Positioning no disclosures inside 60 days, left as found
Options no verdict drawn today, left as found
Ethical passes the values gate
Price220.22 USD
Fair value292.00
Ethical score85.9/100
RatingAVOID
Our investment reviews on this name
2026-10-02Read Distribution220.22+0.0% to today
2026-07-02Read Markup205.71+7.1% to today ✓
Our analytic regime reads on this name, dated and marked against the screened price. Small sample per name, and separate from the daily-framework accuracy on the Track Record page.
Cardinal Health holds its Markdown at $220.22. The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 26 days.
As held on the ledger · 2026-09-25
Phase
Markdown · caution
Quantitative state
The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 26 days
Price at the screen
$220.22
Valuation
30.42 trailing · 15.67 forward price to earnings
Values screen
PASS· score 85.9
Beta
0.52
The Workings
Five Screens, Shown in Full
Full pass across all five screens. This security clears the Titan Ethical Standard: its business and its balance sheet both stay inside the lines.
Test
Figure
Limit
What it means
Status
Business activity
Permissible
Core business clean
Its core business isn't built on prohibited lines: no gambling, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, or interest-based lending.
Pass
Debt load
16.05%
Below 33%
Interest-bearing debt is just 16.1% of its assets, well under the one-third ceiling: it does not run on borrowed money.
Pass
Interest-bearing cash
0.00%
Below 33%
Cash held in interest-bearing accounts and securities is 0.0% of assets, under the one-third limit.
Pass
Receivables
32.22%
Below 49%
Money owed to the company is 32.2% of assets, under the 49% limit.
Pass
Revenue purity
0.00%
Below 5%
Only 0.0% of revenue comes from non-compliant sources, under the 5% line.
Pass
Five checks adapted from AAOIFI screening standards: business activity plus four balance-sheet ratios. All five must pass for ethical clearance. Every figure is arithmetic on public accounts, not judgement.
The Ethical Read
Why It Clears, in Plain English
Cardinal Health clears all five screens. Its business is in a permissible area, its interest-bearing debt is about 16%, inside the ~33% line, and almost none of its income is interest, so it passes.
Read as at 2026-10-07. It updates when the underlying figures move, and past reads are kept below.
What the Numbers Say It Is Worth
The Fair Value Range
Our framework reads AVOID: it trades at roughly a 33% discount to our $292.00 fair value, 5.80% revenue growth.
Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-09-25 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. A 32.6% margin of safety to the base estimate.
Third-party analyst targets: 16 covering, consensus Strong Buy. The average target sits +25% from the screen price.
Reading the gap · Both our model and the analysts see meaningful upside from here.
Price History & Projections
Where it has been, where the models see it going. History from market close data; projection points are our fair-value estimates and third-party analyst targets, dated to the 2026-09-25 screen.
Fair value and rating are our own model estimates; the Street's range reflects third-party analyst estimates. Analysis, not advice.
The Business, in Plain Words
Thin Margins Make Cardinal Health Hard to Love
Cardinal Health shifts the drugs and kits that keep US hospitals and pharmacies stocked, acting as the quiet logistics layer behind everyday care. Volumes are huge, yet the economics stay wafer-thin.
We pass because an 11% revenue rise still delivers only a 1% profit margin at a 19 times forward multiple. Unknown competitive edges and no pricing power leave the business looking more like a low-return utility than a compounder, even with analysts clustered around a 255 target.
Reimbursement cuts or supply-chain shocks could compress those slim margins further while the lack of a visible moat keeps upside capped. Analysis, not advice.
The risks · The main risks here are ordinary market swings and the chance our fair-value read proves too optimistic.
Plain-English interpretation of our own screen data. Analysis, not advice.
Where & How to Trade
CAH trades on a US exchange. As a listed security it is accessible through almost any international broker offering its home market. New to this, or investing from abroad? Our guide to accessing global markets covers brokers, currencies and the practical steps.
The framework has shifted from markup to distribution since the last review. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 3.6% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 5% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 43%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 27%. The street (15 analysts) rates it strong buy, with a mean price target of $245.
2026-08-24Markup$228.460.0%Entry 5
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 5% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 43%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 27%. The street (15 analysts) rates it strong buy, with a mean price target of $245.
2026-07-24Markup$228.52+11.1%Entry 4
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved up 11.1% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 5% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 43%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 27%. The street (15 analysts) rates it strong buy, with a mean price target of $245.
2026-07-18Markup$205.71+0.0%Entry 3
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 5% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 43%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 27%. The street (15 analysts) rates it strong buy, with a mean price target of $245.
2026-07-03Markup$205.71+0.0%Entry 2
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns.
2026-07-02Markup$205.71Entry 1
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns.
Each entry above was written on its date, before the outcome. A journal you can prune is not a journal.