The Workforce AI Index · Healthcare
Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH)
Drug distributor, counted by workplace. Read October 1, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending 2026-06-30, filed 2026-08-11. Ranked 12 of the 27 Healthcare companies read so far, by the share within reach now: the sector.
The filing counts 37,000 in operations and 24,200 in other functions, 18,100 of all employees abroad, so the drug wholesale pattern carries most of the 63,900 (a) with the rest by description (c).
The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
What follows from the reading
Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 26% now, 40% at the end of 2027, 45% at the end of 2028, 47% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 47% desk work, 25% people work and 29% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 52% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 36% becomes checking a model's work and 9% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
63,900 employees as of 2026-06-30 (stated). The filing counts approximately 18,100 of 63,900 employees based outside the United States.
The filing: “As of June 30, 2026, we had approximately 63,900 employees globally, of which approximately 18,100 are based outside the United States; 92% are full time employees; 37,000 worked in our distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, pharmacies, or were non-provider employees of our MSO platforms; 24,200 worked in other functions.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only) | 75% | By stated counts (a): 37,000 in distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, pharmacies and MSO platforms, most of them in the pharmaceutical distribution that is 92% of revenue, plus the 24,200 in other functions that support it; the split inside those counts is by description (c). |
| Offices of Physicians | 15% | By description (c): the non-provider employees of its physician practice management platforms, inside the stated 37,000, with no count of their own. |
| Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing | 10% | By revenue (c): the medical products segment at 5% of revenue, the manufacturing facilities inside the stated 37,000, weighted up for plant staffing, with no count of their own. |
What the filing says about the workforce: Approximately 63,900 employees, up from 57,700; 18,100 outside the United States; 92% full-time; 37,000 in distribution centers, plants, pharmacies and MSO platforms; 24,200 in finance, information technology, sales and other functions.
What the filing says about AI
4 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing names AI in 4 sentences, as risk: data governance for systems powered by AI and machine learning, adversarial AI in cyber attacks, and AI initiatives that must be implemented successfully.
- “If we fail to effectively implement and maintain data governance structures 38 Cardinal Health | Fiscal 2026 Form 10-K Risk Factors across our businesses, to effectively interpret and utilize such data, or protect the integrity of such data, including systems powered by or incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning, our operations could be impacted, and we may be at a competitiv...”
- “The risk and efficacy of cyberattacks increases from time to time due to a variety of internal and external factors, including the use by threat actors of sophisticated and rapidly evolving techniques, such as adversarial artificial intelligence and social engineering attempts.”
- “If any of these initiatives, including those related to the ongoing implementation of new Enterprise Resource Planning technologies and supply chain optimization initiatives, and initiatives related to artificial intelligence and machine learning, are not successfully or efficiently implemented or maintained, or if our relationship with critical third-party service providers deteriorates, we co...”
- “The Board has delegated to the Risk Oversight Committee of the Board primary responsibility for (i) overseeing cybersecurity and other major technology-related risks and our actions to monitor and mitigate such risks and (ii) monitoring emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, including how such technologies are, or may be, incorporated into our operations, services and strategies...”
Headcount by filing year
As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.
| Period | Employees | Filed | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | 63,900 | 2026-08-11 | 10-K |
| 2025-06-30 | 57,700 | 2025-08-12 | 10-K |
| 2024-06-30 | 48,900 | 2024-08-14 | 10-K |
| 2023-06-30 | 48,000 | 2023-08-15 | 10-K |
| 2022-06-30 | 46,500 | 2022-08-11 | 10-K |
| 2021-06-30 | 47,300 | 2021-08-16 | 10-K |
| 2020-06-30 | 48,000 | 2020-08-13 | 10-K |
| 2019-06-30 | 49,500 | 2019-08-20 | 10-K |
| 2018-06-30 | 50,200 | 2018-08-22 | 10-K |
| 2017-06-30 | 40,400 | 2017-08-10 | 10-K |
| 2016-06-30 | 37,300 | 2016-08-12 | 10-K |
| 2015-06-30 | 34,500 | 2015-08-13 | 10-K |
| 2014-06-30 | 34,000 | 2014-08-13 | 10-K |
| 2013-06-30 | 33,600 | 2013-08-20 | 10-K |
| 2012-06-30 | 32,500 | 2012-08-22 | 10-K |
| 2011-06-30 | 31,900 | 2011-08-26 | 10-K |
| 2010-06-30 | 31,200 | 2010-08-26 | 10-K |
| 2009-06-30 | 46,500 | 2009-08-27 | 10-K |
| 2008-06-30 | 47,600 | 2008-08-27 | 10-K |
| 2007-06-30 | 43,500 | 2007-08-24 | 10-K |
| 2006-06-30 | 55,000 | 2006-09-01 | 10-K |
| 2005-06-30 | 55,000 | 2005-09-12 | 10-K |
| 2004-06-30 | 55,000 | 2004-10-26 | 10-K |
| 2003-06-30 | 50,000 | 2003-09-29 | 10-K |
| 2002-06-30 | 50,000 | 2002-09-30 | 10-K |
| 2001-06-30 | 48,900 | 2001-08-24 | 10-K405 |
| 2000-06-30 | 42,200 | 2000-09-06 | 10-K |
| 1999-06-30 | 36,000 | 1999-09-02 | 10-K |
| 1998-06-30 | 11,200 | 1998-09-01 | 10-K405 |
| 1997-06-30 | 11,000 | 1997-09-29 | 10-K |
| 1996-06-30 | 4,800 | 1996-08-26 | 10-K |
| 1995-06-30 | 4,000 | 1995-09-21 | 10-K |
| 1994-06-30 | 3,500 | 1994-09-02 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- The filing counts operations and office employees but not segments; the split inside the operations count between distribution, physician platforms and manufacturing rests on description (c).
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0000721371-26-000038, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Questions about this company
- How much of Cardinal Health, Inc.'s working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 26% now and 45% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce Cardinal Health, Inc.'s own annual report describes and BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. It is an estimate with a stated method. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings, and it says nothing about what the company will do.
- How many people does Cardinal Health, Inc. employ?
- 63,900 as of June 30, 2026, as its annual report for the period ending June 30, 2026 states. About 72% in the U.S.
- What kinds of work make up Cardinal Health, Inc.'s workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 3 industry staffing patterns, the largest Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only); by those patterns the work is about 47% desk work, 25% people work and 29% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Cardinal Health, Inc.'s annual report say about AI?
- 4 sentences in the filing name AI. They are counted and quoted on this page, never judged: a count says how much a filing talks about AI, not what the company does with it.
- How is this estimated?
- Claude Fable 5.1 read the annual report under the Index's written rubric (version 1) on October 1, 2026: the stated headcount, the share in the U.S. when stated, and the workforce as a blend of industry staffing patterns. The estimates are the site's industry estimates weighted by those shares, from O*NET tasks with estimated lengths and METR's measurements of how long a task AI models can finish. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.