84, reflecting analysts' growing optimism and resulting in a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) [12][13]

Core Viewpoint - Cardinal Health reported quarterly earnings of $1.93 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.75 per share, and showing an increase from $1.82 per share a year ago, representing an earnings surprise of 10.29% [1][2] Financial Performance - The company achieved revenues of $55.26 billion for the quarter ended December 2024, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.69%, although this is a decline from $57.45 billion in the same quarter last year [2] - Over the last four quarters, Cardinal has consistently surpassed consensus EPS estimates [2] Stock Performance - Cardinal shares have increased approximately 8% since the beginning of the year, outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 2.7% [3] Future Outlook - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $2.15 on revenues of $54.28 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is $7.84 on revenues of $220.88 billion [7] - The estimate revisions trend for Cardinal is currently favorable, leading to a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) for the stock, indicating expected outperformance in the near future [6] Industry Context - The Medical - Dental Supplies industry, to which Cardinal belongs, is currently ranked in the bottom 40% of over 250 Zacks industries, which may impact stock performance [8]