Cardinal Health (CAH Quick QuoteCAH - Free Report) reported $51.47 billion in revenue for the quarter ended December 2022, representing a year-over-year increase of 13.2%. EPS of $1.32 for the same period compares to $1.27 a year ago.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $50.44 billion, representing a surprise of +2.04%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +16.81%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $1.13.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Cardinal performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Revenue-Medical: $3.80 billion versus $3.86 billion estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -7.1% change.
• Revenue-Pharmaceutical: $47.67 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of $45.80 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +15.2%.
• Operating earnings- Medical: $17 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $33.22 million.
• Operating earnings- Pharmaceutical: $464 million compared to the $434.43 million average estimate based on three analysts.

View all Key Company Metrics for Cardinal here>>>

Shares of Cardinal have returned -0.4% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +9% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term.