Street View: Cardinal Health's quarterly results fall short of lofty expectations

Cardinal Health CAH.N to buy healthcare management firm Solaris Health for $1.9 billion as drug distributor looks to expand its specialty business

Total quarterly sales came in below analysts' estimates - data compiled by LSEG

BAR WAS HIGH

Citi ("Neutral", PT:$160) says CAH fell slightly short of high expectations driven by insignificant costs adding up

Says urology-focused Solaris buy makes "strategic sense" as segment offers more diverse revenue stream, lessens potential most-favored-nation drug pricing risk

Leerink Partners ("Outperform", PT:$186) says "bar was high" for Cardinal going into Q4 results

Adds, "quarter was a pause on the back of what's been an incredibly strong multi-year run"

Morgan Stanley ("Overweight", PT:$190) says heightened expectations for distributors "leaving little or no room for error" dragged CAH shares down post results

Brokerage says more focus should be on strength in underlying fundamentals across pharma and specialty unit

J.P.Morgan ("Neutral", PT:$178) says Solaris acquisition would modestly boost guidance in low single-digit increase, but CAH hasn't yet included this in its 2026 outlook