Earnings Preview: Cardinal Health's EPS, Revenue Expected to Rise

Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) releases its next round of earnings this Thursday, October 27, 2011. Here's Benzinga's essential guide to Cardinal Health's first quarter earnings report.

Earnings and Revenue:

Ahead of the company's earnings announcement, analysts are expecting a positive EPS reading of 72 cents/share and revenues of $26.18 billion. Cardinal Health's latest numbers will no doubt be compared with the company's year-ago quarter, when it reported a profit of 64 cents/share on revenues of $24.44 billion. We'll have to wait for Thursday to see if Cardinal Health falls in line with analyst expectations and reports an estimated increase in both EPS and revenue from the year-ago quarter.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance:

Shares of Cardinal Health were trading at $44.05 as of October 24, 2011. Shares are up 16.7% year to date. For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 34.4%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

• Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts for Cardinal Health is a Moderate Buy. Over the past three months this rating's strength has declined slightly.

Competitors:

Want to check out the performance of Cardinal Health closest competitors? Take a look at some of the company's peers in the healthcare sector.

• AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC): Moderate Buy with a $0.61 recent quarter EPS
• Covidien (NYSE: COV): Moderate Buy with a $1.01 recent quarter EPS
• CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS): Moderate Buy with a $0.65 recent quarter EPS
• General Electric Company (NYSE: GE): Moderate Buy with a $0.31 recent quarter EPS

The retail-drug stores company's industry has seen price/earnings growth of 1.5% during the current fiscal year.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: Cardinal Health offers products and services that improve the safety and productivity of healthcare providers.

Take Action:

There is your peek into Cardinal Health's upcoming earnings numbers, including some competitors to watch around the time of the announcement. Check back in with us after the announcement for a full recap. In the meantime, here are some links to explore today.

• To see up-to-date news on Cardinal Health, click here
• To see other trading ideas, click here
• To see other company earnings recaps, click here