Operating Cash Flow
Cardinal Health Operating Cash Flow increased by 165.7% to $1.82B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric declined by 37.5%, from $2.92B to $1.82B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Operating Cash Flow shows relatively stable performance with a -0.3% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
Consistently high operating cash flow indicates a healthy, self-sustaining business capable of funding its own growth and returning capital to shareholders.
Detailed definition
Net cash from operating activities measures the total amount of cash generated by a company's core business operations....
Peer comparison
Investors often compare this to capital expenditures to calculate Free Cash Flow, a primary valuation metric for mature tech giants.
net_cash_from_operatingHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $665.00M | -$646.00M | $1.20B | -$419.00M | $2.99B | $23.00M | $597.00M | $1.36B | $858.00M | $545.00M | $1.19B | -$49.00M | $2.08B | -$1.65B | -$400.00M | $2.92B | $1.53B | $973.00M | $686.00M | $1.82B |
| QoQ Change | — | -197.1% | +285.0% | -135.1% | +814.1% | -99.2% | >999% | +128.0% | -37.0% | -36.5% | +118.2% | -104.1% | >999% | -179.3% | +75.7% | +829.3% | -47.7% | -36.3% | -29.5% | +165.7% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | +349.9% | +103.6% | -50.0% | +424.8% | -71.3% | >999% | +99.2% | -103.6% | +142.1% | -402.2% | -133.6% | >999% | -26.5% | +159.1% | +271.5% | -37.5% |
Operating Cash Flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Cardinal Health's operating cash flow?
- Cardinal Health (CAH) reported operating cash flow of $1.82B in Q1 2026.
- How has Cardinal Health's operating cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Cardinal Health's operating cash flow decreased by 37.5% year-over-year, from $2.92B to $1.82B.
- What is the long-term trend for Cardinal Health's operating cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Cardinal Health's operating cash flow has grown at a -0.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $2.43B to $2.40B.
- What does operating cash flow mean?
- The actual amount of cash a company brings in from its day-to-day business activities.