Cencora, Inc. (COR)

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AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe shares look fairly priced, with solid growth already reflected in the valuation.

At the latest independently verifiable close found, $312.23 on July 30, the shares cost 17.5 times the midpoint of May’s $17.70-$17.90 adjusted earnings guidance. “Adjusted” earnings remove acquisition, legal, and other unusual items. Fiscal 2025 cash left after operations and capital spending was $3.21 billion, a 5.3% yield on the roughly $60 billion equity value. Trailing cash flow through June was stronger near $4.06 billion but includes volatile supplier-payment timing. The price offers no clear bargain, yet is reasonable if cash grows steadily.

Big pictureMedicine distribution stays resilient, but thin margins make customer losses and pricing shifts matter.

Revenue climbed from $189.9 billion in fiscal 2020 to $321.3 billion in 2025, about 11% annually, while gross profit more than doubled to $11.48 billion. June-quarter revenue grew 5.1% to $84.75 billion and operating income rose 29% to $1.12 billion. Demand for medicine is defensive, but the 2025 gross margin was only 3.6%. In the March quarter, branded-drug price reductions removed roughly $2 billion of revenue, customer losses slowed United States sales, and fast-growing diabetes and weight-loss drugs carried lower margins.

Business strengthCash generation is durable, while acquisition debt now limits the balance-sheet cushion.

Operating cash flow was positive throughout fiscal 2020-2025, and trailing cash left after capital spending reached roughly $4.06 billion through June 2026. However, cash of $2.82 billion sat against $11.72 billion of debt, leaving $8.91 billion of net debt—almost triple September 2025’s level after the OneOncology purchase. Current liabilities also exceeded current assets by $3.86 billion. Capital returns have still beaten dilution: shares fell from 208.1 million in 2021 to 190.8 million in June 2026 despite employee stock compensation, while dividends remained comfortably below annual cash generation.

What could change the storySuccessful debt reduction could unlock upside, while weak acquisition returns would expose an expensive mistake.

The strongest bull case is that OneOncology and retina services sustain high-single-digit profit growth while recurring distribution cash rapidly reduces debt. The bear case is that customer losses, low-margin product growth, or integration costs keep normalized cash near $3 billion while interest expense stays elevated. As an inference, $312 roughly requires 7%-8% annual cash-per-share growth from that $3 billion base under a 10% return requirement and 2.5% long-term growth. Debt falling below twice annual cash operating profit would strengthen the case; stalled deleveraging alongside aggressive buybacks would weaken it.

$312.23 price considered

AI: News

Third-quarter profit acceleratedJune-quarter sales and operating profit grew, showing improvement after May’s earnings disappointment.

Cencora scheduled its third-quarter release for August 5. The supplied SEC-derived figures for the quarter ended June 30 show revenue of $84.75 billion, up 5.1% from $80.66 billion, while operating income rose 29% to $1.12 billion and reported earnings increased to $3.94 per share from $3.52. The improvement supports an operating recovery, although a reliable post-release market reaction could not be established because the accessible verified price history ended July 30.

Buyback capacity expandedCencora increased its buyback capacity, supporting each share while acquisition debt remained elevated.

On May 21, Cencora narrowed fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to $17.70-$17.90 per share and announced a new $2 billion repurchase authorization. It still expected to buy $1 billion of shares by calendar year-end. Shares closed 3.6% higher on May 22, but that timing alone does not prove the announcement caused the move. Repurchases raise each remaining share’s ownership percentage; their value depends on whether management can also reduce the debt accumulated for acquisitions.

Second-quarter miss punishedSlower United States sales outweighed higher annual profit guidance and triggered a sharp market reassessment.

On May 6, Cencora reported March-quarter revenue of $78.4 billion versus the $81.09 billion analyst estimate cited by Reuters; adjusted earnings of $4.75 per share also missed the $4.81 estimate. Reuters reported an 18% morning share-price decline. Branded-drug price cuts reduced reported revenue by about $2 billion, while lost oncology and grocery customers added pressure. Management nevertheless raised annual adjusted earnings guidance, showing that the shortfall affected sales expectations more than underlying profit expectations.

OneOncology deal closedThe debt-funded oncology expansion added higher-margin services but sharply increased balance-sheet risk.

Cencora completed its OneOncology purchase on February 2 for approximately $4.6 billion in cash, funded with new debt, while physicians and management retained a minority interest. OneOncology subsequently helped lift the United States segment’s gross margin, demonstrating the strategic benefit of adding physician services to low-margin distribution. The cost is meaningful: total debt reached $11.72 billion by June, compared with $7.66 billion at September 2025, making integration results and debt repayment central to future value.

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Total cash / debt

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Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007
Revenue	$321.33B	$293.96B	$262.17B	$238.59B	$213.99B	$189.89B	$179.59B	$167.94B	$153.14B	$146.85B	$135.96B	$119.57B	$87.96B	$78.08B	$78.70B	$77.78B	$71.76B	$70.19B	$65.67B
Gross profit	$11.48B	$9.91B	$8.96B	$8.30B	$6.94B	$5.19B	$5.14B	$4.61B	$4.55B	$4.27B	$3.53B	$2.98B	$2.51B	$2.63B	$2.46B	$2.33B	$2.10B	$2.05B	$2.22B
Operating expenses	$6.99B	$6.09B	$5.72B	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	$2.63B	$2.18B	$2.34B	$2.37B	$2.35B	−$5.14B	$1.11B	$1.44B	$1.06B	$1.53B	$422.2M	$782.1M	$898.4M	$1.30B	$1.19B	$1.09B	$883.7M	$827.9M	$788.7M
EBITDAderived	$3.68B	$3.27B	$3.30B	$3.06B	$2.86B	−$4.74B	$1.57B	$1.91B	$1.46B	$1.89B	$670.9M	$970.8M	$1.06B	$1.44B	$1.29B	$1.18B	$973.8M	$920.2M	$881.9M
Net income	$1.55B	$1.51B	$1.75B	$1.70B	$1.54B	−$3.41B	$855.4M	$1.66B	$364.5M	$1.43B	−$138.2M	$274.2M	$433.7M	$719.0M	$706.6M	$636.7M	$503.4M	$250.6M	$469.2M
Basic EPSper diluted share	$8.02	$7.60	$8.62	$8.15	$7.48	-$16.65	$4.07	$7.61	$1.67	$6.73	-$0.63	$1.21	$1.88	$2.84	$2.59	$2.26	$1.67	$0.78	$1.27
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$7.96	$7.53	$8.53	$8.04	$7.39	-$16.65	$4.04	$7.53	$1.64	$6.32	-$0.63	$1.16	$1.84	$2.80	$2.54	$2.22	$1.66	$0.77	$1.25

Review source filings at SEC.gov ↗

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys3$2.31M disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)50$1.48B disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
Jun 22, 2026Form 4	Tyler Lauren MDirector	BuyCommon Stock	550	$270.23	$148.6K	4.4K
Jun 18, 2026Form 4	DURCAN DERMOT MARKDirector	BuyCommon Stock	4.0K	$274.19	$1.10M	31.8K
May 28, 2026Form 4	DURCAN DERMOT MARKDirector	BuyCommon Stock	4.0K	$266.26	$1.07M	27.8K
Feb 20, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Mauch Robert P.President & CEO	SellCommon Stock	3.8K	$358.94	$1.35M	65.4K
Feb 18, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Mauch Robert P.President & CEO	SellCommon Stock	1.3K	$359.46	$479.2K	65.4K

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

Cencora, Inc. (COR)

Financial charts

Financial statements

Insider buys & sells