Cardinal Health Inc vs Lumen Technologies Inc — how do they compare? Cardinal Health Inc trades at $226.83 (market cap $53.89B), while Lumen Technologies Inc trades at $6.47 (market cap $6.56B). The key difference: Cardinal Health Inc is far larger — about 8.2× Lumen Technologies Inc's market cap, and Cardinal Health Inc pays a 0.89% dividend while Lumen Technologies Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| CAH | LUMN | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $53.89B | $6.56B |
Sector | Health | Media |
52-Week High | $239.71 | $11.83 |
52-Week Low | $146.04 | $3.70 |
Enterprise Value | $58.87B | $18.19B |
Dividend Yield | 0.89% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Cardinal Health (CAH) trades at $233.66, down 0.91% in the last session, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages and strong analyst support. The company has consistently beaten earnings estimates in recent quarters, with Q1 2026 EPS of $3.17 surpassing expectations. Revenue reached $222.58 billion in 2025, though net margins remain thin at 0.62%. Recent news highlights growth potential in medical supplies, with earnings results for fiscal 2026 due August 11.
The outlook for CAH is positive, driven by earnings momentum and sector tailwinds, but risks include high leverage with debt-to-asset ratio at 16.09% and competitive pressures. Analyst consensus is bullish with a $248 price target, suggesting 6% upside. Investors should weigh solid operational cash flow against negative shareholder equity and investing outflows.
LUMN trades at $6.45, down 4.16% today, reflecting ongoing investor caution amid a bearish technical signal. The company reported a net loss of $1.74 billion in 2025 despite beating earnings expectations in two of the last three quarters. Recent news highlights strategic moves like the Alkira acquisition to bolster its AI networking platform. Cash flow from operations remains strong at $4.74 billion, but high debt levels and negative profitability metrics pose challenges.
The outlook is mixed; cost-cutting and a $13 billion contract backlog offer potential upside, but persistent losses and a heavy debt load of $17.49 billion limit near-term growth. Analyst consensus is cautious with a hold-heavy rating, though the $8.25 price target implies modest upside from current levels if execution improves.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Cardinal Health is a leading pharmaceutical wholesaler, engaged in the sourcing and distribution of branded, generic, and specialty pharmaceutical products to pharmacies (retail chains, independent, and mail-order), hospitals networks, and healthcare providers. Along with AmerisourceBergen and McKesson, the three compose well over 90% of the U.S. pharmaceutical wholesale industry. Cardinal Health also supplies medical-surgical products and equipment to healthcare facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Read more on CAH →With 450,000 route miles of fiber, including over 35,000 route miles of subsea fiber connecting Europe, Asia, and Latin America, Lumen Technologies is one of the United States' largest telecommunications carriers serving global enterprises. Its merger with Level 3 further shifted the company's operations toward businesses (over 70% of revenue) and away from its legacy consumer business. Lumen offers businesses a full menu of communications services, providing colocation and data center services, data transportation, and end-user phone and internet service. On the consumer side, Lumen provides broadband and phone service across 37 states, where it has 4.5 million broadband customers.
Read more on LUMN →