Free cash flow
Cardinal Health Free cash flow increased by 202.2% to $1.68B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric declined by 39.9%, from $2.79B to $1.68B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows relatively stable performance with a -2.3% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
free_cash_flowHistorical 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 | $539.00M | -$713.00M | $1.12B | -$501.00M | $2.83B | -$47.00M | $512.00M | $1.25B | $641.00M | $453.00M | $1.08B | -$161.00M | $1.88B | -$1.74B | -$499.00M | $2.79B | $1.30B | $865.00M | $555.00M | $1.68B |
| QoQ Change | — | -232.3% | +257.2% | -144.7% | +664.5% | -101.7% | >999% | +144.5% | -48.8% | -29.3% | +137.3% | -115.0% | >999% | -192.2% | +71.3% | +659.3% | -53.6% | -33.2% | -35.8% | +202.2% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | +424.7% | +93.4% | -54.3% | +349.9% | -77.3% | >999% | +110.0% | -112.9% | +193.9% | -483.4% | -146.4% | >999% | -31.3% | +149.8% | +211.2% | -39.9% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Cardinal Health's free cash flow?
- Cardinal Health (CAH) reported free cash flow of $1.68B in Q1 2026.
- How has Cardinal Health's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Cardinal Health's free cash flow decreased by 39.9% year-over-year, from $2.79B to $1.68B.
- What is the long-term trend for Cardinal Health's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Cardinal Health's free cash flow has grown at a -2.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $2.03B to $1.85B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.